North Carolina law requires that all counties provide child welfare services to ensure a) children are safe and b) their basic needs are being adequately met.  This is true for all families regardless of income. Protective services (investigations, family intervention and permanency planning) are legally mandated, non-voluntary services for families that encompass specialized services for maltreated children (abused, neglected, and/or dependent).

Investigative Social Workers

• Conduct investigations and family assessments on cases that meet the statutory definitions of abuse, neglect or dependency.
  • Once a child protective service referral rises to the level of abuse, neglect or dependency meeting requirements for our jurisdiction, an investigator is assigned to assess a) risk to the child(ren) and b) the need for on-going protective services.
  • Investigative staff gather factual evidence and assess risk and a child's need for protection as well as determine appropriate actions to ensure safety.
    

Family Intervention Social Workers

• Provide in-home social work and case management services to families where a) there is a need for ongoing services and b) when the children can be safely maintained with their parent and/or family.
  • Key goals of this component is to maintain the safety of the child while helping the parent/caretaker to learn more effective parenting practices.
  • Services include diagnostic interviews with parents, children and other relatives aimed at identifying root causes of risk. Following the diagnostic interviews, a case plan is developed to address the identified issues and barriers. Evaluation of a parent's ability to address the identified barriers or issues is an ongoing function.
    

Permaneny Planning Social Workers

• Provide case management services to children who have been placed in the county's legal custody due to abuse, neglect or dependency.
• The goal of this intervention is to provide a safe and nurturing home for the child and work towards a permanent plan. Plans for children range from reunification with their birth family to adoption.
• First social workers try and reunify children with the parent or caretaker from who the child was removed by working with families to address and assess risk factors.
• Based on the social worker's ongoing assessments and documentation it may be determined that a new family could offer a permanent solution for the child. Once the division presents this recommendation and the judge is in agreement is made a judge is in agreement, the YFS resource development unit will begin its recruitment efforts in search of a new family for the child.