Angenette Stephenson Certified as a Child Welfare Specialist
Angenette (Angie) Stephenson was recently recognized as one of the first 10 Board Certified Specialists in Child Welfare Law by the North Carolina State Bar. Angie has over 15 years of experience as an attorney in the field of child welfare. Before entering private...
Seeking Information About Biological Family Members After Adoption
In NC, adoption records are sealed following the finalization of an adoption. This means that if a member of a family involved in adoption wants to find out about a biological family member who was adopted or an adoptee wants to know more about or identify their...
How NC’s Child Welfare System Has Responded to COVID-19
The most recent issue of Fostering Perspectives focuses on the impact COVID-19 has had on North Carolina's child welfare system and the youth and families engaged with that system. The issue also focuses on how foster, adoptive, and kinship providers have shown...
Adult Adoption – A Unique Mechanism for Achieving Permanence
November 21, 2020 is National Adoption Day, a day where we recognize and celebrate the children, youth, and families impacted by adoption, especially for children and youth who are adopted from the child welfare system. In honor of National Adoption Day, we want to...
Adult Adoption: A Mother’s Experience
"When people first learned I was in the process of adopting my daughter, the responses were pretty typical: first, they wondered if she was from America, and next they’d ask her age. And that’s when things got interesting. “Oh, she’s 19,” I’d answer. Typically, people...
What Happens After the Adoption is Final? What About the Birth Certificate?
The legal adoption process is a means to an end, expanding a family in a specific capacity and formalizing a parent/child relationship. The legal process is initiated with the intent of achieving a final decree of adoption. We celebrate those days with love and joy...