Can I send my profile directly to LAs on a speculative basis?

[FoldedAndUnfoldedAndUnfolding]

Currently I'm struggling with the passive nature of looking for a match. I'm a hugely proactive person, and simply waiting for SWs to spot me on linkmaker and reach out to me feels completely alien.

There are only 2 babies publicly shown on linkmaker that match the needs I can support and the profile of my family. I'm a single adopter with a 5yo BC, and I'm looking for a young baby without significant identified additional needs. I'm acutely aware that babies in this bracket will attract a lot of interest, and therefore most of them probably aren't even publicly listed.

Which brings me to my question - would it be proactive or just plain weird if I sent my profile out to a few LAs? The goal being to increase my chance of being considered for children that I might otherwise never find out about. I was thinking of starting by handing out my profile to a few LAs at an exchange day I will be attending next week.

Has anyone done this? Was it helpful or frowned upon?

Any other tips for surviving this emotionally-fraught matching process would be gratefully received!

Can't do any harm.

The only thing I would say is that while I understand why you are looking for a young baby with no significant needs, you do need to understand that often needs don't become apparent until much later.

Thanks for responding. Don't worry, I described it as "identified needs" because I'm very aware that many issues can't be spotted at a young age.

I'd suggest talking to your SW and asking her to help you - ours had close links with all neighbouring LAs & would be a LOT better than us at finding the right person to send our profiles to in wider areas.

Is your SW not doing that? Are you on the adoption register? If there isn't the right child, yet, no looking will find them- a hard thing for someone used to being in control! You only need the one right child, and it could be any time, but as long as your SW is any good at all, if they're out there, you SW will find out about them.

Is your SW not doing that?

This.

@FoldedAndUnfoldedAndUnfolding. I'm assuming by your profile you mean a really positive one page summary of your PAR with a nice photo on? Yes you should be giving that to all the LAs at exchange events.

Normally that would also be sent to all neighbouring LAs automatically. I say normally, but I know some LAs just don't proactively match outside of themselves. I'm assuming that's not the case for you, or you may be a bit buggered. You really do need a good SW actively seeking a match in your circumstances.

Given how hard you will be to match, personally I would have sent mine to every LA in the country, with a covering letter from your SW- their contact details, what you are looking for, what you can offer. Yes adopters do this. Yes many SWs will ignore them, it just depends whether it hits the right desk at the right time.

I know adopters who have sat for many years being patient with an LA, then switched to my VA, gone at it full tilt and been matched in weeks/months of approval.

I fully admit that I am a control enthusiast and it's not for everyone.

you do need to understand that often needs don't become apparent until much later.

Also, this!!!

Thanks for all the tips! I've expressed interest in more than one child now, so I'm slowing down a bit and waiting to see if any of the relevant SWs are interested in me / want to exchange reports, before I dive back into the fray!

Trying to adjust to the fact that waiting is going to be my new normal for the foreseeable future!!

I made a little A5 leaflet and sent it to almost every LA adoption team in the U.K. I think I got the contact details from adoption uk or maybe first 4adoption websites. It make me feel like I was doing something other than waiting for ‘the’ call.