One week after WRAL exposed critical failures within North Carolina's foster care system, state lawmakers have committed to trying to fix things.
The investigative documentary "Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina" shined a light on tragic instances where children were placed in the system only to later suffer abuse and, in two cases, die after being adopted.
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In the documentary, WRAL investigative reporter Cristin Severance revealed the heartbreaking story of Felicia Chandler, a mother who lost custody of her three sons over a decade ago. Her sons were later adopted by Avante Deven, a woman who took in five children from three North Carolina counties. Two of those adopted children, Blake and London Deven, died from abuse and starvation. Blake, Felicia's biological son, was one of the victims.
"It's unfathomable to be told the things that I have to listen to and hear. It literally takes my breath away," Chandler said.
North Carolina lawmakers, many of whom were moved by the documentary’s findings, are now promising to address the issues the investigation brought to light.
“We have to figure out how we make sure that these siloed systems come together so that we can assure kids don’t die and fall through the cracks,” said state Sen. Sydney Batch (D-Wake County).
State Sen. Steve Jarvis (R-Davie, Davidson counties) said there should be better background checks for foster parents after learning, through the documentary, that Avante Deven had at least eight different aliases.
“Whenever we're talking about kids, they have no choice in the matter. We've got to get it right,” said Jarvis.
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North Carolina is one of only nine states where each county runs its own foster care program.
“A lot of states don’t have the system we have where we have a hundred counties involved,” state Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett, Lee, Sampson counties) explained.
Rep. Allen Chesser (R-Nash) highlighted the issue of inconsistent processes across counties. “We’ve got roughly 75 different ways of doing business across a hundred counties and I just don’t think any other aspect of government operates that way.”
Adding to these concerns, Jarvis noted there is no statewide IT system where a social worker in one county can check on a child’s history in another county.
“We have a system that does not talk from county to county when our kids go in a different county,” Jarvis said. “We’re working on that, and DHHS is coming up with a program, but that’s something we’ve got to have moving forward.”
Now, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised to take action. Last year, child welfare legislation aimed at reforming the system was blocked by Republican state Rep. Sarah Stevens, who argued the bill was too broad. However, legislators are now making it clear that reforming the system is not negotiable.
“I don’t think people have patience for us taking too long to do something about this,” Burgin said. “We have to make sure these kids are protected.”
Batch is hopeful that this year’s efforts will succeed.
“I’m hoping that we can start it in the House this time and then see it through to the finish line,” Batch said. “We already knew we had unanimous support in the Senate last cycle, and I’m hoping my Senate colleagues will continue to join me in making sure that we pass it.”
Chesser emphasized the urgency, stating, “There are real lives at stake, real lives affected by this issue every day. Letting personal politics get in the way is preventing us from making progress for those directly affected.”
State lawmakers are currently in discussions to draft this year's child welfare legislation.