A Child’s Hope offers adoption services for North Carolina couples and singles who wish to create or expand their families through adoption. Since 2000, we have been a proud part of hundreds of families’ adoption stories, placing 450 babies through our domestic adoption programs.
As a full-service adoption agency, we can provide all of the following adoption services you need to build your family, from your first phone call through the finalization of your adoption!
Adoption Counseling and Education
Adoption is a complex process that is often accompanied by complex emotions. Making sure you understand and are comfortable with the adoption process is one of our top priorities.
Our qualified staff of licensed social workers is committed to providing the adoption support and information you need to prepare for the adoption process and adoptive parenthood. Our adoption counseling and education services include:
- An initial consultation with the director of our agency to learn more about A Child’s Hope and all of your adoption options
- An all-day parent orientation class that explains the entire adoption process from start to finish
- An adoption manual that serves as a reference guide throughout the process
- Additional adoption and parenting classes, as well as required reading suggestions
- Access to our licensed, qualified adoption counselors who can provide the emotional support you need and answer your questions through each step of the adoption process
- A fulltime office staff administrator who is just a call or email away in our Raleigh offices
Home Study and Screening Services
Before an agency can place a child for adoption, by law the prospective adoptive parents must complete a pre-placement assessment, commonly known as a home study. We offer North Carolina home study services, post-adoption services and home study updates for our adoptive families, as well as families adopting through other adoption professionals. We have seven contract social workers spread throughout the state of North Carolina, so that you are assured that there is a counselor within at most two hours of your residence.
The pre-placement assessment generally takes four to six weeks to complete, although we also offer expedited home study services for families matched to a birth mother who is expecting within two weeks. The expedited service guarantees that you will have a completed home study within two weeks if you provide all of the documents. In North Carolina, the home study is valid for 18 months before it needs to be updated. Other states have shorter periods – frequently 12 months – so if you are doing an independent adoption you may want to be mindful of the difference when it comes time to update. Following placement, North Carolina requires two additional post-placement visits and a report to the court. Some other states require more than two post-placement visits, and these can be performed by our staff if needed.
Our licensed social workers are available throughout the state to perform pre- and post-placement assessments for adoptive families. See the map below for location of our social workers.
Kelly Dunbar
Adoption Counselor/Homestudy Supervisor - Triangle
As an adoptive parent I truly have a passion for adoption. There is no greater joy than helping to create a family! I love this job and I love working with adoptive parents as well as the birth parents. When it all comes together it is an awesome experience! Kelly is a graduate of NC State University where she earned a Bachelor of Social Work. She also received her Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina. Kelly has been working with children, families, in the home and in communities for 18 years. Kelly has been working with birth mothers and adoptive parents for the last 5 years. Besides working, she has a great husband and three fabulous children, Landon, Parker and Ansley. Kelly and her husband adopted their daughter with the help of ACH and feels as though her personal experience helps her relate to other adoptive families.
Sloane Mosley
Greensboro
Sloane completed her undergraduate degree in Human Services Counseling at Old Dominion University and holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California. Sloane has been working with children, birth mothers and adopting families for more than 10 years. She loves advocating for children and helping women during pregnancy.
Lakisha Brown
Winston-Salem
Lakisha completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Welfare at Winston-Salem State University. She received her Master of Social Work from Syracuse University. Lakisha has worked with children, individuals and families for more than 12 years. Her experience includes working with at-risk youth, homeless children and families, child mental health, as well as school social work and case management. She is also a long-time basketball fan, a former player and coach. She played at Winston-Salem State University and coached women’s basketball at Elon University and Syracuse University. Lakisha and her husband reside in Alamance County, with their young son.
Jessica Otolinsky
Asheville
Jess completed her undergraduate degree in Communication at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and earned her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Messiah College. Her professional experience includes case management, education, women’s behavioral health including a focus on pregnant mothers, and working with kinship and domestic adoptive families who have experienced trauma. Jess is a native of central Pennsylvania though loves living in Asheville with her significant other. When she is not working, she is likely caring for her puppy and dog, painting, practicing yoga, camping or planning her next road trip to see family and friends or have an adventure in some new place!
Sylvia Senbel
Charlotte
Sylvia is a graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned a Bachelor of Social Work. She also received her Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina. Sylvia has been working with children and families for more than 19 years. She enjoys gardening, reading, hiking, and spending time with her husband and three boys. She also loves animals, especially her dog Jazzy.
