buncombe county dss director

The fact that they have lasted so long-to retirement age-is a tragedy and sheds a very bad light on all of Cleveland Countys so-called leadership. The Social Worker will ask numerous questions of you such as but not limited to adult's name, address, age/date of birth, Social Security number, family/collateral names, how is the person disabled, what are the allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Click a goal. Related:A timeline of the Buncombe County corruption investigation, Recent Reporting:Wanda Greene dark money lawsuit mediator orders her to hand over answers before Christmas. Many of the counties with very high removal rates have elevated poverty rates, but no direct correlation exists between poverty levels and child removal rates. On June 24, county DSS Social Work Director Rebecca Smith sent an email to all Buncombe law enforcement agency leaders acknowledging mistakes had been made in how the department responds to. An official website of the State of North Carolina, Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse, Office Of Minority Health And Health Disparities, Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. But Zahra was never removed from the family. CPP then mapped these comparison percentages, marking distinctly those at the extremes. He was appointed by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to take over the role that has oversight over all county spending, after working for Buncombe County for 11 years across many different departments. 39. There appeared to be no attempt by the police or DSS to follow up with the Sheriffs Office. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In 2020, police in Black Mountain pulled over a swerving car and arrested all three adults. The largest concentration of counties that are removing children at high or very high rates are in the western mountain counties, though a smaller cluster also exists in the southeastern counties, and a few other exceptions are scattered across the map. Catherine Noyes is a grandmother who expresses frustration over the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services and courts handling of her familys case. A spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services told CPP at the time that the foster mother would no longer be able to foster children in North Carolina. Much like 911 operators, DSS workers ask specific questions when taking information on a new case, called intake, he explained. Prosecutors filed additional charges, including incest, aiding and abetting incest, child prostitution and other felony sex offenses involving multiple close relatives. The law gave DHHS authority to enforce performance standards at each county, and for DHHS to take over DSS offices that chronically underperform an authority DHHS used a few months later when it took over Cherokee Countys child welfare division. Asheville, NC 28801 Are new people living there? Officers located needles on the beds, the nightstands, TV stand and the bathroom. F. (828) 250-6235. Much to lawmakers chagrin,Blevins could not confirm or deny anythingin the police report due to strict laws protecting the privacy of the girl and her family. Records from Reeves communications during the final weeks of her life show that she was repeatedly at odds with DSS agents over her son, though what she knew about his location was not clear. Colby Rabon / Carolina Public Press Their stories were often shocking and always emotional. Asheville, NC 28802 12. When CPP brought the case to the attention of deputies in 2016, they conducted an investigation. These are my Children that attend school. Bakers stepmother was already the subject of previous abuse findings. The boys death spurred lawmakers to action, and the General Assembly approved a package of major reforms with strong bipartisan support. When news organizations contact local departments of social services offices with questions about a specific case, the agencies are typically unable to discuss them. Not long afterward, he died of an overdose. But what to do with the 9-year-old girl? Email her at kmartin@carolinapublicpress.org. Categories. Many of the counties with very low rates or rates in the middle also experience poverty. Pitt County is approximately 90 miles east of Raleigh NC with a population of 180,742. Salary. Sen. Ralph Hise similarly said he disagreed with Blevins assertion that he couldnt talk about the case and asserted that the General Assembly did not need permission from the judicial branch to do its job. Our award-winning, breakthrough journalism dismantles barriers and shines a light on the critical overlooked and under-reported issues facing our states 10.2 million residents. Are new people living there? We would never support leaving a child in a hotel room with a stranger and 300 used needles, as a blanket statement, Blevins said last year. But Shooters long and corrupt past at CCDSS caught up with her. The legal and bureaucratic system surrounding child removals can be difficult to navigate, so that even social workers from one county may find aspects of how things are done in another county quite alien, and the average person is unable to make sense of whats happening. Monday - Friday GPS Longitude:-82.548709. These records are tied into funding. Scott began his career in the Planning Department before moving to the county's IT Department as a business officer, a Buncombe