GREENSBORO — The average number of moves a foster child makes while in the custody of the Guilford County Department of Social Services is nearly triple that of the national rate, according to a state document released this week.
The information is included in a July 14 “corrective action plan” that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services ordered the county DSS to follow.
The state agency issued the mandate after it reviewed the county department’s records following the deaths of three children in a December 2022 house fire. Among other things, the state determined DSS did not properly handle an open case involving the children’s mother, Brandi Sturdivant, who was later charged with three counts of negligent felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
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The final corrective action plan is a revised version of one submitted by the county in June. It addresses not only DSS assessments of the safety of children referred to Child Protective Services, but also how it handles agreements involving the children’s care and its relationship with foster families.
According to the document, kids under DSS care “experienced unnecessary moves that did not lead to permanence.”
The county’s human services director and social services director must review any “unplanned moves” under the corrective action plan.
Research has shown that children need consistency, predictability and attachment to a caring adult to thrive.
Over an unspecified 12-month period in which children entered DSS custody in Guilford, the state said they were moved on average 11.6 times per 1,000 days of foster care — just shy of every three months.
The national average is 4.1 times, or slightly more than eight months.
Though NCDHHS included the 11.6 and 4.1 figures in its approved plan, which is publicly posted on the county’s website, it took the state agency more than two days to define for the News & Record exactly what those numbers measured.
The state’s plan also found the county is failing when it comes to talking to its foster parents.
“(DSS) does not demonstrate transparency in communicating with foster parents” and “does not include foster parents in planning for permanency of the child in their home,” the plan says.
To help address this, the county is required to randomly select foster parents to interview so that it can be determined if the communication is clear and needs are being met.
Each month, NCDHHS also will review a sample of safety assessments to ensure they are adequate.
And DSS managers must also conduct random checks weekly to ensure social workers are getting appropriate oversight. The state notes that Guilford’s social worker ratio exceeded the state standard of 10 cases per worker.
At a news conference last month, Assistant County Manager Victor Isler said while DSS had a vacancy rate of about 35% last year, that figure had fallen to 3.3% after the county increased employee salaries.
The high vacancy rate forced supervisors to carry individual cases.
Much of the report requires additional training for the DSS staff, noting that required training for new staff and supervisors was delayed at the county agency. The plan requires the county to maintain a training log and include training as a goal in annual performance evaluations.
The report also noted NCDHHS did not provide timely “technical assistance” to supplement required training by county staff.
“Like most human services agencies, NCDHHS has experienced a workforce shortage,” a spokeswoman for the agency said in an email on Thursday. “This led to a delay in providing timely technical assistance to Guilford County.”
Reached for comment Thursday evening, Isler said the county is conducting a “root cause” analysis of the system to help determine how the problems might be addressed. He anticipates that process will take three months and said it will involve working with other partners, such as the court system and foster care agencies, who also are involved in planning and placement decisions.
He did not want to comment specifically about the report before that process occurs.
“We recognize that there is an explanation that needs to be shared with the community and I’m committed to that,” he said.