Children can provide details that give their profiles personality.
In Pennsylvania, a child's profile introduces prospective adoptive parents to children and provides a written history of a child's life prior to adoption. A well-written, detailed profile answers a child's questions about who he is and what happened to him. The profile also answers adoptive parents' questions about the child. Children profiled through the Statewide Adoption & Permanency Network (SWAN) are in the legal custody of county child and youth agencies in Pennsylvania.
Instructions
1. Visit the AdoptUSKids website and download the Pennsylvania Children, Youth and Families Bulletin number 3350-03-01 (SWAN Bulletin). Read Attachment B of the Bulletin, which describes the content required in a child profile.
2. Create an outline of the information required in the child's profile or use the template provided by the child welfare agency. Include four main sections: an introduction describing the child and the child's circumstances, a history section detailing the child's mental and physical development, a current functioning section describing the child's behavior and relationships, and a birth family section with information about the child's birth parents and siblings.
3. Fill in as much information as possible on the outline by viewing the child's records. Include extensive details, such as names and addresses, specific dates, and the child's doctor and teacher's names. Write the child's history first and the introduction last.
4. Complete the history section, which needs to have five subsections. The first subsection describes the child's development, including circumstances of the birth and major developmental milestones. The second subsection describes all major events affecting the child's social development, including all foster care placements. The third subsection summarizes all psychological and psychiatric evaluations of the child. The fourth subsection includes available information about the child's health, such as vaccinations, serious illnesses and chronic conditions. The fifth describes the child's educational history and performance.
5. Complete the sections on the child's current functioning and birth family. The current functioning section needs to have three subsections: the first describes the child's behavioral patterns, including eating and sleeping habits and hobbies; the second describes the child's relationships with adults, siblings and peers; and the third discusses the child's feelings about being adopted.
6. Meet with the child to fill in gaps from the records, if the child is able and willing to do so. The child herself is your best source for information about her interests, activities, relationships and hopes for the future.
7. Write the introduction to the profile, which must include a description of the child; a summary of the child's economic, cultural and ethnic background; a brief description of what led to the child's placement in care; and a time line of the child's placements since entering care.
8. Verify all the information in the profile with child's caseworker, and -- if possible and allowed -- with caregivers, family members and any other individuals who know the child.
9. Submit the completed profile and a current photo of the child to the requesting child welfare agency.
Tags: describes child, about child, child profile, current functioning, information about, Adoption Permanency, Adoption Permanency Network