Gov. Josh Stein signs foster care reform bill into law

Department of Health and Human Services uh and other legislators

Steve good to see you

Thank you for all of your work in getting this

legislation across the finish line uh for Senator Batch this

has been years in the making and I wanna thank

you for your leadership

Thank you Morgan

on that

A bill of this magnitude doesn't just happen

It's a lot of people of good faith coming together

working hard to try to do something right for the

children of North Carolina and I'm incredibly grateful to all

of you for what you have done

It protects the most vulnerable children and strengthens our child

welfare system

The team behind this bill took a long time to

look at some of the problems of our foster care

system and they came up with real solutions for how

we can do better by our children

So I'm proud to sign this bill and grateful for

the bipartisan leadership that got it across the finish line

Here are some of the ways that House Bill 612

will help our children

First it will help us protect kids in the child

welfare system from abuse and neglect

When counties need additional support for tech or technical assistance

DHHS can play a stronger role and make sure that

children across North Carolina are getting the attention and care

that they desperately need

Next it empowers a rapid response team from the Department

of Health and Human Services which will better support foster

youth who are receiving emergency mental health treatment

And when it is an appropriate option the bill will

help more children stay with their families

Parent reunification unfortunately isn't always possible with every child but

the chance to live with relatives can help children maintain

some form of stability in their lives

This bill will help relatives of those kids by offering

financial support and Medicaid to those children

I'm grateful for the progress that this bill represents in

protecting our children and I share all of your commitment

to building on this work and continuing to improve the

system because our children deserve nothing less

Many people have worked so hard to get this law

to where it is

I want to thank again Senator Batch for leading the

efforts Representative Alan Cheser for the bill's the bill's lead

sponsor uh Representative Alston Loftus and Bell who co-sponsored and

championed this bill in the House

Next I wanna thank our team at the Department of

Health and Human Services and to all the stakeholders and

advocates in this room for their tireless efforts to make

North Carolina's child welfare system work well for children

The bill is coming in coordination with DHHS's launch of

PathNC

PathNC is going to move our state's disjointed child welfare

databases towards a unified real-time system that they can access

so that it doesn't matter which county the child is

in the social worker will know what the child is

best best needs

Social workers will be able to use assessment tools manage

cases and access data from all 100 counties

These tools are our front line these are the tools

that our frontline staff need to better protect children and

to assist families

Finally I want to recognize that this bill passed unanimously

in both chambers

I want to thank the General Assembly for coming together

on a bipartisan basis to do what is right by

the children of North Carolina

I think that there's something that the people of North

Carolina are thrilled to see in these divided times

It's now my pleasure to bring forward Senator Batch Senator

Batch

Good morning everyone

Thank you Governor Stein for having us in the people's

house this morning and to sign two pieces of legislation

that are so important to our state

I'd like to start by saying the last 20 years

I've spent in the child welfare system oftentimes helping one

family at a time

And that's really important

I still do it today but when I was elected

in 2018 I decided that I needed to take the

skills that I've learned and the lessons we've learned over

the last 20 years and really put that to effort

so that we could actually change hundreds of thousands of

families instead of trying to save one family and one

child every single day in a broken and fractured court

system

And so this is a monumental bill and I can't

thank all of the individuals who have tirelessly worked on

multiple versions of this bill

I think Representative Chester we're probably at 39 by the

time we finally got this done but what that means

is that we actually care right You should bring the

stakeholders in at first

You should talk to all of the individuals who are

involved in the child welfare system

And they are the ones who actually get credit for

this

We are literally vessels to go ahead and promote legislation

but all of the individuals in the room which I

don't have enough time to call you all out you

mean so much to the families in North Carolina and

you've changed the trajectory of their lives

And so I want to thank each and every one

of you for that

I'd also like to thank Representative Chester

As Governor Stein said we are in divided political times

but this is not a political issue

We came together

He was absolutely wonderful in championing this work throughout the

house and working with all of our stakeholders to get

this done

And so when you think that we can't come together

Democrats and Republicans alike I want to remind you that

this is an example of how important the work is

and you can put politics aside so that we can

put families first

So thank you very much for being here

Thank you very much Governor Stein for having us and

I am so very very humbled and honored to be

a part of this and we can just start working

on the third version as soon as we're done

Well thank you guys

This has been a long time coming um not the

rain on WREL's parade but uh it's been in the

works for years

It predates my time in the General Assembly

Uh apparently the missing ingredient was some dumb redneck from

Nash County uh to to finally get it over the

hump

Um this is not a solo success as everyone has

said

This is a a true team effort

Um I was happy to champion this through the House

to work with the stakeholders to work with my colleagues

in the house to get a bipartisan vote a unanimous

vote

Um again if you start naming people you're gonna leave

people off but where's Representative Austin Uh right thank you

so much for being willing to stand next to me

