Children's Services Questions & Answers

Screening Q & A

Q. Who should report that a child is being mistreated?
A. North Carolina has a mandatory reporting law, N.C.G.S. 7B-301 that states "Any person or institution who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected or dependent or has died as the result of maltreatment, shall report the case of that juvenile to the director of the department of social services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found."  It does not require that the reporter possess any information beyond a cause to suspect abuse or neglect.

Q. Will a person who makes a report remain anonymous?
A. The law directs county departments of social services to hold "in strictest confidence" the information that they receive in reports. The reporter's identity may not remain protected if the disclosure is necessary to carry out the agency's responsibilities or the information provided must be presented in court.

Q. What children are covered?
A. A juvenile is someone under the age of eighteen who is not married, emancipated, or in the armed services.

Accepting a Report Q & A

Q. What does dependency mean?
A. A juvenile is dependent if he or she needs assistance or placement because either the child has no parent, guardian, or custodian responsible for his or her care or supervision or the child's parent, guardian, or custodian is not able to provide for the child's care or supervision because of physical or mental incapacity and the absence of an appropriate alternate arrangement.

Q. What is the purpose of an investigation?
A. The purpose of the investigation or family assessment is to determine the extent of any abuse or neglect, the risk of harm to the child, whether the child and family need protective services, what services would be most helpful, and whether a petition should be filed to take a matter to court.

Q. How quickly will this process start after a report is made?
A. If a report is accepted for investigation the social services staff is required to make a prompt response. If the report alleges abuse, the investigation must start within 24 hours. If the report alleges neglect or dependency the investigation must start within 72 hours. Other factors including imminent danger and age of the child are also considered when determining response time.

Q. What takes place during a family assessment?
A. The social worker shall initiate face to face contact within 72 hours or sooner, depending on the determination of the prioritization of response.  The Family Assessment allows much latitude in how the assessments are conducted.  Interviews with the children and parents are conducted in the sequence least likely to present further risk to the alleged victim.  Professional service providers and agencies involved with the family are given an opportunity to share any concerns they may have about the family.  Non professional collateral sources will also be contacted.  Once the information has been collected, a shared decision will be made by the social worker and staffing team composed of other members of the Children's Services Unit.  The decision will be based on the specific caretaker behavior that resulted in harm to the child or created a need for services or clarify the absence of risk of harm.  This decision will be made within 45 days unless there is a rationale to extend the time period.

Q.  What are the possible findings of a family assessment?

A.  Services Needed - When the safety issues and future risk of harm is so great that the agency must provide involuntary services to ensure the safety of the child.  When this finding is recommended, the case will be referred for In Home Family Services and a social worker will begin working with the family to resolve the issues that are of concern.

Services Recommended - This finding will be made if the safety of the child and risk of harm to the child is not an issue,  the family can elect to participate in voluntary services, to include Preventative Services.

Services Provided - This finding is made when the provision of services during the assessment has mitigated the risk to a level where services are no longer needed.

Services Not Recommended - When the safety of the child is not an issue, there is no concern for the future risk of harm to the child and the family also has no need for voluntary services, this finding will be made.

Q.  What takes place during an Investigative Assessment?

A.  An investigative assessment is begun when any report of abuse, abandonment or serious neglect is made.  Normally, the victim child will be seen first, followed by other children living in the home, the non-perpetrating parent/caretaker or both parents/caretaker depending on the nature of the report.  Coordination between law enforcement and the district attorney's office may occur depending on the nature of the report.  Collaterals to include medical personnel if applicable will also be interviewed. 

Adoption Q & A

Q. Does the Department of Social Services have children to adopt?
A. Typically the children who are available for adoption through a Department of Social Services are considered special needs children   They often have behavioral or emotional issues due to neglect or abuse in their biological home.  They are generally between the ages of 8-18 or are part of a sibling group.

Q. How do you find out who the children are that are available for adoption?
A. The NC Division of Social Services maintains an online registry of all NC children waiting for an adoptive home.  You can visit their website to learn more about these children.

Q. Is there special training for being an adoptive parent?
A. Persons wanting to adopt a child from the Foster Care System MUST attend 30 hours of training offered by the Department of Social Services in the county in which they reside.  Contact your local agency to learn when the next training is offered.

