Pregnant? need help? call 1-855-219-8588 or text 919-801-3487
About AGA
Amazing Grace Adoptions first opened our doors in 1999. We have been licensed by the state of North Carolina since 1999 and by the state of Florida since 2015 as a child-placing agency, able to provide quality adoption services. We are a not-for-profit, pro-life organization that seeks funding from churches, foundations, individuals, and corporations in order to keep our fees to adoptive families as low as possible.
Amazing Grace Adoption’s mission is to serve birthparents, orphaned and vulnerable children, and adoptive families through the Biblical model of family.
Amazing Grace Adoptions operates under the legal name of Amazing Grace Adoptions which is a non-profit organization registered as a 501(c) 3.
Our Services
Are you Pregnant?
Call now to speak with a pregnancy counselor
1-855-219-8588
Birthparent Services Include
Birthparent FAQs
When should I contact AGA?
The sooner you call, the more help we can provide. Whether you're looking for more information or you feel ready to make an adoption plan, whether you're four weeks pregnant or have already given birth, we are here for you.
Why should I consider adoption?
If you don't feel ready to parent, adoption can give your child a stable, loving home with a mother and father. Adoption can provide hope for your future and the future of your baby. Adoption is NOT abandonment. It is a life-giving, deliberate decision made out of sacrificial love.
How will my child know I made this plan out of love?
You can send cards, letters, pictures, and gifts to the adoptive family through Amazing Grace Adoptions. Writing a letter to your child describing your adoption plan can be therapeutic for you and can answer many questions for him or her.
How will I know how my baby is doing after the adoption?
Adoptive families send pictures and reports of the child once a month for the first year and then once a year until the child is 18 years old. Additional contact is worked out on an individual basis. Also, an Amazing Grace Adoptions social worker will visit the adoptive family several times to ensure smooth placement.
Will I be involved in choosing a family for my baby?
Yes, you can choose and meet with a family for your baby if you desire to do so. All prospective adoptive families have been through the "home study" process which reviews medical, criminal checks, and financial information and includes several interviews.
What if my family isn’t supportive of my adoption plan?
It is not uncommon for family members to have reservations about an adoption plan. We encourage those family members to participate in sessions with your social worker. We also offer them the opportunity to connect with other birth families who have already walked through the adoption process. We recognize that your decision has significant effects on your entire family and desire to offer hope and help to them also.
Does the birthfather have to be involved in the adoption process?
The birthfather is welcome to participate in the sessions with you if desired. You wouldn't be expected to contact him. If he is supportive of adoption, he can sign his legal paperwork before or after the child's birth. Adoption laws can be confusing. Our social workers will address your legal questions and offer options that meet your personal circumstances.
Married since 2015
Nathan and Sarah
Reasons for Wanting to Adopt:
God laid adoption on our hearts while we were still dating in college. We believed it is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us and our desire is to reflect Him in everything we do as we direct our hearts towards him in building our family. We want to be able to provide a loving and caring home, centered on Christ.
Family Activities:
We love spending time with family, friends, and our church community. We are very active outdoors, playing sports with friends or just taking walks around our neighborhood. We love cooking and trying new recipes as well as watching a good movie. We love to go fishing and playing with our dogs.
Married since 2004
Bryan and Sonya
Reasons for Wanting to Adopt:
After praying and seeking the Lord’s will, we both believe the Lord has instructed us to expand our family. We attempted to do so naturally, but were unable to conceive a second time. This is not surprising because we had difficulty conceiving our first child. We believe this difficulty is one way in which God pointed us toward adoption. That is not the only way, however. Even before we were married, and even before we had difficulty conceiving, we had discussed the desire to adopt. We believe it is a beautiful metaphor for how God unconditionally loves us and adopted us into his family.
Family Activities:
Playing games together such as board games and video games, going to the pool, taking walks together, playing with the dog, going to plays, playing at the park, riding bicycles, going to the beach.
Married since 2018
Mark and Bethany
Reasons for Wanting to Adopt:
Our reasons are many, but mainly simple. We want our lives to have purpose beyond ourselves. Our past wasn’t what either of us would have predicted, but we own that for ourselves and are at peace with it. We would feel beyond blessed to have a child(s) and have the opportunity to teach them about Jesus, love them, and do our best to raise them as a caring, good person.
Family Activities:
We love attending sporting events, going to the driving range, golf tournaments (yes, that’s sports too!), walks, fun drama shows, game shows, action movies. We go on the occasional trip to the North Carolina coast or Florida or a work conference together. We love spending time with our friends who live nearby.
