A bipartisan bill introduced in the N.C. House of Representatives this week tweaks several processes around foster kids to give foster parents more of a say over the fate of children in their care and increase N.C. Department of Health and Human Services oversight of county agencies.
"What we are focused on in this bill are the life outcomes for children. So we are focused on creating an environment that is conducive to permanency and reunification when possible," Rep Allen Chesser, a Nash County Republican, said during a Wednesday press conference.
Chesser is a primary sponsor of House Bill 612, which is co-sponsored by nearly 70 members of the House as of Wednesday afternoon.
Rep. Vernetta Alston, a Durham Democrat, said the legislation offers efficiency and consistency when key decisions are made about a child in foster care.
"It does these things while creating fairer and clearer opportunities for the children and the caretakers to be heard and to be supported and to, again, achieve permanency," Alston said.
A N.C. Department of Health and Human Services administrator also spoke in favor of the legislation at Wednesday's press conference.
Lisa Cauley, DHHS' senior director for Child, Family and Adult services, pointed to a provision allowing someone who reported abuse or neglect to request that DHHS review a county social service department's determination in the case.
"For the first time, citizens will have a process to review case decisions and the state will have the authority to intervene when needed, supporting county decisions or correcting those decisions to help improve overall practice," Cauley said.
Additionally, the bill would require county social service departments to notify a foster family of its plans to move a child who has been in that family's safe care for more than a year if that family has also expressed interest in adopting the child.
"I think at that point, you've got a pretty good emotional bond being built with the child. You know about intricate needs for the child, and therefore them being able to weigh in and have a voice in the decision is important to them," Chesser said.
The bill will help the system support the young people who are in it, said Marcella Middleton, an advocate representing SaySo. Middleton specifically addressed a provision requiring that the Department of Social Services be represented by an attorney and the process allowing placements to more easily continue.
"I want people to think about how important it is ... if you are in a system, that the system needs to work for you. The system needs to work for you so that you can transition out of that system and actually have a full life and that you're not just sitting there, a victim of circumstance that you didn't even put yourself in," Middleton said.
'That bill has a chance'
While there is no companion legislation in the Senate, Chesser said he has had discussions about its provisions with lawmakers in that chamber and they are "awaiting" the legislation.
"This is something that everybody agrees needs to happen," Chesser said.
Chesser previously sponsored a 2023 bill allowing exceptions to a state law that prevents families with five children in the home from accepting additional foster kids. Intended to address a shortage in foster homes, the bill allowed DHHS to grant an exemption if siblings are being placed together or if the denial was solely based on the number of kids in the home.
This year's legislation has not yet appeared before lawmakers, but its first stop will be the House Health Committee.
House Speaker Destin Hall discussed the bill after session Wednesday, noting that he believes there are things that need to change about the foster care system and that he's discussed the legislation with Chesser.
"I think it's a worthy cause that we ought to look at, and I think that bill has a chance," Hall said.