on this issue and help me uh with with

Your colleagues on your side of the aisle um hopefully

it wasn't too hard of a sell but uh we

uh

I cannot tell you the blood sweat tears and love

that went into this the debates that we had for

all the right reasons behind closed doors

Um it's well worth it

Can't wait to see how it changes the lives of

the children that we affect but I could not do

it without

I can't carry a bill in the Senate

I don't know if you guys know that

Um they won't let me on the floor so without

Senator Jarvis Senator Gaily carrying the load on the Senate

side I would have never been able to to do

this on my own

It's a true team effort and a bipartisan effort

Um the sacrifice that Senator Batch made to make sure

she said these were divided times um and so you

guys will never know that publicly the sacrifices that she

made to make sure that this became law but thank

you

So thank you Governor and members of the General Assembly

I'm Lisa Tucker Cawley and I'm so delighted to be

here today

And like like Senator Batch I have 30 years working

in what Representative Chesler calls the industry

So this is a long awaited moment for us and

I have notes you're probably worried but I have notes

because we can't forget the journey

We can't forget what we've done and we really can't

forget the work that is before us

So

I want to walk you through what this means

With the signing of this bill we're taking steps for

a stronger child welfare system and we know that and

we know we need it

For too long our county administered state supervised system has

struggled with these things under

Funding workforce shortages and inconsistent practices

These challenges have left too many families without the support

they need too many children waiting for the right placements

and too many frontline workers without the tools they need

to succeed

This bill directly addresses those issues strengthens the state's ability

to both support and supervise local departments of social services

and it improves how we respond when counties need more

support

It promotes timely stable paths to permanency for children

We currently have too many children in foster care and

the reason is they wait too long and this bill

will change that

This field builds on the momentum already underway because this

journey has been a long one

The launch of our path NC system our regional support

model major investments in the behavioral health system and expanded

prevention services and kinship care services

We are grateful to the General Assembly for this bipartisan

support

And to all the partners that do this work state

partners county departments of social services community agencies they work

hard every day in this child serving system and are

glad to see this bill pass

Now I wanted to say this is just the beginning

DHHS has laid the foundation for a child welfare system

that is more responsive more consistent and more equipped to

meet the needs of children and families

The work ahead requires the same type of things to

happen again sustained effort shared responsibility and a continued focus

on children and families who are at the heart of

the matter

But today is really proof that that can happen

We can build a North Carolina where every child is

supported safe and given the opportunity to thrive

Thank you

If you all would come stand behind me and Senator

Jarvis please join us if you would

know what time Not

OK Uh this is

Because I made no errors

This is Mallow

OK We're gonna we're gonna do a round of photos

so speakers if y'all could jump on in front for

me and do one couple quick photos

Yes

All right and then we're gonna do um advocacy and

all

And my folks all my all my all my good

folks you can't be in a

I

Right

doppelganger

No one can make the argument

I

I know

Well

Thank you all

Yeah

Um we of course encourage folks to stay but if

there's anyone who wants to dip out uh after this

first bill please take the time to do that right

now

Alright give me one second to get out

here

Right

Steve see you man

That like Sharon how are you I'm not I'm

Thank you

All righty

All right

I'm gonna hand it back to the governor to start

our next bill

Thank you

Now uh we will visit House Bill 373

Pleased to be joined by Representatives Grant Campbell Representative Alan

Chester Representative Ray Piggott

Representative uh I'm sorry DMVA secretary Jocelyn Mallett

Andrew Kelly from UNC

This bill received near unanimous bipartisan support in the House

and the Senate

It will help several groups of students including military students

afford tuition at our state's top tier universities

I'm also proud to be joined by veterans James Freeman

and Alfie Deer who served in the US Air Force

and the US Navy by State Senator Val Applewhite who

is a veteran by Attorney General Jeff Jackson who served

in Afghanistan and continues to serve in our National Guard

Attorney General Jackson has been a big champion for this

legislation

James Alfie Val Jeff I want to thank you for

your service and if there are any veterans uh in

the room would you please raise your hand so we

can all acknowledge and thank you

Tremendous

North Carolina service members put their lives on the line

to protect our country and our freedoms

North Carolina is home to more than 600,000 veterans and

we have the 3rd largest active duty population of any

state in this country

Just as our service members have given up so much

of themselves for our benefit so too must we give

generously to help them in their futures

That's why I'm committed to ensuring that veterans can get

good jobs receive job training find affordable housing get the

health care that they need and start a small business

if that's what they wish after their military service

One way to do that is by helping them to

afford and achieve a top tier education

North Carolina's university system is one of the best in

this nation

This bill will help military students and students with certain

employer sponsorship to access that top tier education

Getting a degree will help them transition from one chapter

of their lives into the next giving them the knowledge

and skills that they will use to succeed

With this bill we can both support those who have

sacrificed so much for our freedoms and strengthen our state's

workforce at the same time

I want to thank Representative Campbell Representative Pickett Representative Willis

