When you begin searching for people who want to adopt, you are not just looking for an adoptive family — you are looking for the perfect family who can provide the type of life you want your child to have.
With an extensive screening process, personal matching process and opportunities to get to know adoptive parents in person, A Child’s Hope can help you find the family that is right for you and your baby.
A Child’s Hope works with individuals and couples looking to adopt infants throughout North Carolina. The people who want to adopt a baby through our agency come from all different backgrounds and have many different reasons for choosing adoption. Some are young couples adopting after struggling with infertility, while others are single parents looking to adopt a newborn.
All of the adoptive families that work with A Child’s Hope are thoroughly screened by our adoption counselors before they even create an adoption profile. This means that all of the waiting adoptive families you see on our website:
- Have an approved North Carolina home study
- Have met personally with the director of our agency
- Have met with an adoption counselor at least three times to be approved for a home study
- Are physically and mentally healthy and able to care for a child
- Have passed criminal background checks
- Are financially prepared to adopt and raise a child
- Have completed an orientation class, open adoption class, and infant CPR class
- Are excited to add to their families and are willing and eager to get to know you
Because all of our waiting families are safe and ready to adopt, you can feel at ease knowing that any parents you choose for your baby will be able to provide the stability, love and opportunities you want for your child.
How to Find Adoptive Parents for Your Baby
With so many families who want to adopt, finding adoptive parents may seem overwhelming at first. Your adoption counselor will be there to guide you through each step of the process and ensure you find adoptive parents who can provide the life you envision for your child.
As you search for the perfect adoptive parents for your baby, your adoption counselor will walk you through the following steps of the adoption process:
After your adoption counselor has had some time to get to know you, your circumstances and your adoption plans, she will begin searching for adoptive families whose adoption goals and preferences are a good match for yours. When she has identified potentially compatible families, she will show you their adoption profiles. In the meantime, you can also start looking at our website to see if there is a particular family that you are interested in.
The adoption profile includes a variety of family photos and text descriptions of each family, their home, personalities, interests, lifestyles, thoughts on parenting, and more.
You will have an opportunity to look at these waiting families’ profiles in print and online. In addition to their adoptive parent profiles, most families also have a strong presence on social media by creating their own Facebook pages, YouTube videos and Pinterest pages to help you get to know them. We suggest that when looking at their websites, you also click onto their social media sites to learn more about them.
As you review adoption profiles, you may find that certain adoptive parents stand out to you. You can choose an adoptive family to move forward with based on a number of factors, including:
- Their home or community
- The size of their family and other children in their home
- Their cultural and religious background
- Their hobbies, interests, lifestyle and values
- Their parenting style
- And more
As you consider potential adoptive parents for your baby, you can ask your adoption counselor for more information about them, their adoption plans and goals. When you have found a family you would like to get to know better, your adoption counselor will help prepare you for a match meeting.
Your adoption counselor will arrange a match meeting for you and the waiting family you choose based on their adoption profile. Your counselor will help prepare you for the meeting and will be there with you to help guide the conversation and make sure everyone is comfortable.
The match meeting gives you an opportunity to ask the adoptive family questions and get to know them better. The meeting is usually held at a restaurant in your hometown or nearby, and the adoption counselor is present to help guide the conversation. If you like the adoptive family after meeting them in person, you can choose to move forward in an official match, and the family’s profile won’t be shown to any other expectant mothers. Almost all match meetings result in a “match,” with the adoptive parents and the birth mother feeling good about the meeting.
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Once you are in an official match with an adoptive family, you will have the opportunity to develop whatever kind of relationship you want to have with them for the remainder of your pregnancy.
If you choose to have an open adoption with the adoptive parents, you can keep in touch with them through phone calls, emails, and even in-person visits until you deliver. Your adoption counselor will be available to help mediate this relationship and provide the advice and guidance you need to build a strong bond. Some birth mothers ask the adoptive parents to come to prenatal visits and the hospital.
If you choose semi-open adoption, all communication between you and the adoptive parents will come through the agency during the pregnancy and over the years. You can keep in touch with letters and pictures and, if you desire, in-person visits.
After your baby is born, you can continue your relationship with the adoptive family for years to come. A Child’s Hope offers post-placement services to help facilitate your open or semi-open relationship long after the adoption process is complete.
What if I’ve already found someone to adopt my baby?
Some women who contact A Child’s Hope do not need help looking for adoptive parents because they have already found a family to adopt their baby. This is known as “identified adoption” or “designated adoption.”
If you are pursuing an identified adoption with a family you already know, you may still want to work with an agency to complete the adoption process. Aside from the matching process, A Child’s Hope can provide the other services and emotional support you need to make a successful adoption plan. You can work with our adoption counselors to get the financial assistance, contact mediation, legal assistance and post-placement services you need to complete the adoption process.
Any family that you want to adopt your baby has to have a home study in order to have a child placed with them. A Child’s Hope can complete the home study for the couple you choose, and as an attorney, the agency director can work with them or refer them to a competent attorney to finalize the adoption.
Final Thoughts
A Child’s Hope can not only provide the services you need as you are looking for a couple to adopt your baby — we can also provide the emotional support and other adoption services you need to feel confident and happy with your adoption decision. Contact A Child’s Hope today to learn more about our waiting families for adoption.
Click a star near where you live on the NC map to see what counselor would be assigned to you
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.
