Focus: State guidelines govern DSS Child Services

Courier-Tribune - 10/8/2017

Oct. 07--EDITOR'S NOTE -- A high-profile case recently raised questions about how it was handled by the Randolph County Department of Social Services. So what does DSS do exactly when there's fear for a child's safety? Here's a look at the process, the goals in each case, how possible outcomes are determined and even what some of the DSS employees have to say about their work.

ASHEBORO -- After a 5-year-old girl was found locked in a closet last month, criticism was directed at the Randolph County Department of Social Services for returning the child from foster care back to her biological home.

That begs some questions: What can DSS do, under the law? What is DSS required to do? What is DSS not allowed to do?

To be clear from the beginning, DSS cannot comment on specific cases.

"We are bound by very strict confidentiality laws and prohibited from saying anything about a case, whether it's an active case or not," said Beth Duncan, director of the Randolph County Department of Social Services.

So, when it comes to addressing criticism from the public, DSS is very limited in responding. "Just because someone else breeched confidentiality, I can't breech confidentiality," Duncan said. She likened it to being in a boxing match but not being allowed to fight back.

Without discussing individual cases, she and her assistant director and business officer, Richard Park, sat down to talk about the steps that are in place to deal with child welfare.

Guiding principles

Duncan showed excerpts from a thick volume titled "N.C. Family and Related Laws Annotated," under a subchapter on Abuse, Neglect, Dependency. She had underlined the following, which she said were DSS's guiding principles:

* "To provide for services for the protection of juveniles by means that respect both the right to family autonomy and the juveniles' needs for safety, continuity, and permanence.

* "To provide standards for the removal, when necessary, of juveniles from their homes and for the return of juveniles to their homes consistent with preventing the unnecessary or inappropriate separation of juveniles from their parents.

* "To provide standards, consistent with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, for ensuring that the best interests of the juvenile are of paramount consideration by the court and that when it is not in the juvenile's best interest to be returned home, the juvenile will be placed in a safe, permanent home within a reasonable amount of time."

"The biggest thing is to find what the child needs, to be placed in the right situation," Duncan said. "We want to strike a balance between the parents' rights and the safety of the child. But safety is paramount."

Mandatory reporting

Park explained that when an allegation of child abuse or neglect is reported, an intake worker receives the information for evaluation according to legal standards. Any decision is made after a two-person review of the information. The decision could be to send out a social worker immediately, to respond after 24 hours or within 72 hours.

"An allegation may be screened out," Park said, "because it doesn't meet the requirements for a response."

Reports often come from law enforcement or medical facilities, he said. But often the report comes from a citizen.

That brings up mandatory reporting laws in North Carolina. According to Melissa Livesay, a Randolph County DSS attorney who is a nationally-certified child welfare specialist, "In North Carolina, everyone is a mandatory reporter." She said physicians and teachers are often the ones reporting abuse, "but everyone who believes a child is maltreated" is required to report the case to authorities.

There are confidentiality laws to protect those reporting child abuse, Livesay said. "We must keep those persons confidential to encourage reporting," she said. That includes "what they've seen that's relevant. We don't want to discourage calling. Let us determine what's relevant."

In other words, the reporter should tell everything observed or heard. DSS staff will weed out what isn't considered pertinent to the case.

If you know of any situations involving possible child abuse or negligence, call the Child Abuse Hotline at 336-683-8200; after hours, dial 911.

Steps to follow

Randolph County DSS receives about 2,200 calls a year, according to Park. After screening, about 1,160 may be investigated. Of those, as many as 90 percent are determined to be unsubstantiated because there is not enough evidence to show abuse or neglect.

Of the resulting 200, DSS will file custody petitions on about 100. DSS will work with the families of the others to maintain child safety in the home.

When a report is found to be serious, a social worker will go on-site to determine if the child is safe or needs to be moved to a safe situation. The social worker can work with the family to place the child in a safe place, and prepare a safety plan.

For an emergency custody situation, the social worker will work with attorneys to file a petition with a judge for authorization to remove the child immediately. The judge can authorize or decline the petition. That gives DSS non-secure custody, or temporary custody not secured by permanent court action.