Representative Chester for sponsoring this legislation

I'm also grateful to Secretary Millett and the Department of

Military and Veteran Affairs for their tireless advocacy for our

service members and veterans and to Peter Hans and the

entire university system for their partnership in this effort

I'll now invite forward Secretary Mollet

Thank you Governor and good morning everyone

My name is Jocelyn Mittenna Mallett and I'm proud to

serve in the governor's cabinet as his secretary of the

North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

Our active duty service members veterans and their families are

worthy of the best North Carolina can give them

We owe them all a debt we can never repay

for their service and dedication to our nation and today's

bill signing represents our continued support and commitment to our

military communities

Education is crucial for North Carolina's military personnel both for

individual career advancement and for the overall readiness and effectiveness

of the armed forces

Military service itself develops leadership skills but formal education can

refine

those skills and for the military as a whole higher

education supports mission critical readiness

An educated force is better equipped to handle complex tasks

adapt to changing situations and maintain operational effectiveness

Education enhances critical thinking problem solving and leadership skills while

also providing access to better career opportunities both during and

after military service

I know this to be true from my lived experiences

while serving on active duty in the United States Air

Force I was able to use tuition assistance to earn

my master's degree in intelligence studies

And then I later received an Air Force scholarship to

attend law school and the only reason I was able

to graduate from my dream law school that top tier

law school like the governor said of UNC Chapel Hill

was because the UNC system considered me a resident for

tuition purposes and the tuition fell within the limits of

my Air Force scholarship

Those degrees propelled my career both during and after my

military service and with North Carolina having the 3rd largest

military population in the country so many more service members

like me will have greater educational opportunities right here in

our state and that's why I'm so grateful to the

bill sponsors to Representatives Campbell Pickett Chester and Willis

The North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and

I are grateful for this legislation

We stand committed to making sure our service members are

supported and honored for the sacrifices that they and their

families have made for our country

And so I'm grateful again to Governor Stein and to

all of our legislators and to everyone who work diligently

to make this day possible

May God bless our service members our veterans and their

families

Thank you

Good morning everyone

What makes a state a military friendly state is not

just the number of military that live in the state

but a commitment to our military service members and our

veterans across the state

Today another barrier to educational opportunities for many of our

members of our state is gone

This bill allows the UNC system to reduce tuition for

students in military and employer sponsored tuition assistant programs to

reduce or eliminate their out of pocket cost for the

student

This isn't just about reducing costs for students it's about

opening the doors to the best university system in our

nation to students that are balancing jobs and military careers

who still seek out opportunities for self growth and it's

a commitment from our state to making those opportunities easy

to find and easy to afford

It keeps a group of high achieving and highly motivated

students here

Instead of other states and helps them grow roots here

as future members of our workforce

This keeps tuition funds in our state and allows working

and serving students to learn at home close to their

families

Every initiative I've explored to help the military and veteran

community I have found eager allies in my colleagues in

the house especially Representative Pickett who deserves way more credit

for this bill than I do

