Buncombe County DSS Mr. Stoney Blevins, Director 828-250-5588. Raleigh, NC 27699-2000. Directors and Program Managers. 0 miles away. We have a broken child welfare system that we refuse to invest in, Blevins said. Noyes said at first she thought that if you worked through the system and presented your case honestly, the situation would work out, but she now has no confidence in DSS and the family courts, a view she said is shared by members of other families whom shes talked with during court appearances. 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. 0 miles away . The North Carolina General Assembly meets in the State Legislative Building in Raleigh, seen here in Feb. 2018. DHHS Childrens Program representativeBrian Voglstated concerns for falsifying the foster care monthly contact records these are identical, and they are falsifying these records, the memo stated. Granville County DSS 2001 Mail Service Center There were needles under the seats and in the door pockets of the car. The North Carolina General Assembly meets in the State Legislative Building in Raleigh, seen here in Feb. 2018. Please join us! Kate Martin is lead investigative reporter for Carolina Public Press. Email her at kmartin@carolinapublicpress.org. Over time, many families have contacted Carolina Public Press about child protective services concerns. Did you know that there is a law that was enacted in 1975 to protect disabled adults from abuse, neglect and exploitation? Police later claimed that they emailed information about the case to the Transylvania County Sheriffs Office. Choose a focus area. Salary. Reporting like this isnt free to produce and we cannot do this alone. But the foster care residence was in unincorporated Transylvania County, not the city of Brevard. The General Assembly called Buncombe County Health and Human Services DirectorStoney Blevinsto testify about the incident. These records are tied into funding. Required fields are marked *. I truly hope in this process that this confidentiality requirement isnt being used to hide the mistakes, Hise said. Angry and desperate parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles have contacted Carolina Public Press for years hoping to share their stories and possibly get help in investigating what went wrong with their families experiences with child protective services in North Carolina counties. The boys death spurred lawmakers to action, and the General Assembly approved a package of major reforms with strong bipartisan support. Categories. Visit RelayNCfor information about TTY services. Pitt County, designated in 2020 as an All-American County by the National Civic League, is located in the central portion of the Coastal Plain. Each member of a public agency or department must submit contact information for the Buncombe County personnel directory. I didnt realize there was a significant problem. Her school reported abuse, and multiple social workers visited the family. Copyright 2023 Citizens For Good Government. Once a referral is taken for Protective Services, a Social Worker will be assigned the case. The boys deathspurred lawmakers to action, and the General Assembly approved a package of major reforms with strong bipartisan support. They may think the system has wronged their families. Please join us! Throughout last weeks hearing, Blevins explained the delicate balance of preserving parental rights while ensuring children are cared for. 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. The case made international headlines over the following months, focusing a world spotlight on the total failure of the child protection system in her case. Because of his time at various departments within the county, the news release said the county is confident his institutional knowledge will help him in his primarily inward-facing role. The successful candidate has a history of collaborating with staff, the local community and state partners to create stronger families, safer communities, and a better future for those they serve. If it is an emergency, an on-call social worker is available after regular business hours and weekends. With the support of readers like you, we provide thoughtfully researched articles for a more informed and connected community. 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. 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. But what to do with the 9-year-old girl? 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. Throughout the hearing Blevins lauded Buncombe Countys DSS office as a model for other counties. The district attorneys office decided that the evidence justified charges of misdemeanor child abuse, but not a felony. He was making a salary of $161,785.44, according to a public records request. The mechanism to get that level of discussion is with an order signed by a judge. Will Asheville City Soccer Club still play there? At one point, we were having upwards of 400 babies a year born at Mission Hospital with illicit drugs in their system, Blevins said. Is everyone healthy and is there enough food? Please help support this type of journalism with asubscriptionto the Citizen Times. After children return to the home, social workers stay in touch to make sure they are safe. Explore departmental dashboards. What You Need To Know About Reducing Fraud. 404 Social Services jobs available in Buncombe County, NC on Indeed.com. Social Worker Buncombe Family and Children's Services State Courier #: 12-50-02 CPP then mapped these comparison percentages, marking distinctly those at the extremes. Printable DSS Directory Much to lawmakers chagrin, Blevins could not confirm or deny anything in the police report due to strict laws protecting the privacy of the girl and her family. Zahra Baker was a native of Australia who lived in Catawba County with her father and stepmother. But when public officials do not abide by the laws, they take an oath to, to stand for, then our system is in trouble. Catherine Noyesis a grandmother who expresses frustration over the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services and courts handling of her familys case. This report has not been officially confirmed, but my sources are reliable. Department of Social Services. Christian Smith is the general assignment reporter for the Asheville Citizen-Times. Your support means a lot! If you like what you are reading and believe in independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism like oursjournalism the way it should beplease contributeto keep us going. Your support funds important public interest journalism. 