Archive

• Season Two of Beyond the Bench, “Homelessness, Neglect, and Child Welfare in North Carolina,” Launches This Week!

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on October 31, 2016 at 2:00 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  Beyond the Bench

  For those of you who aren’t in the know, earlier this year the School of Government’s Judicial College started a podcast, Beyond the Bench. A podcast is essentially a radio show that you can get on the internet, so you can listen any time you want.  “Beyond the Bench” is about the North Carolina court system and features interviews with interesting people who work in the courts. Our first season was hosted by my colleague, Jeff Welty, and focused on criminal law.

  Season Two: Homelessness, Neglect, and Child Welfare in North Carolina

  I am the host of Season Two, which focuses on neglect and the child welfare system with a particular emphasis on homelessness. Through six episodes, you will hear about family homelessness in North Carolina, whether homelessness is neglect and requires a report to a county child welfare (or social services) department under North Carolina’s mandated reporting laws, and the different stages of a child welfare case. Each episode discusses a different stage in a child welfare case and includes the various voices and perspectives of the people involved. Those voices include homeless shelter staff, county department social workers and attorney, the children’s guardian ad litem, a parent attorney, and district court judges.  Continue Reading

• School Stability for Children in Foster Care

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on September 21, 2016 at 8:00 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  *Since this post was originally published, NC DHHS Division of Social Services has enacted a policy to address the issue of educational stability for children in foster care, which you can access here (see section XIII).

  It’s September, which means that children have gone back to school. When the school year starts, most children know which school they are attending. But, a child who has been removed from his home and placed in foster care may not know which school he will be going to. Is it the old school? Is it a new school where the placement is located?  If a child experiences multiple placements, does the child change schools each time the placement is in a different school district? Changing schools impacts children. That impact may be even more significant when a child is also experiencing a change in both her home environment and caretaker. As of December 12, 2016, a new federal education law goes into effect that prioritizes educational stability for children in foster care. But educational stability for a child in foster care is something that can be addressed now.

  Continue Reading

• 2016 Legislative Changes Impacting Child Welfare

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on July 20, 2016 at 5:45 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  *This post was updated on August 1, 2016 to reflect the Session Law for H424.

  The 2016 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2016-94) addresses more than the State’s budget. Section 12.C makes substantive changes to the General Statutes in Chapter 7B that govern abuse, neglect, or dependency proceedings. The statutory amendments became effective on July 1st. In addition, S.L. 2016-115 (H424), creates a new criminal statute, “The Unlawful Transfer of Custody of a Minor Child,” and is effective for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2016. The law also amends the definition of a neglected juvenile in G.S. Chapter 7B.  Continue Reading

• Administrative Inspection Warrants in Adult Protective Services Cases

  This entry was contributed by Meredith Smith on June 29, 2016 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Guardianship.

  The county department of social services (DSS) receives a report that a 65-year old woman, Mary, was injured by a family member who repeatedly hit her during a dispute that took place at Mary’s home.   Mary lives with her adult daughter, Patricia, and son-in-law, Frank.  The report includes a statement that Mary has been recently diagnosed with dementia and has not left the house in more than a month.  After finding the necessary allegations to screen the report in as an adult protective services (APS) report, the case is assigned to an APS caseworker who commences an evaluation to investigate the report further and determine whether Mary is a disabled adult subject to abuse, neglect, or exploitation and in need of protective services.  See G.S. 108A-103.

  When the caseworker goes to visit Mary as part of the evaluation, Frank refuses to allow her in the home.  The caseworker returns multiple times and each time is denied entry and access to Mary.  The caseworker determines that it is not possible to complete the evaluation without meeting with Mary.  Is there anything that she can do to gain access to the home and thus to Mary? Continue Reading

• New Book! Fathers and Paternity: Applying the Law in North Carolina Child Welfare Cases

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on June 17, 2016 at 5:00 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  This Sunday is Father’s Day, a day that celebrates fathers. It’s the perfect time to announce my new book, Fathers and Paternity: Applying the Law in North Carolina Child Welfare Cases. The book recognizes the role of fathers in abuse, neglect, or dependency cases.  Put simply, they have a role. Fathers are necessary parties to the court proceeding. See G.S. 7B-401.1(b). Fathers impact a child’s placement, visitation, and permanent plan.