Married since 2009
John & Ashley
Reasons for Wanting to Adopt:
In the fall of 2016, God began unmistakably stirring within us a call to adoption. At the time, we had been praying and asking God to make us parents for almost four years. We had struggled through what the doctors called “unknown” infertility, trying to get pregnant, yet to us the longer the wait grew, the more clear and known what the withholding was pushing and drawing us to. Adoption! The unspeakable joy of becoming parents arrived in 2020 with the birth of our son. We brought him home six days after he was born, and we found there hasn’t been a day that our hearts have not been filled with the utmost gratitude, that our Heavenly Father wanted something different for our family. He wanted something that, to this day, feels so holy and precious, so specifically ours in giving us our son. Every tear, every prayer, every hard moment was worth it! As we begin our adoption journey again, we are so expectant. Expectant of how the Lord is going to move in us and through us. Expectant of how the Lord is going to use this adoption process to further root and deepen the foundation of our family. Expectant of who the Lord is knitting together, protecting and preparing right now, to be part of our family forever! Adoption is at the very core of who our God is, and adoption is at the very core of who we are! Our hearts are overflowing with abundant joy and excitement as we see how beautifully the Lord is writing the story of adoption for our family. Adoption as His son and daughter. Adoption of OUR son. And now adoption again to expand our family!
Family Activities:
We love doing things as a family! We love playing games together, going to play putt putt, camping, going to the beach, doing anything outside (riding bikes, going to playgrounds/parks, going on walks, swimming, just everything)! We love spending time with friends! We love cooking together as a family (our son is an especially cute sous chef)! We love reading books together! We truly just enjoy spending time together. Northing fills our hearts up more than being with each other.
Interested in Adopting?
We understand that the adoption process can be overwhelming and confusing. We hope to alleviate as much confusion as possible.
As a faith-based adoption agency, we do have a few criteria that prospective adoptive families must meet in order to be on our Waiting List for placement of a child.
Domestic Adoption Process
Application
Call the AGA office to request an initial application packet. This packet consists of gathering information on the prospective adoptive family, including letters of references, and background checks. Once the packet is returned, an approval committee reviews each application.
Home Study
If approved, a pre-placement assessment (also called a home study) packet will be sent. The home study process is guided by the State’s requirements for paperwork and interviews. It is during this process that an AGA social worker will visit your home and conduct interviews with you and your immediate family. A home study is valid for 18 months in North Carolina and 12 months in Florida.
Waiting List
Once you have a valid home study, you are ready to become an active waiting family on our Waiting Families list. During this time, your family profile book will be shown to expectant women who are considering an adoption plan for their child. The average wait time for AGA families is typically around 12 months.
Placement and Post Placements
Once your family is chosen by an expectant mother, placement will occur soon after the baby is born. Placement typically takes place at the AGA office. After placement, your aGA social worker will visit your home at least twice per state law for the purpose of submitting post-placement reports to the court for the finalization of adoption.
Finalization
Amazing Grace takes care of the entire finalization process for adoptive families. Our staff will submit all necessary paperwork to the Clerk of Court to ensure a smooth finalization process. Although physical custody of the child is given to the adoptive family at placement, Amazing Grace Adoptions maintains legal custody of the child until the adoption is completely finalized.
Types of Adoption
Open
Identifying information is exchanged, such as last names, locations of residence. This is always the case in independent adoptions, where the parties work through an attorney. In North Carolina, openness is only allowed in agency adoptions when both parties sign a specific state form in front of a notary during a meeting. Openness does not necessarily mean that a birthparent is a visible, ongoing presence in the life of an adopted child. Many birthparents desire openness so that they can be more easily found if the child desires to contact them in the future. The amount of contact (phone, face-to-face, email, letters, etc) between parties in an open adoption should be agreed upon before any legal documents are signed.*
Semi Open
Most adoptions fall under this level of openness. The communication between the birthparents and the adoptive family is done through the agency. No identifying information (last names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) is exchanged. The birthparents will receive pictures and updates on how the child is doing through the agency as well as the birthparents can forward letters, pictures, cards or gifts through the agency to the child and family. The birthparents can choose the family as well as meet the family if they would like. Any meetings or visits with the birthparents and the adoptive parents would be with the presence of the agency.
Closed
The birthmother does not choose the family and does not wish to receive pictures or an update on how the child is doing. There is no communication between the birthparents and the adoptive family as well as no information is exchanged between the two parties.
