The child welfare system in the United States was created to protect children from abuse and neglect.
In the 1800s, “child-saving” efforts were voluntary and consisted mainly of orphanages and almshouses, also known as poor houses, that housed children and impoverished adults.
The North Carolina Constitution of 1868 established, for the first time, a role for state government with respect to social services that the “beneficent provision for the poor, the unfortunate and orphan[s] being one of the first duties of a civilized and a Christian state, the General Assembly shall, at its first session, appoint and define the duties of a Board of Public Charities, to whom shall be entrusted the supervision of all charitable and penal State institutions…”
The federal government established and funded Child Protective Services in 1962, and North Carolina began participating in the provision of state foster care in 1969. The primary goal was to ensure children’s safety and well-being by protecting children from abuse and neglect, intervening when necessary to remove children from dangerous situations and working with families to address problems contributing to abuse or neglect.
As legislators, we are responsible to our youngest North Carolinians, who are the future of our great state. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure that the 16,245 children and youth in foster care receive care and support so that they can have a bright future.
We have entrusted the child welfare work in North Carolina to the 100 counties who each operate local Departments of Social Services (DSS). These departments are supervised by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and follow a policy directive to strengthen and preserve families whenever possible; but when a child can no longer safely remain with their family, the state must assure that the quality of substitute care is as close as possible to the care and nurturing that society expects of a family.
We recognize that many hard-working individuals serve in our county DSS agencies, and they do extraordinary work every day to support children and families. But we also have concerns about the consistency in how care is provided, impacting the overall effectiveness of the N.C. child welfare system.
There have been numerous news reports of egregious examples of children being harmed or killed by their parents; we’ve lost over 1,000 foster families in the last five years; children are sleeping in DSS offices or are stuck in hospital emergency rooms waiting for mental health treatment, and children are languishing in foster care for years waiting for a place to call home.
Recently a class action lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging a series of issues within N.C.’s foster care system. The lawsuit alleges that the child welfare system has been operating in a state of crisis for years and includes allegations that:
- Workload standards aren’t being enforced, resulting in child welfare workers unable to provide the support that vulnerable children and parents need.
- Children in foster care do not have access to adequate and timely mental health services
- Children are institutionalized at twice the national average
- N.C. has failed to protect children and youth in foster care from physical, psychological, and emotional harm.
- N.C. fails to meet permanency standards, leaving children in foster care too long.
We must recognize that a failure to protect the safety and well-being of children is a failure of the state. We must continue to improve and strengthen the child welfare system and the people who are working on the ground supporting children every day. Our children and youth in foster care have already suffered from abuse or neglect that led to their entry into the system, and we must do everything possible to ensure that no other harm comes to them under our protection. The buck stops here.
In an effort to move forward solutions to strengthen N.C.’s child welfare system, we have worked with experts, both inside and outside the foster care system, to write House Bill 612, the “Fostering Care in NC Act.”
We realize this singular bill will not fix all the problems, but it is an important step in what should be only the beginning of a commitment to change N.C.’s child welfare system into a shining example of how a legislative body can take action to support the well-being and success of our most precious assets, our children.
Rep. Allen Chesser represents N.C. House District 25 in the General Assembly.
