GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Editor's note: The video above is from when the Division of Social Services received multiple violations regarding child protective cases.
Guilford County released the details of its Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to address findings from a recent North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (NCDSS) review of a December 2022 case involving child fatalities and subsequent review of child protection assessment and permanency planning files.
“We recognize the community has questions about how the County’s Child Welfare team is performing, and we are going to be transparent about our plan and our progress in implementing it because we are talking about the lives of families and children, and we want all members of our community, especially those families and children we serve, to know we take this very seriously,” Guilford County Assistant County Manager for Successful People and Director of Guilford County Health and Human Services Victor Isler said.
Guilford County filed the proposed action plan on June 15, 2023, and has created a page on the County’s website where the public can read the plan and track its implementation. The state will have up to 10 business days to review the proposed CAP and make adjustments. Updates to the CAP will be posted to the County’s website as will updates on the county’s progress in implementing the plan.
“We are committed to the protection of children and the preservation of families. This team will work with the community to address the social determinants of health, like poverty, and food and housing insecurity, to reduce and address child maltreatment in our community," Isler said.
Guilford County filed the proposed action plan on June 15, 2023, and has created a page on the County’s website where the public can read the plan and track its implementation. The state will have up to 10 business days to review the proposed CAP and make adjustments.
Updates to the CAP will be posted to the County’s website as will updates on the county’s progress in implementing the plan.
The CAP focuses on four critical areas:
- Enhancing the county’s Continuous Quality Improvement process
- Building staff capacity and enhancing staff training and development
- Implementing increased oversight, especially at critical decision points in cases
- Strengthening our Court Partnership planning efforts, to include
- Judicial oversight for moderate- to high-risk cases with in-home family agreements
- Increased court scheduling, and
- Implementing out-of-home family agreements with families within 30 days of custody
Next in the process, the County will review any additional recommendations from the state to the CAP and will continue forward with the implementation of the plan. The County will provide the first report on progress to the state, County Commissioners, and the public within 30 days of the final acceptance of the plan by the state and will provide updates throughout the implementation process.
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