  Unfortunately, every child does not have a father who has been identified by a marital presumption, acknowledgment, or judicial determination of paternity. Even when a father has been identified, his paternity has not necessarily been established, which allows for it to be challenged. The uncertainty in knowing who a child’s father may or may not be has resulted in cases where no father is named or the wrong man is named as a respondent father in the court action.  Continue Reading

• Children in DSS Custody Who Need Treatment in a PRTF: There’s a Disconnect

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on June 1, 2016 at 5:00 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  I recently finished a 2-day course for district court judges that focused on children with significant mental health needs. There were lots of questions about the admission and discharge process for a child who is in a county department’s (DSS) custody and who needs treatment in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF). It’s complicated because there are two separate but simultaneously occurring court actions:

  1. the abuse, neglect, or dependency (A/N/D) action that addresses a child’s custody, placement, and services; and
  2. the judicial review of a child’s voluntary admission to a secure psychiatric treatment facility that was made with the consent of the child’s legally responsible person.

  The two actions involve different parties, courts, purposes, and laws, and they are often not coordinated even though they directly impact each other. Continue Reading

• When Parental Discipline Goes Too Far, It’s Child Abuse

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on May 25, 2016 at 5:34 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  Before On the Civil Side existed, the story about NFL running back, Adrian Peterson, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge for disciplining his 4-year old son with a switch was national news. I wrote about what I thought would happen to him here in NC for our Criminal Law Blog: Parental Discipline: When Is It Abuse and/or a Crime? Since I wrote that post, the NC Court of Appeals published its first opinions interpreting the definition of abuse as applied to a child protective case that says:

  a child is abused when his or her parent, guardian, custodian, or caretaker uses or allows to be used cruel or grossly inappropriate procedures or devices to modify the child’s behavior.

  G.S. 7B-101(1)c.

  In other words, a child is abused when parental discipline goes too far.  How does a court determine whether a parent has gone too far? Continue Reading

• What Is the Responsible Individuals List and Why Is Someone on It?

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on April 27, 2016 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  With April recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, it seemed fitting to write about North Carolina’s Responsible Individuals List (RIL). If you’re thinking “I’m a responsible person; I should be on that list,” you should know what makes a person a “responsible individual” for purposes of placement on the RIL. The definition is somewhat counterintuitive; a “responsible individual” is a parent, guardian, custodian or caretaker who has abused or seriously neglected a child. G.S. 7B-101(18a). If you are identified as a “responsible individual,” your name will be added to the statewide RIL, which is maintained by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. G.S. 7B-311(b). Continue Reading

• The Guardian of Last Resort

  This entry was contributed by Meredith Smith on February 3, 2016 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Guardianship.

  After receiving a report and finding a need for protective services, the county department of social services (DSS) requests the DSS attorney file a petition with the court to adjudicate Jane Doe an incompetent adult under G.S Chapter 35A.  The matter is heard by the clerk of superior court.  DSS, as the petitioner, has the burden of proof.  Through the presentation of testimony and other evidence at the hearing, including a multidisciplinary evaluation ordered by the clerk and prepared by DSS, the clerk determines that there is clear, cogent and convincing evidence that Jane is incompetent and that her best interests will be served by appointing DSS as her guardian of the person. Continue Reading

• Children in Foster Care and Sex Trafficking: New NC Policy to Know About

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on January 29, 2016 at 6:36 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  

  For the last 15 years, there has been an increased awareness of human trafficking in the U.S. That awareness has resulted in various federal and state laws seeking both to prevent human trafficking and protect the victims of human trafficking.  See Trafficking Victims and Protection Act of 2000, 22 U.S.A. Chapter 78 (reauthorized in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013).  Today’s post recognizes that January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and discusses recent federal laws and accompanying state policy that focus on identifying and providing services to children who are in foster care and are victims of sex trafficking. Continue Reading