This legal guide offers a streamlined review of the adoption process from start to finish. Whether you're just getting into this area of practice or are looking for a refresher, our faculty will help you clarify procedure and manage all the parties involved. Simplify the process with our sample forms and checklists, and anticipate any roadblocks or conflicts. Order today!

1. About Adoption
2. North Carolina Domestic Adoption Procedure
3. Interstate Adoptions
4. Federal Laws Affecting Adoptions
5. Juvenile Proceedings to Terminate Parental Rights
6. Ethics in Adoption
7. Financial Aspects of Adoption
8. Other Practical Issues in Adoption
9. "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

I. ABOUT ADOPTION
9:00 - 9:30, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. What is Adoption?
2. Who May Adopt Whom?
3. Non-Relative Adoptions of Minors
   1. Domestic Independent
   2. Domestic Agency
   3. International
4. Relative Adoptions
5. Adult Adoptions

II. NORTH CAROLINA DOMESTIC ADOPTION PROCEDURE
9:30 - 10:15, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Preplacement Assessment (The Adoptive Home Study)
2. Consent to Adoption (Independent Adoptions)
3. Relinquishment for Adoption (Agency Adoptions)
4. Revoking a Consent or Relinquishment
5. Placement for Adoption
6. Petition for Adoption
7. Documents to be Submitted with Petition
8. Notice
9. Non-Consenting Parent
10. Agency Report to the Court
11. Disclosure of Fees and Expenses
12. Hearings
13. Obtaining a New Birth Certificate

III. INTERSTATE ADOPTIONS
10:30 - 11:00, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
2. Dealing with the Laws and ICPC Policies of Two States
3. Waiver and Election of Law
4. UCCJEA
5. The Proposed New ICPC

IV. FEDERAL LAWS AFFECTING ADOPTIONS
11:00 - 11:30, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Indian Child Welfare Act
2. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
3. Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994
4. Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997

V. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS TO TERMINATE PARENTAL RIGHTS
11:30 - 12:30, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Standing
2. The Parent's Right to Representation
3. Grounds for Termination
4. Best Interests of the Child
5. The Limits of Personal Jurisdiction
6. Foster Parent Rights

VI. ETHICS IN ADOPTION
1:30 - 2:30, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Conflicts of Interest
2. Communication
3. Confidentiality
4. Facilitators
5. Hague Rules
6. Prohibited Practices

VII. FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF ADOPTION
2:30 - 3:00, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Medicaid
2. Group Insurance Coverage under OBRA 1987
3. Birth Mother Expenses
4. Adoption Tax Credits
5. Adoption Assistance
6. Reimbursement for Non-Recurring Expenses
7. Social Security

VIII. OTHER PRACTICAL ISSUES IN ADOPTION
3:15 - 4:00, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. The Pre-Placement Assessment
2. Criminal Background Checks
3. Avoiding Adoption Scams
4. Birth Parent Counseling
5. Documenting Disclosure and Reality of Consent
6. At the Hospital
7. Custody in Adoptions
8. Confidential Intermediaries
9. Resources: Online Information, Forms and Manuals

IX. "WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?"
4:00 - 4:30, Jane R. Thompson and Brinton D. Wright

1. Birth Parent Involvement with Child Protective Services
2. Child Born with Serious Medical Problems
3. Challenges to Consents and Relinquishments
4. If the Petition is Dismissed
5. Challenges to Completed Adoptions
6. Disrupted Adoptions

JANE R. THOMPSON is an assistant attorney general with the North Carolina Department of Justice representing the North Carolina Division of Social Services. She also is a legal consultant to the Division 33 county departments of Social services; and the juvenile court judges and clerks of court on child abuse and neglect, termination of parental right, foster care, adoption, and federal and state child welfare legislation. Ms. Thompson serves on the North Carolina Court Improvement Project Legislative Committee and the North Carolina Bar Association Family Law Section Adoption Subcommittee. She is a member of the North Carolina Association of Social Services Attorneys. Ms. Thompson has taught individual classes on adoption law at Wake Forest and Campbell Law Schools, and is the primary author of "Parenthood Through Adoption and Assisted Conception" in Lee's North Carolina Family Law. She also has presented training on juvenile law and adoption for social workers, and annually presents on adoption law at the Conference of Assistant and Deputy Clerks of Court, as well as presenting juvenile law topics for annual juvenile court judges certification training and other judicial conferences. Ms. Thompson earned her A.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

BRINTON D. WRIGHT is the principal member of the Law Offices of Brinton Wright, PLLC in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has been engaged in the private practice of law since 1976. Mr. Wright's practice consists primarily of adoption law (adoptive parent, birth parent and agency representation), representing small businesses, estate planning, and estate and trust administration. Mr. Wright serves on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Children's Home Society of North Carolina and chaired the agency's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Wright chairs the Adoption Committee of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. He has been influential in the drafting and promoting of numerous changes to North Carolina's adoption statutes, including changes that promote interstate adoption and clarify adoption procedure. Mr. Wright was the first North Carolina lawyer to become a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, a national organization of attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the field of adoption law. In 2008, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute awarded Mr. Wright its Angel in Adoption recognition. Mr. Wright earned his J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Hampshire, and his B.A. degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

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