Within seven days, DSS presents the case to court, normally on Wednesdays, to prepare for adjudication. That's when the court decides if the child has been abused or neglected. It's not a trial to determine who did what.

Court has final say

"It's a serious thing when a parent can't have custody of a child," Livesay said. "We have to go through a judge for the court system to check us.

"The public sometimes thinks we can take a child," Livesay said. But it hinges on what the judge decides.

"He listens, compares the case to the standards of law and the child's safety, and can say we have not met the burden, or to present more evidence," Livesay said.

With the court's approval, DSS can take temporary custody until the case is adjudicated. That's when the parents, with legal counsel, present their side. The court oversees the child's plan for the future.

If crimes have been committed, it's up to a criminal court to determine any penalties. DSS may be asked to testify in criminal or civil cases.

"The legal standard to remove custody is high," Livesay said. The judge must look at the parents and home life, but primarily what is best for the child.

If a third party is involved in a custody dispute, the judge can give custody to them.

Depending on the case, DSS can work with the family to improve conditions at home. Unsafe conditions can be the result of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, lack of employment or stable housing, or untreated or undiagnosed mental health problems, according to Park.

"Occasionally, the problem is a low-functioning family where there is a lack of capability of the parents to learn to be parents," he said.

"A lot depends on the parents and family," Livesay said. "We try to give them every opportunity to make changes. They're overseen by the courts and the judge evaluates if the corrections are enough. The law encourages us to work with parents to correct the problems."

Outcomes

If conditions in the family successfully improve, Park said, the family will be reunited. If not, DSS can file a petition for termination of parental rights. That can result in another trial if factors are substantial enough to remove the parents' rights.

A child removed from the birth family will be placed in foster care and can be freed for adoption.

"We work closely with foster parents, who are our surrogates for that child," Park said. "They're given lots of training, background checks and scrutiny. Some foster parents want to adopt."

Children with special needs may be placed in a residential treatment facility.

There are 41 foster families currently in Randolph County, according to Park, with 111 children in their care, at last report. But the number is fluid, Duncan said, with a child coming out, going in or moving to adoption.

Park said there currently are 14 children available for adoption. During the past year, 21 children were adopted.

DSS provided the following information concerning steps that are taken and possible outcomes:

Steps to follow:

1. Case Closed: The allegations in the report are not (or cannot) be substantiated and no other safety factors were identified.

2. In-Home Services: The family is found in need of services and is referred to In-Home Services. In-Home Services are just that ... DSS works with the family by way of an In-Home Services Plan for the child to remain in the home. The child (or children) may be placed in a temporary safety resource during a portion of this time. Temporary Safety Resource is a person selected by the parents and agreed to by DSS (an agreement) for the child or children to stay with while the parent or parents work to eliminate the situation that caused the child to be in an unsafe environment. Custody remains with the parents during this process and no court involvement at this time will be required unless the situation deteriorates.

3. DSS Custody: If the child cannot be safely maintained in the home or with a temporary safety resource and In-Home Services, DSS will file a petition and ask the court for temporary custody of the child. This is when DSS and the courts begin the journey of working for the best interest of the child ... and where the four Possible Outcomes listed below come into play.

Possible outcomes

Under "Possible Outcomes," there are currently 36 children in Randolph County DSS that are available for adoption. Also under "Possible Outcomes," there are basically four possible outcomes when a child enters foster care:

1. Reunited with their family.

2. Custody or guardianship arrangement (most of the time with relatives).

3. Adoption.

4. Becoming independent adults (sometimes called "aging out").

During the 12-month period DSS counted, there was a total of 53 children who exited the Foster Care system in Randolph County. That's why the number is fluid ... entries and exits happening all the time.

Over the past year in Randolph County, 62 children entered foster care, but 53 exited to a safe and caring home:

1. Fifteen children were reunited with their families.

2. Thirteen achieved safe and caring permanence through a custody or guardianship arrangement, most of the time with relatives.

3. Nineteen adoptions were finalized.

4. Six children successfully entered adulthood.

Child Protective Services

There are about 50 DSS staff members involved in child welfare, according to Park. That includes investigators, in-home service workers, foster care and adoption workers, and two staff attorneys.

