NC lawmakers send sweeping foster care reforms to governor

North Carolina lawmakers approved sweeping foster-care reforms Wednesday, sending a comprehensive bipartisan bill to Gov. Josh Stein.

House Bill 612, which sponsors call the Fostering Care in NC Act, would give the state more power to hold county-run social services departments accountable. House lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously approved changes proposed by the Senate, the last approval needed before heading to the governor. Stein can approve the measure, veto it, or let it become law without signing it.

North Carolina’s foster care system is a state-supervised, county-administered system, which means 100 counties are running their own child welfare programs. The state can only intervene after a serious incident or tragedy. Bill sponsors, including Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, have said the state needs more oversight of those departments.

The bill would give the state Department of Health and Human Services more authority to review records and enforce rules within local social services departments. It also aims to tighten procedures and deadlines for investigating reports of abuse and neglect. To reduce bias, the bill would create rules for identifying and handling conflicts of interest involving social services, employees or their relatives.

The bill also clarifies rules for how children are placed in nonsecure custody. And it strengthens visitation requirements by requiring supervised visits before a child is returned to a parent or guardian.

The legislation comes after a WRAL documentary — "Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina" — exposed gaps in the state’s foster care system.

The state Department of Health and Human Services recently took control of Vance County’s DSS after repeated failures, including improper screening in nearly a third of cases.

A similar bill failed to advance in the legislature last year after critics said the proposal was too broad.

Also on Wednesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced the official launch of Path NC. It is a statewide digital system for social workers to track foster children as they are relocated.