County news release said. Such records are typically open to prosecutors, according toPeg Dorer, with the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys. Three adults and a 9-year-old girl were in the car. Food Network's 'Spring Baking Championship' to feature WNC pastry chef, After first clean audit in 4 years, Buncombe County again has 'significant deficiency', Buncombe County Commissioners discuss affordable housing, cryptocurrency, finances, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Email her at kmartin@carolinapublicpress.org. A horrific child sex abuse case in Cherokee County two years ago included a puzzling delay by DSS officials in cooperating with prosecutors. P. (828) 250-5500 Blevins was asked to testify before the General Assembly last year about how social workers handled a case, but his hands were tied by confidentiality rules. Please join us! Director of Buncombe County Health and Human Services Talmadge "Stoney" Blevins provided few answers to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services about why officers with the Black Mountain Police Department were reportedly told to leave a 9-year-old girl in a hotel room with a stranger, meth, and more than 100 . "There are a lot of people in this organization that work directly with the public and with the community, and they are doing great work, and I feel very privileged to be in a role that supports those other people.". Franklin. Post Office Box 7408. But even in some of these cases, legal counsel may ultimately advise them not to discuss the situation further. This is part 2 of the four-part investigative series Patchwork Protection produced by Kate Martinfor the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalisms 2020 Data Fellowship. Carolina Public Press contributing reporter Christian Green also assisted with interviews for this article. In the upcoming election we can kick out this majority fool board. Agency Name. This project was produced for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalisms 2020 Data Fellowship. NC Department of Health and Human Services While Blevins was able to speak to the accuracy, or lack thereof, in a Black Mountain police report regarding the case, he skirted the details known to him and his social workers because state law requires a judges ruling to give specifics of a confidential case, he told lawmakers. Does the child feel safe? An Associated Press investigation into Littlejohns death found social workers forged documents to cover their tracksafter the girl diedto show the visits had occurred when they in fact had not. Its often impossible to know because the evidence surrounding child protective services is not available to the public. The area is home to East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Medical Center. Additional information on reporting abuse. Henderson County residentFelicia Reevesdisappeared in August 2015. Zahra Baker was a native of Australia who lived in Catawba County with her father and stepmother. A social worker ordered a family to banish the family dog, who had bitten no one. Its just disturbing. Stay up to date with the most current information. The mechanism to get that level of discussion is with an order signed by a judge. The report says a social worker told police that DSS did not respond to these situations., Officers explained that the parent wanted to leave the girl with Stanley. The report says the DSS worker demanded multiple times to take a report over the phone. Or a family who had contacted CPP initially might not be able to talk now because of a settlement that included a nondisclosure agreement. Maybe many others!! Will Asheville City Soccer Club still play there? Adoptions in North Carolina cannot be reversed. A grand jury first indicted the mother for neglect in 2015. Sources report that the Cleveland County Commissioners have selected Katie Swanson from the Buncombe County DSS as the Director of the Cleveland County DSS. I thought we were waiting for them to copy the records.. The City of Greenville is the county seat. During visitation with the family in 2014, they noticed marks on him, which led to a Department of Social Services investigation. Email her at kmartin@carolinapublicpress.org. We need to get rid of these over education ( Degree in B.S. If the purpose of the record request is to protect a juvenile, then no court order would be needed, DePasquale told CPP. Starting Monday, Feb. 27, a maintenance project taking place at the Buncombe County Transfer Station may cause some extended wait times. Carolina Public Press is an independent nonprofit news organization dedicated to nonpartisan, in-depth and investigative news built upon the facts and context North Carolinians need to know. So, we fund a position to work at the hospital so that we can respond to these situations as soon as that baby is delivered. Each countys average annual removal rate, compared with the states annual removal rate, was calculated as a percentage of the states rate. He helped implement Workday, the county's primary financial accounting system, in 2017, then formally joined the Finance Department in 2019 as a financial planning and analysis manager. When Reeves sister,Suzan Bayorgeon, contacted CPP in late 2015, her family was distraught not only over Reeves death but also because they did not know the whereabouts of heryoungest son,Addison.

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