"Randolph County has one of the lowest return to foster care, or reentry, rates," Park said. In other words, once a child is returned to the birth family, chances are good the child will stay there because conditions are much better.

Here are some of those DSS staff members:

* Stacie Hazelwood, a CPS intake social worker, had just completed a call, taking "a report from a very scared reporter." She said the person was afraid of being discovered by parents of the child. Such calls require a steady calmness to reassure the person reporting possible child abuse.

* Laura Clegg, another intake worker, said it was "fulfilling to have a connection with people. They feel comfortable calling."

* Lisa Stern, a foster care supervisor, said, "I feel like this is what I was made to do. I get to work with a family on a more long-term basis. It's very satisfying. I like seeing positive outcomes.

"When families are successful, I feel like it was a good partnership to help them achieve their goals. When I see (clients) later, they say you made a difference. You helped so much to put my family back together.

"It's a motivating factor," Stern said. "You just know when you have a heart for helping people. You do it just because you want to help people."

* Another adoptions and foster care supervisor, Heather Thomas, said the biggest need is "more families willing to foster/adopt teenagers, families willing to adopt three or more siblings, families willing to work with special needs children."

A DSS veteran of 24 years in December, Thomas said she feels the most success "when children find a permanent home, to see how happy it makes the children and the family. To see a couple of older children get adopted lately was very satisfying."

* Trina Fraley, who has been an adoption social worker for 19 years, gave up a career in TV journalism to help children and families.

"I wanted to deal with people and news was a good way," she said of interning at Fox8 after college. But while waiting for a full-time opportunity to open up, she took a position with DSS.

"When I was offered a job in TV production, I couldn't do it, knowing I have brought families together," Fraley said.

* Dana Nance, an adoption social worker for 15 years, said she was adopted as an infant and has adopted two children of her own. "I can relate to them and that comes in handy," she said.

"There's a lot of good people who are social workers," Nance said. "They do a good job and it's hard work with long hours. We don't understand why things happen, but we do what we can to prevent it."

Asked how she manages job stress, Nance said, "I depend on my faith and I believe we're doing good things with families."

State looking to reform social services

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services sent the following press release on Sept. 29:

RALEIGH -- The N.C. Department of Health Human Services' Division of Social Services collaborated with the Office of State Budget and Management, which has released a request for proposal seeking a qualified vendor to conduct assessments of the state's current social services and child welfare programs and develop a comprehensive plan for reform. Proposals are due Nov. 16, and a contract will be in place by March 1, 2018.

The release of the request for proposal is the first step in a larger reform effort driven by legislation passed earlier this year. Ratified by the legislature and signed into law on June 21 by Gov. Roy Cooper, House Bill 630 set in motion a process of sweeping reforms to the state's social services system that currently serves more than 3 million children, families and vulnerable adults. The legislation directs DHHS to submit a plan to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services by Nov. 15, 2018, that establishes regional offices charged with supervision of the administration of social services at the local level.

"We are ready and eager to work with the General Assembly and our state and community partners on this reform effort," said Susan Perry-Manning, deputy secretary for Human Services. "We see the efforts driven by this legislation as part of a broader set of strategies we are undertaking to make meaningful improvements in client-centered service delivery, accountability and transparency -- and ultimately to improve the health, safety, self-sufficiency and well-being of North Carolinians."

Goals of the reform include:

* Developing a child welfare reform plan that improves child protective services, preventive and in-home services for struggling families, child fatality oversight, placement of children in foster care, reunification and permanency services, assistance for older youth in foster care or those who aged out and strategies to ensure a well-trained and adequately compensated staff.

* Improving outcomes for children and families.

* Enhancing state supervision of local social services offices.

* Improving accountability for outcomes at the local, regional and state levels.

* Creation of a Social Services System Transparency and Wellness Dashboard, which uses data from NC FAST to create a report that ensures funds are being effectively used through accountability and transparency.

* Developing a plan for consistent, standardized continuous quality improvement for social services at the state, regional and county levels.

* Review of policies and procedures that support and accelerate system reform, focusing on sustainable change that improves outcomes for children and families.

* Ongoing evaluation and oversight of the department's implementation of social services system reform.

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