Agency Adoption
This type of adoption occurs when an adoptive family uses a licensed adoption agency to receive an adoptive placement as well as the birthparents release legal custody to the agency. Physical custody is given to the prospective adoptive family, and legal custody is given at the time of finalization. Both birthparents and adoptive parents receive counseling and support services through the agency.
Independent Adoption
Placement through a facilitator or attorney, where legal custody is given directly to the adoptive parents; all are open adoptions. The attorney or facilitator will provide the legal documentation for the adoption. Typically the birthparents and adoptive parents only receive legal counseling and not supportive counseling.
*Statement About Open Adoption: Open adoption is a term that has stimulated a variety of different emotions and ideas from those involved in adoption and our culture. There have been many myths and misconceptions associated with openness in adoption, which has been exacerbated by negative images in the media.
From a legal viewpoint, open adoption occurs when both adoptive parents and birthparents mutually agree to exchange identifying information about the other, such as last names, phone numbers, or addresses. Open adoption has always been a part of independent adoptions (through an attorney or facilitator). Until November 2001, North Carolina law did not allow licensed child-placing agencies to offer open adoption to clients. That law has changed, allowing private agencies the ability to offer the choice of openness to those they serve. For this to occur, both parties must sign a form called a “Consent to Release of Identifying Information (DSS-5218)” in the presence of a notary.
Amazing Grace Adoptions has always offered semi-open adoptions, in that first names and other non-identifying information could be exchanged. We continue to offer that option to our birthparents and adoptive families. We would encourage adoptive families to pray through each decision in the adoption process, including the amount of openness with which they are comfortable. Not all families are called to openness, but it can be an opportunity for the Lord to use an adoptive family to show His infinite love and grace to a birthmother or those around her.
AGA Family Requirements
Adoptive families must:
*Please know this last requirement is not meant to be rigid. Families have been very creative in this area. The heart of this requirement is that the parents be the primary caregivers, rather than a daycare worker.
Hear Others’ Stories
The attention and care that I was shown was amazing. I’m thankful to have gotten the worker I did. Actually, everyone at Amazing Grace was very nice.
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Angela, Birthmother
AGA was a lifeline for me when I found myself single and pregnant. They welcomed me, encouraged me, and never once did I feel judged. My heart's desire for my child was to grow up in a Christian family. Amazing Grace made that possible.
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A Birthmother
Amazing Grace is a trustworthy agency and every single person we’ve worked with has demonstrated integrity, professionalism and has been very encouraging along our adoption journey! They really care about the birth parents, adoptive parents, and most importantly they do what’s best for the children they are placing.
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Adoptive Mother
Meet Our Staff
Donnas Kinton, BS Executive Director
Donnas has been a social worker since 1976, and has practiced in the field of adoption since 1996. She graduated from Campbell University with a degree in Social Services and has worked in the maternal and child health field in both the public and private sectors. She is married with 3 daughters and has 6 precious grandchildren.
donnas@agadoptions.org
Sheila Teague, MSW
Adoption Social Worker
Sheila graduated with a BSW from North Carolina State University and an MSW from the University of South Carolina. She has worked in a variety of medical settings in the area of maternal and child health. The last seventeen years of her career have been serving birth parents and adoptive families in the field of adoption. She is married and has three children and one precious grandchild.
sheila@agadoptions.org
Jessica Parker, BSW
Birthmother Counselor
Jessica graduated with a BSW from Liberty University and is currently working toward her MSW from Campbellsville University. During her undergraduate degree, she interned with Amazing Grace and was eager to continue her work with the agency. Her passion for adoption came early on in life as she is an adoptee herself. She is married and has one precious child.
jessica@agadoptions.org
Jennifer Holladay
Adoption Social Worker
Jennifer is a social worker who has a BSW as well as a Master’s Degree as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Pfeiffer University. She has been working in the foster and adoption field since 1995. Jennifer and her husband have been happily married since 1996 and have 3 children. Jennifer has been one of our home study social workers for more than ten years and works with families in the surrounding Charlotte area.
jennifer@agadoptions.org
Amanda Tovey, BSW
Adoption Social Worker
Amanda graduated with her BSW from Cedarville University in 2000 and has worked in the areas of foster care and adoption intermittently since that time. She has over 15 years of experience in various case work roles in several areas of the U.S. She has been happily married to her husband since 2001 and together they have 5 children, the youngest of whom they adopted as a toddler from Russia.
amanda@agadoptions.org
Meagan Krings, MSW
Adoptive Family Coordinator
Meagan graduated with both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work from North Carolina State University.
meagan@agadoptions.org