I'm just a pretty face uh governor

My Senate colleagues the UNC system and you Governor Stein

As a new member of the General Assembly and as

a North Carolinian who has served in uniform in the

service of this nation I thank all of you for

sharing this commitment

Thank you very much

Good morning

Thank you Governor Stein for hosting us this morning

Secretary Mollett Representative Crawford thank you for Campbell pardon me

for uh for your championship of this bill

On behalf of the UNC system and Project COC one

of its affiliates I'd like to thank members of the

General Assembly for passing this important bill uh and Governor

Stein for signing into law today

In the UNC system we have a saying uh I

don't know but I've been told UNC schools are solid

gold

It's a testament to the commitment we made to open

our doors to the men and women who've served our

country

North Carolina is home to one of the largest populations

of veterans and active duty military personnel in the nation

but for too long service members have had to seek

educational opportunities out of state

Indeed when we looked at the UNC System office at

where tuition assistance funds were flowing historically just 12.5% of

the tuition assistance dollars from the army were going to

UNC schools

Among the Marine Corps tuition assistants just 3% was going

to assistant schools

Why the disconnect While out of state schools have have

tailored their offerings to active duty and military active duty

and veteran students including tuition that matched the federal assistance

rate

Most of our universities were geared toward the traditional 2018

to 24 year old students

We simply didn't have what our men and women in

uniform were looking for

Thankfully that has begun to change thanks to the leadership

of the General Assembly the Board of Governors President Peter

Hans and Governor Stein

In 2022 the system set a goal to increase military

enrollments by 20 22% by 2027

That same year President Hans required UNC schools to grant

credit for military experience and to create a system where

members of the military could input information from their joint

services transcript and identify the credit they'll receive

2022 also saw the launch of Project Kitty Hawk a

nonprofit that I now lead whose mission is to build

the kinds of flexible accelerated and workforce aligned degree programs

that military affiliated students need

The 14 online bachelor's degree programs that we've helped to

launch at NC Central ECU and Appalachian State are designed

for adults and military affiliated learners

Classes start 5 times a year feature 8 week courses

and one on one student success coaching and enable students

to learn on their schedules not antiquated academic calendars

The good news military affiliated enrollments across the system are

up 8% since 2020 but there's more to be done

The signing of HB 373 into law is a major

step forward that will enable all UNC universities to provide

tuition discounts to members of the military

This change will make us more competitive with out of

state for-profit colleges that dominate the market today and open

the door to a world-class education the best public university

education in the country for more of our men and

women in uniform

With tuition price right clear credit policies and an increasing

number of military-friendly degree programs through Project Kitty Hawk UNC

schools truly are a solid goal

So thank you Governor Stein for supporting UNC System's efforts

and commitment to North Carolina's military learners

Dante come on up

Senator Albert White please join us

Jackson will please join us if you would

House Bill 373 is now law

Yeah

The round of photos but if my if everybody can

just stay where they are right now I'm gonna ask

the press to come on out for me and follow

Olivia who is walking in

Um she's going to take you right across

Follow Olivia and then as y'all get set up for

photos

Yes come in front

Um let me help me move this

Thank you

Hey there

Oh great

What I I

Is this good for y'all stand right here

Yeah I'll I'll make you stand here

Perhaps I Are we OK to put a la on

him You gonna squeeze in Oh is that me Excuse

me sir

I think we can do