North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein recently passed a bill that improves protections for children within the state's foster care system.
House Bill 612, also known as the Fostering Care in NC Act, will put all 100 counties across the state under the same rules set by the State Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS).
North Carolina Bill for Foster Care Children
A director with the state department, Lisa Cauley, said that North Carolina is state-supervised and county-administered. This means that across the region, there are one hundred county departments of social services that provide essential services to citizens.
She added that there should be some way that officials can ensure all the services are consistent and aligned with law and policy. This is one of the many factors that pushed authorities to sign the bill into law.
Now, the state will start to tighten the deadlines for county officials to investigate reports of abuse within the foster care system. The bill notes that when county directors receive such reports, or those involving neglect, they are required to make a prompt assessment to determine if protective services must be called, according to WECT.
The assessment could also include visiting the home or residence in person or coordinating with law enforcement personnel to investigate the report. If there is a case of reported abuse, the county director is required to start a review within 24 hours. House Bill 612 notes that if a report alleges neglect, the review must begin within 72 hours.
Improving Protections for Kids Within the System
The bill also notes that the director shall, within five working days after completion of the protective services assessment, give subsequent written notice to the person making the report of whether there is a finding of abuse, neglect, or dependency, and other information.
Rep. Allen Chesser said that the bill is a "long time coming," adding that he believes it is one of the most bipartisan issues they have right now. When lawmakers discussed House Bill 612 on Wednesday, Senate committee members heard concerns from a lawyer and adoptive parents that it could discourage infant adoptions, NC Newsline reported.
There is also a section of House Bill 612 that requires the conduct of criminal history record checks for applications to jobs in local and municipal government that involve working with children. This provision makes job offers contingent on receipt of the record checks.
Chesser's office said in a news release that the bill was not designed to "punish or target 'bad parents' but instead to prioritize creating clear, effective procedures that achieve permanency for children," as per The News & Observer.
