By Emily Sorrell
Johnston County Department of Social Services has worked in partnership with Children’s Home Society of North Carolina (CHS) for many years to achieve permanency and stability for children who are in the custody of our agency. Permanency for each child looks different. It may come in the form of reunification with a parent, placement with a relative, or adoption.
Child Focused Recruitment:
Our adoption team has worked alongside recruiters with Child-Focused Recruitment, a program offered through CHS to identify prospective adoptive homes for children who are legally cleared for adoption. The recruiters not only spend time reviewing the child’s history, they also meet with the child to get their perspective on what they think a forever home should look like. They work with the social worker to get to know the child, identifying strengths, challenges, likes, and interests so that they can identify a family that will best meet the needs of the child. The recruiters have been able to share important information with the social worker regarding recruitment events and adoptive families who might be able to meet the child’s needs. The process of Child Focused Recruitment has been very successful in identifying adoptive families for children who have specialized needs or have been waiting for a forever family.
Foster Homes:
Our Permanency Planning workers currently have children placed in foster homes licensed by CHS. One social worker shared that she has a child who was hospitalized for several weeks and required extensive follow up care. The foster family first met with the child while still in the hospital and they began regularly visiting and participating in the child’s treatment and care. Since discharge from the hospital, the family has continued to ensure that the medical, developmental, and mental health needs of the child are met. The child is thriving in the home. The foster parents understand the importance of maintaining family connections and maintaining contact with the child’s siblings. The foster parents have also developed a relationship with the foster parents of the child’s biological sibling. They ensure that the children continue to have a connection.
A social worker with our agency shared that she has a sibling group of three placed in a foster home licensed through CHS. When talking about the family the social worker expressed that what is clear and stands out the most is how the family creates a space for the children to feel safe, supported, and understood while allowing room for mistakes. They are able to provide an appropriate balance of structure, support, compassion, and accountability that each child requires. The family’s communication style is solution-focused and open which encourages partnership and collaboration.
Another of our social worker’s shared her experience working with multiple families licensed with CHS. The social worker has observed positive changes in the children’s behavior and academic performance. The children appear to be happy and the family is actively engaged in their treatment, services and working to maintain sibling connections.
In summary, the ongoing partnership between Johnston County DSS and Children’s Home Society of North Carolina continues to yield significant positive outcomes for children in custody. The success of Child-Focused Recruitment ensures permanency by identifying prospective adoptive families for children, including those with specialized needs. Furthermore, Children’s Home Society’s licensed foster homes provide stable, supportive, and compassionate environments, meeting the complex needs of children—such as extensive medical and mental health follow-up—and actively fostering crucial sibling and family connections. These collaborative efforts clearly demonstrate a shared commitment to the stability, well-being, and permanency for every child.
Emily Sorrell is a Social Worker III from Johnston County
