MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of foster children accuses North Carolina of failing to provide adequate shelter and care for kids in need.
The lawsuit claims state officials failed to provide adequate supervision to the child welfare system, including installing improper leadership and providing inadequate resources. The lawsuit specifically names at least three instances in Mecklenburg where children were abandoned in hospital emergency rooms. Furthermore, the lawsuit expands the scope and accuses "many County DSS of abandoning foster children in hospital emergency rooms with little agency contact and no educational or mental health services."
Foster kids have been sleeping in government buildings and hotels because they have nowhere else to go. It was a shocking revelation when WCNC Charlotte first got tipped off to this in 2023.
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By the end of that year, WCNC Charlotte learned there were 423 kids in DSS custody in Mecklenburg County and fewer than 100 licensed foster care homes. Advocates said the system is overwhelmed.
There are nine plaintiffs listed on the lawsuit, including four in the greater Charlotte area.
The lawsuit seeks remedies including lower caseloads for staffers, stronger leadership and increased supervision of the system.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Director Kody Kinsley are among those listed as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court.
As recently as February of this year, a state-issued press release confirmed an average of 32 kids were living in the Division of Social Services (DSS) offices each week.
"It is devastating, and it has been devastating, to see around the country, not just here, where social workers are working around the clock to figure out where these kids are going to go," Nicole Taylor, the executive director of Congregations for Kids, a nonprofit that works to recruit, train and support foster parents, previously told WCNC Charlotte.
At the time Taylor spoke to WCNC Charlotte, her team was gearing up to take on a bigger role as the state prepared to release emergency cash to impacted counties. Mecklenburg County was expected to get almost $80,000 this year and more than double that next year.
"It's encouraging to see the state stepping forward to say, 'Hey we're acknowledging this is a problem,'" Taylor said at the time.
NCDHSS denied to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by WCNC Charlotte on Wednesday.
WCNC Charlotte's Michelle Boudin has been continuously reporting on the state of the foster care system.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.