Q. Is there financial assistance available if I adopt a special needs child?
A. The agency provides adoption assistance for all agency children with a documented need.

Foster Care Q & A

Q. What is Foster Care?
A. Foster care is the Child Welfare service which provides substitute care for a planned period for a child when his own family or legal custodian cannot care for him or her for a temporary or extended period, or when an adoption is not possible or desirable.

Foster care is not a final solution to the problem, but a temporary plan to provide the child with consistent care by substitute parents until his own parents can be helped to assume greater responsibilities, or to reach a decision to free the child.

Q. How do I become a foster parent?
A. You start by contacting the Department of Social Services in the county in which you reside. By law, the North Carolina Department of Human Resources is the public institution which is given the power to license and supervise foster homes. The Department of Social Services will meet with perspective foster parents to identify and assess their interest and ability to meet the requirements for licensure and to provide services to the ages of children most in need.  Training consisting of 30 hours is then required for those continuing in the process.  In addition, fingerprinting and background checks are required, as well as other requirements pertaining to the home and health of the members of the family.  Once these requirements are met, then the Department of Social Services prepares the report and recommendation to the State who will then issue the foster home license.

Q. How long does it take to become licensed?
A. Beginning with the initial meeting and then the training and other activities that follow, it generally takes approximately 90-120 days to become licensed.

Q. How old must I be to become a foster parent?
A. All foster parents must be between 21 and 65 years of age at the time of licensing.

Q. Do I have to have been married for a certain length of time?
A. Foster parents must have been married for a minimum of one year before a foster home license can be issued.

Q. Are there any educational requirements?
A. You must have a high school diploma or equivalent (i.e. G.E.D.)

Q. Can a working wife become a foster parent?
A. Foster mothers may be employed if suitable child care can be arranged and if the work does not interfere with providing family life and meeting the other needs of the child.

Q. Where do the children come from?
A. Most of the children who have been entering foster care recently have been neglected or abused at home. Neglect and abuse can occur in any segment of the population. The majority of children entering foster care do not come from the segment of the population which receives public assistance.

Q. Would I have to have a lot of money to become a foster parent?
A. We have no requirement on the foster families' income except that they have a stable income sufficient to maintain their own family without supplement of the board payments. Foster parents do not make money from the board payments that we pay. Therefore, we must be satisfied that the additional child or children that are placed in the home will not be a cause of financial problems to the foster parent.

Q. How many children would I get?
A. The number of children that a foster home is licensed for depends upon the number of children that the foster parents feel they can work with and the sleeping space available in the home. By law, a foster family cannot have more than five foster children in a family foster home at any one time. In addition, we have a requirement that there be not more than five children in a foster home at any given time. The five children include the foster parents' own children and any day care children who may be there. We also have some restrictions regarding sleeping space: For example, if a foster family has only girls and the foster child would have to share a bedroom with a natural child, then the family would be restricted in licensing "girls only." If, however, there was a bedroom that could be used for the foster care child alone, then the home could be licensed for both girls and boys.

Q. Would the biological parent know where the child was staying?
A. In most cases, no. Visits between the children and their parents take place either in our office or in the children's own home. However, children, particularly school age children, can very easily get in touch with their biological parents; they know the foster parents' names, addresses and telephone numbers. There is no way to prevent their giving out the information if they want their biological parents to know.

Q. What kind of child do you get?
A. We do not get normal, happy, well-adjusted children. Our children who enter foster care are usually doing so because they have been abused and neglected. Most of the children do not come from stable homes. Many of them have never had any time spent with them by the parents in order to help them develop their capabilities. Many of them will be troubled, and all of them will test the foster parents greatly in the beginning. These children need structure and love, and most also need the services of mental health therapists and/or developmental specialists.

Q.  What age are the children in foster care?

A.  Although the children who come into foster care range in age from newborn to age 18, the majority of the younger children are placed with relatives or with existing foster families who have expressed an interest in that age group.

We have a need for foster homes for children from age of 8 to 18 years.  At this time, our focus is to train and license foster parents with a desire to provide a temporary or permanent home to children of this age range.