Adoptions

In the United States, more than 100,000 children are waiting for a family to call their own. In the North Carolina foster care system alone, there are nearly 11,000 waiting children. Foster parents are licensed to provide safe, temporary homes while efforts are made toward reunification with a child’s family of origin. When reunification cannot happen safely, Crossnore, through our adoption program, works to unite children and licensed families through adoption.

The adoption program is designed for families seeking to adopt a child through foster care, providing supportive resources and services unique to foster adoption. Serving children aged 3-18 impacted by the child welfare system, Crossnore Communities for Children identifies families best suited to embrace the specialized needs of North Carolina’s waiting children. The adoption program—from navigation and placement to counseling and coaching—helps promote success and ensures the ultimate well-being of children and families.

To adopt from foster care, you must become a licensed foster home. We work to complete foster home licensing simultaneously along with an adoption home study, so that our licensed families are also preadoptive homes. We then create an extensive and detailed family profile we will share with counties to help identify good-fit families for legally free children in foster care. Once an adoption takes place, we provide post-adoption support, walking alongside families, understanding that the challenges of parenting a child who has suffered significant trauma do not stop at the point of adoption.

Crossnore Communities for Children’s adoption program currently serves families who live within a one-hour radius of either our Winston-Salem or Hendersonville locations and is focused on finding homes for legally free children who reside in the state of North Carolina. There is an increasing need for families open to adopting sibling sets and children with behavior challenges.

To become a licensed foster home and adopt from foster care, you must be:

• committed and able to help kids aged 3-18 who have experienced trauma and who are in need of a permanent home,
• at least 21 years of age and a legal resident of the United States,
• single, married, or coupled, and financially stable,
• able to pass a background check,
• willing to attend free pre-service training meetings and complete licensing requirements.

Information Session
Attend one of our monthly information sessions to learn if the program is right for you.

Application

Apply here through Binti, our case management system, where all of your documents can be accessed to start the process. We will review your application and then reach out to schedule a virtual one-on-one meet and greet to discuss your application and answer any questions you may have.

Training

Once your application is approved, you will complete a seven week pre-service training. This training is delivered virtually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm. Crossnore uses the National Training & Development Curriculum (NTDC) for our prospective foster and adoptive parents. You can learn more about the curriculum here. In addition to NTDC, prospective foster and adoptive parents are trained in CPR, Medication Administration, and Foster Home Preparedness.

Homestudy
After pre-service training, you will complete an adoption application, home study, and foster home licensing steps, guided by your family case worker. This process involves a series of interviews, a home inspection, fire inspection, medical evaluation, and background checks etc. During this process you will also be asked to start working on your family profile document.

Pre-Placement
Once licensed as a foster home, your family caseworker will then begin to share your family’s profile with local DSS departments and other organizations to be considered as a potential pre-adoptive home for children in foster care. When a social worker selects your family as a good fit for a child or children in their care, they will share further information about the child(ren) and their needs. You will also have the opportunity to talk with the social worker directly before meeting the child(ren). Once all parties are comfortable moving forward, a transition plan will be made. This plan could include spending time with the child at their current place of residence or the child(ren) spending a day/weekend at your home. This process can be as long as needed.

Placement and Adoption

Children must be fostered for a minimum of six months before the adoption process can begin. During this time you will receive regular guidance and support from your Crossnore family caseworker and therapist, as needed. Once finalization of your adoption is complete, additional resources and services will be put in place so that if or when needed, you have ongoing support for your family and child(ren).