Two years ago, North Carolina’s child welfare agency was sued over its alleged overreliance on institutions and residential care, particularly in cases involving youth with disabilities. The federal class-action lawsuit was brought by a group of organizations including the state chapter of the NAACP, Children’s Rights, and the Charlotte-based law firm Moore & Van Allen.
Now a new lawsuit, also filed in federal court, says the state’s child welfare challenges go well beyond its use of residential care (though it cites that too). The class action, brought on behalf of nine children in foster care by nonprofit litigation firm A Better Childhood and the law firm Nelson Mullins, accuses the state of operating in a “state of crisis” that leads to frequent placement changes, overuse of residential care, and a lack of appropriate health and education services.
“The state has long been aware of the harms that foster children are experiencing, yet has done little to stop that,” said Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood. “Right now, the system is an ongoing tragedy for the children who are dependent on it for their lives and well-being.”
The complaint notes that several officials from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have openly acknowledged the poor conditions of foster care for some youth, and that a lack of foster homes has led to higher rates of residential care and of children languishing in county offices, hospital emergency rooms and other inappropriate settings. Meanwhile, turnover and job vacancy rates have soared at many of the 100 county offices that carry out child welfare services.
In September of 2022, the complaint states, the department’s assistant secretary for county operations Susan Osborne told county directors of social services departments that the system was in crisis and “there could be a massive class action lawsuit.”
There have now been two. DHHS sought to have the other class action over institutionalization dismissed, but a federal judge rejected that request in March.
