Success Coach Services Program

NCDHHS provides post-permanency support services across all 100 counties that are available to families who have achieved permanency through reunification, guardianship, legal custody or adoption. The Success Coach Services Model aims to empower families by providing tailored support to achieve stability and positive outcomes in their lives.

Please take a moment to hear from families who have experienced the positive impacts of participating in the Success Coach Program: Success Coach: Helping Families Win

The Success Coach Services Model is a voluntary, in-home support that is offered at no cost. The service is family driven, with the Success Coach actively partnering with families to address their identified needs through personalized assessments. Services can be utilized continuously for up to two years while achieving your family’s self-identified goals. Your Success Coach will develop services based on the assessed needs of your family. The Success Coach can assist your family with an array of services, such as:

  • Parenting strategies, skill building and reinforcement
  • Crisis intervention, prevention and management, 24/7 crisis support
  • Advocacy
  • Ongoing emotional support for families
  • Support for special school needs
  • Service coordination
  • Identifying and connecting with community resources
  • Education and training

Your family can reach out for services at any point after reunification, guardianship, legal custody or adoption. Success Coach can be accessed as many times as a family may need throughout their journey. Access the Success Coach Model Referral form. 

Regional Providers of Success Coach Model Services

To supplement services that are provided by local Departments of Social Services, the North Carolina Division of Social Services has contracted with the following agencies to provide Success Coach services to families who have achieved permanency through reunification, guardianship, custody, or adoption. 

For more information on each provider of Success Coach, please visit:
Catawba County DSS 
Children’s Home Society of NC
Boys and Girls Home of NC  

Region 1: Children’s Home Society (Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Swain, Macon, Haywood, Jackson, Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Polk)
Email: Successcoach1@chsnc.org    
Phone: 336-369-3810

Region 2: Catawba County Social Services (Rutherford, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Iredell, Alexander, Catawba, Burke, McDowell, Wilkes, Caldwell, Avery, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany) 
Email: lmitchell@catawbacountync.gov 

Region 3: Children’s Home Society (Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Caswell, Person, Yadkin, Forsyth, Guildford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Chatham, Randolph, Davidson, Davie) 
Email: Successcoach1@chsnc.org     
Phone: 336-369-3810

Region 4: Children’s Home Society (Rowan, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Union, Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Moore, Lee, Harnett, Hoke, Scotland, Robeson) 
Email: Successcoach1@chsnc.org     
Phone: 336-369-3810

Region 5: Children’s Home Society (Granville, Vance, Warren, Halifax, Northampton, Franklin, Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Pitt, Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Green) 
Email: Successcoach1@chsnc.org     
Phone: 336-369-3810

Region 6: Boys and Girls Homes (Columbus, Brunswick, New Hanover, Bladen, Pender, Cumberland, Sampson, Duplin, Onslow, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, Pamlico, and Carteret) 
Email: rebecca.larner@bghnc.org 

Region 7: Children’s Home Society (Hartford, Gates, Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Bertie, Martin, Washington, Tyrell, Dare, Hyde, Beaufort) 
Email: Successcoach1@chsnc.org     
Phone: 336-369-3810

Adoption Assistance 

Adoption Assistance eligibility in North Carolina is limited to a few special conditions, as it was primarily created to keep children with special needs from lingering in the foster care system.  

To qualify, the child must meet one of the following criteria:

  • At the time of the initiation of the adoption proceedings, the child must be in the custody of a public or private child placing agency as a result of either a judicial determination that it was contrary to the welfare of the child to remain in the home or a voluntary placement agreement (VPA) or a voluntary relinquishment; OR
  • The child was previously in the custody of an NC DSS agency for the purpose of foster care; OR
  • The child meets the eligibility criteria to receive SSI (based on their disability); OR
  • The child was previously adopted and determined eligible for title IV-E adoption assistance and is available for adoption because the prior adoption has been dissolved or the child’s adoptive parents have died; OR the child exited foster care through Guardianship, received Guardianship Assistance Payments (GAP) and is now being adopted.

*The child must also be a US Citizen or Qualified Alien.
**American Indian children recognized by a Tribe, will generally be determined by that Tribe, not DSS.

All adoptions finalized in NC, except for stepparent and foreign adoption, are eligible for non-recurring costs up to $2,000.00 per child/ per adoption. Once the adoption has been finalized, you would submit your receipts, a copy of your fingerprint clearance letter and Responsible Individuals List (RIL) background checks (DSS-5268 form) for each applicant to your local DSS County agency (ask for Adoptions/ Eligibility Worker).  Any reasonable costs associated with the process of adoption, such as attorney fees, filing fees, etc., can be reimbursed up to the capped amount.  

For private adoptions (via private agency or attorney), please reach out to the NC Department of Social Services in the NC county you currently reside in to inquire if the child you are adopting may qualify.

Parents who receive adoption assistance or Guardianship Assistance Payments (GAP) please contact the NC DSS County that oversees your benefits for any letters of verification, or changes, such as address, payee or other.

For additional questions, please inquire at adoptionservices@dhhs.nc.gov.  

Additional Resources

FosteringNC.org: Online training, webinars and resources for adoptive and foster parents.
Center for Adoption Support and Education
Adoption Tax Credit Information
We Are Families Rising
Foster Family Alliance of NC
Bridging Families
Homebuilders
Kinnect
DHHS Kinship/Relative Care

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