Following the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ unprecedented takeovers of two county departments of social services this year, the statewide association of DSS directors raised “urgent concerns” over the state’s handling of such cases.
Emails and letters obtained by Carolina Public Press revealed that the North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services (NCACDSS) are in ongoing talks with the state to reform its corrective action processes for counties.
“The recent state takeovers of county child welfare services and the reasons that led to them highlight systemic issues that need to be addressed,” Association president Ashley Lantz, who also serves as the DSS director in Union County, wrote to the DHHS Secretary on Aug. 28.
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Two weeks earlier, DHHS informed Bertie County that it would be divesting power from DSS director Daphine Little and taking over its child welfare operations for the second time in two years.
The struggling county agency had been undergoing a state-mandated corrective action plan since March following the death of a 2-year-old whose family had previously been involved with child protective services.
DHHS was evidently unsatisfied with how Bertie DSS had been handling that case in court, according to its letter notifying county officials of the takeover.
“(Bertie DSS) has failed to address our expressed concerns with child welfare practice as it relates to that case and has failed to present to the court how the handling of the case by (Bertie DSS) contributed to the ongoing safety risks for the children,” the letter read.
Lantz told CPP that her letter to DHHS Secretary Devdutta Sangvai wasn’t a direct response to the takeover in Bertie County, although the incident nonetheless appeared to raise alarm within the association of DSS directors.
New oversight model
State statute allows for DHHS to divest power from a locally appointed DSS director and temporarily assume that position’s responsibilities if the secretary finds that the county has failed to improve after being put on a corrective action plan.
The state doesn’t have the authority to fire a county DSS director; that power lies with the county’s social services board, which is locally appointed. Under a takeover, the director is sidelined indefinitely if they aren’t deposed by the county.
That’s what’s happening in Bertie County, as Little remains employed there as DSS director despite the state takeover, the Bertie Ledger-Advance reported.
Earlier this year in Vance County, the state divested power from DSS director Sandy Weaver, stating that she lacked the leadership necessary to fix problems with its child welfare practices, even after 10 months of being on a corrective action plan. Vance’s social services board fired Weaver in July.
It’s rare for the state to stage a takeover of a county DSS agency — it’s happened only five times since 2018. It’s also unusual that two takeovers have happened in the span of a few months.
Donna Fayko, DHHS’s deputy director of child welfare operations, told CPP that the takeovers don’t reflect a deliberate choice to be more aggressive with corrective action, but are rather a result of more state-level child welfare personnel across North Carolina.
Since the state legislature passed a major child welfare reform bill in 2017, DHHS has implemented a new oversight model where North Carolina’s 100 counties are split into seven regions and each assigned a regional DSS director and child welfare specialists that report directly to DHHS.
The idea was to have more state personnel in closer proximity to the counties who can offer support, training and supervision of county operations. However, it took the DHHS years to fully staff these new positions, the last of which were filled in December.
This has been the first year under DHHS’ fully realized regional child welfare system, and it’s led to more state interventions in the counties.
“Having more opportunity to see (child welfare) practice and assess practice has brought things to our attention,” Fayko said.
“And unfortunately, you know, things happen and we have to address them.”
DSS directors negotiate for change
But is DHHS treating the counties who’ve undergone takeovers fairly? And what are the ground rules for returning power to the counties?
Those are points of concern for NCACDSS.
While corrective action plans are not to exceed 18 months under state law, there is no explicit timeline for when the state must disengage from a county following a takeover. The criteria for escalating corrective action into a full takeover is also vague, both in statute and internal protocols.
That lack of clarity is a problem, Lantz wrote in her letter to Sangvai.
“The circumstances that trigger a state takeover of a county’s child welfare program should be transparent and well-defined, with clear metrics for when and how control will be returned to the county,” she said.
Takeovers can also negatively impact staff retention and turnover, she argued. Staffing difficulties have been a well-documented problem, especially in more rural DSS offices, as CPP reported in its 2022 award-winning special report Dodging Standards.
“NCACDSS strongly believes there should be a level of due process prior to a state takeover, allowing counties to proactively work to prevent the need for more drastic interventions,” the letter continued.
There is currently no appeal process for counties facing corrective action.
As association president, Lantz organized meetings between DSS directors and Sangvai to discuss potential compromises on the state’s use of its takeover powers. The parties have met twice and have a third meeting scheduled for November.
Lantz said she’s not sure yet what form those potential changes might take, whether it’s a change to internal DHHS protocols or something that might require legislation.
“We didn’t leave with any definite solutions, but we did leave knowing that they were willing to work with us,” she said.
Transparency the goal
While Fayko wasn’t present at the meetings between Sangvai and NCACDSS, as a former DSS director herself, she is well aware of the concerns counties have when it comes to state intervention, she said.
“They’re always concerned about inconsistency,” she said. “They were concerned about subjectivity.”
However, she defended the department’s corrective action protocols and pointed out that the most recent version, which was approved in December 2024, was drafted in collaboration with a group of county DSS directors that included Little.
“A lot of work has been done jointly with counties to define that CAP protocol and to ensure that it was applied consistently with all counties,” she said.
Still, Fayko agreed that transparency is the best policy when it comes to navigating the state-county relationship in child welfare operations, and she said that the department will hear out DSS directors’ concerns whenever they are raised.
“There are going to be times that we’re at odds with one another, but I think the state’s committed to working through those times, and I believe that the association is also committed,” Fayko said.
“So I think that you’re going to see heightened transparency and heightened communication continue.”
Cherokee Co. not working with DSS directors
One county that won’t be a part of the talks between DHHS and NCACDSS is Cherokee, which expressed displeasure about not being made aware of the Association’s letter to Sangvai before it was sent out.
“I want to respectfully clarify that Cherokee County DSS did not participate in, nor give consent for, the recent letter addressed to NCDHHS Secretary Sangvai regarding corrective action processes and county divestiture decisions,” director Amanda McGee wrote in a letter sent to both Lantz and Sangvai on Sept. 15.
“If the association proceeds with future meetings with Secretary Sangvai, or his designee(s), I respectfully request that Cherokee County DSS, and any references to Cherokee County, not be included in the discussion or cited in support of the Association’s position unless I have provided explicit authorization,” she continued.
Cherokee DSS has a troubled history with state intervention. In 2018, it became the first county to have its child welfare operations taken over by DHHS after the department was found to have unlawfully removed children from their homes.
The former DSS director and the department’s attorney were both convicted of felonies for their involvement in the illegal removals. The county has faced massive financial penalties in civil case verdicts resulting from federal lawsuits, but the local county commissioners, who hired McGee, have defied outside authority, appointing themselves to be the county’s new DSS board and even allowing the former DSS director to be rehired in a different position while she faced felony indictments.
McGee didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Association’s ongoing discussions with DHHS, nor did the DSS directors in Vance and Bertie.
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