Nicole Barnes
Jacksonville
Nicole completed her undergraduate studies at Chowan University in Psychology with a concentration in Alcohol & Drug Studies and a minor in Criminal Justice. Nicole has provided services to adolescents, teens, college students, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Parole and Probation, the NC Division of Motor Vehicles, the Division of Transportation, and the Department of Defense. She is a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor and has been working in the mental health field for 15 years.
Suzanne Mangum
Triangle
Suzanne was the primary pregnancy care manager stationed at Duke high-risk perinatal clinic for 20 years. She has a BS in Social Work at UNC Pembroke and is a licensed School Social Worker. She recently worked as a case manager in a substance abuse disorder residential program for women with young children. Suzanne is a “Durhamite” but has resided in Wake County since graduating. Her biggest accomplishment has been happily raising her 14 yo daughter and 3 poodle mixed pups.
Hope Brown
Triangle
Hope completed her undergraduate degree in Social Work at North Carolina Central University. She has worked with children and families for more than 20 years. Hope experience includes working in foster care, CPS as well as a school social worker. Hope loves exercising, football and spending time with her family. Hope resides in Durham County with her son, daughter and her dog Penny.
Adoption Advertising, Marketing and Matching Services
Through comprehensive internet and social media advertising, as well as an extensive network of contacts in the medical, legal and counseling community, we help adoptive families locate adoption opportunities with prospective birth mothers.
Our adoption advertising services include the creation of unique adoption profiles, websites, and social media pages for every adoptive family. These platforms give expectant mothers an opportunity to select the perfect adoptive family for her child. Adoption matches now are widely made through the internet, and our agency asks each family to partner to use social media to help you become parents sooner!
You will work closely with an adoption advertising expert to market your family to pregnant women considering adoption. Our agency will coordinate these services and help match you with expectant mothers based on the types of adoption opportunities each party is looking for.
Although our agency focuses on matching North Carolina families with North Carolina birth mothers, if you are matched with an out-of-state birth mother, our director, as a practicing and experienced adoption attorney, can help locate an agency or experienced adoption attorney out of state to work with you in the birth mother’s state.
Legal Adoption Help
Adoption is a complex and specialized legal process, and every adoption requires the assistance of an experienced adoption attorney. You should always ask an attorney how many adoptions they have actually finalized and if you are doing an interstate adoption, how many interstate adoptions the attorney has handled in her career.
Our agency is directed by a board certified family law specialist with more than 30 years of experience as a North Carolina adoption attorney. Parker Herring has a passion for adoption and started the agency in 2000 because she wanted to make adoptions more affordable and less complicated. You may choose to work with her law firm, Herring & Mills, PLLC, for your legal adoption needs, or she can refer you to another experienced adoption attorney to finalize your adoption.
Post-Adoption Services
With A Child’s Hope, our adoption assistance does not end with placement day. We will continue to provide the post-adoption services you need, not only to complete the post-placement study, but also to facilitate your continuing relationship with your baby’s birth family. Our families are invited to stay in touch with us over the years, and to contact us with any questions. A Child’s Hope stays in touch with its passed placed families through Facebook — see A Child’s Hope Adoption Services on Facebook.
Independent Adoption Services
For prospective adoptive parents who have already located a child available for adoption and need legal services to complete the adoption process, our North Carolina adoption attorney offers adoption help for independent adoptions. Ms. Herring has processed over 500 adoptions, both in North Carolina and in other states.
We also assist out-of-state attorneys and families with adoption needs in North Carolina, whether it’s obtaining consents for an out-of-state placement, assisting with interstate compliance, or litigating adoption issues. We can offer our adoption counselors on a contract basis to help with counseling and screening/assessment of birthmothers.
How Can A Child’s Hope Help Us Adopt?
If you are ready to begin the adoption process, or if you need more information about any of our adoption-related services, contact us any time to schedule a Build a Family consultation. During your consultation, you will meet with our agency director, learn more about various types of adoption and our adoption services, and determine whether A Child’s Hope is the right adoption agency for you. In the consultation, you are given a wealth of adoption materials, as well as information on assisted reproduction, since our director also practices assisted reproduction law.