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. This is your chance to support credible, community-based, public-service journalism. I ended the phone call." The General Assembly called Buncombe County Health and Human Services Director Stoney Blevins to testify about the . Many of the counties with very low rates or rates in the middle also experience poverty. Social workers are supposed to try to make these contacts regularly. Key Staff Polk County Health and Human Services Director: Joshua Kennedy. Customer Service Center:1-800-662-7030 Your email address will not be published. A judge granted the request. Blevins evaded, citing confidentiality rules. The programs are housed in three separate locations. Because of that, we placed one of our staff at the hospital. The experience is typically traumatic and humiliating. But the grandmother said she could not care for Addison, Reeves younger child, at that time. Required fields are marked *. Noyes questions, among other things, why the children were placed with him rather than her and why his substance abuse issues were not adequately investigated by DSS. 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. Police later claimed that they emailed information about the case to the Transylvania County Sheriffs Office. You may remain anonymous but we encourage you to give us your name in the event additional information is needed. Entertainment:Food Network's 'Spring Baking Championship' to feature WNC pastry chef. 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. Her trailer had no heat, according to statements to law enforcement. The DSS worker called back and asked him to help complete the intake report. He said he is lucky that the county is already in such a strong financial position so that he can focus on proactive instead of reactive work. You may also make the report in writing. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. A CPP investigation nearly two years later found that the family had notified the Brevard Police Department. Buncombe County Social Service Department Suggest Edit Address 40 Coxe Avenue, # G Asheville , North Carolina , 28801 Phone 828-250-5500 Fax 828-255-5845 Hours Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-5:00 PM Map of Buncombe County Social Service Department View map of Buncombe County Social Service Department, and get driving directions from your location. Even without names or narratives, the overall data from the last decade points to locations in the state where removals of children have occurred far above or far below the statewide average. Additional information on reporting abuse. To learn more, view our full privacy policy. Click a goal. Social workers removed children seized over a mark from a supposed beating, even though there was no evidence of the mark. I told her I did not have time to do that, I had to find a safe place for the child. Then, using the child population of each county during the year in question, reporters calculated the percentage of children removed in a given year. Stoney Blevins, director of the Buncombe County Department of Social Services, testified before a state legislative committee last week, saying he couldn't tell legislators much about a specific child welfare case due to confidentiality laws. Its regretful there were some communications mishaps, said Cherokee County DSS Director Amanda McGee in a later interview on WKRK, a radio station in Murphy. 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. When CPP brought the case to the attention of deputies in 2016, they conducted an investigation. A year ago, Buncombe County updated its policy, and social workers now respond to any law enforcement officers request for a social worker on the scene. DIRECTOR of SOCIAL SERVICES - CLOSES FEBRUARY 16, 2023 BEAUFORT COUNTY - SW IV REPOST - CLOSES FEBRUARY 10, 2023 BEAUFORT COUNTY - SW IV CWS /IAT - CLOSES FEBRUARY 10, 2023 CHATHAM COUNTY - IM CASEWORKER II - OPEN UNTIL FILLED At one point, the report says, she advised officers to leave the girl in the custody of Stanley.. Reeves family said she had lived in fear for her life because of attacks from her ex-husbandTitus Boley, who had served a prison sentence for assaulting her. I can promise you, I would be better served to speak to you about the things youre asking me, Blevins said. Their stories were often shocking and always emotional. Do you have concerns about a disabled adult who is either living in the community or in a licensed facility? The DSS worker called back and asked him to help complete the intake report. This is your chance to support credible, community-based, public-service journalism. pigella miraculous ladybug power. State law also allows DSS offices to disclose records to prosecutors without court orders, saidSara DePasquale, an associate professor specializing in child welfare law at the UNC School of Government, two years ago. Our staff is committed to providing Buncombe's diverse population with effective services in a timely and respectful manner. Starting Monday, Feb. 27, a maintenance project taking place at the Buncombe County Transfer Station may cause some extended wait times. She wasnt sure why that didnt happen in Addisons case, and privacy laws prevented her from discussing the details. Address: 40 Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC 28801 Edwards said he has been unable to get straight answers out of Blevins even after a conversation. At times he was asked his thoughts on how to improve the states child welfare system. There appeared to be no attempt by the police or DSS to follow up with the Sheriffs Office. "The county is in a strong financial position, so I think it makes the work that we do easier.". Its just disturbing. 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. And I think you could understand how we would see that it could have the department or its failures.. Blevins said he cant talk about specific child welfare cases because of confidentiality laws. This project was produced for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalisms 2020 Data Fellowship. Blevins challenged the accuracy of a Black Mountain Police Departments report that had led to the request for him to appear before legislators. Im so disgusted with the system. "The county has a strong team in the Finance Department and we appreciate Mason serving as our interim as the Commissioners undergo a search process to hire a new permanent Finance Director for Buncombe County," Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman said. The position is appointed by and reports to a five-member Local Social Services Board. Carolina Public Press provides in-depth, investigative reporting on issues affecting Western North Carolina in a nonprofit, nonpartisan setting. Policy choices are made by individuals, though geographical isolation and limited resources may promote decisions in some areas of the state more than others.
buncombe county dss director