By Micah Ennis
The Department of Social Services (DSS) is legally required to provide programs and services dictated by federal and state policy. One of the primary responsibilities is to provide placement and case management when a child has been removed from their parents by the courts because of abuse, neglect, and/or dependency. DSS is tasked with establishing a permanency plan with the parents from whom the child was removed with a focus on strengthening the supports, removing the safety reasons for the child’s entry into care, and coordinating care for the family members’ well-being needs.
As you read the paragraph above, it is likely obvious that DSS cannot do this work effectively by itself. Achieving our federally mandated goals of safety, permanency, and well-being is the business of communities. DSS has certain specific mandates and duties, as well as providing coordination and education; however, children and families enjoy better outcomes when DSS works with families and community partners. This means talking to one another openly and sharing successes as well as worries. It means inviting one another to the table, even if it means receiving some criticism. It means a fierce openness to alternative solutions within the confines of law and policy.
Relationships are important. Investing in strong, intentional partnerships among families, public agencies, and community supports is a critical component to achieving our mutual goal. The goal is simple, even if the work is complex: children should be safe, and they should have a stable, legally permanent place to call home. Across systems—education, healthcare, courts, and community organizations—this goal is widely shared, even when expressed in different words and phrases. Achieving it requires alignment, mutual respect, and an unwavering commitment to collaboration.
DSS becomes directly involved in a child’s life only when there has been a breakdown—when the systems designed to support and protect that child have not held. But even then, DSS does not replace those systems. Instead, we join them, depend on them, and support and strengthen them as appropriate.
The Systems Around Children Matter Most
Families:
Parents, caregivers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins—and those who may not be related by blood but are deeply connected—form the child’s natural support system. Listening to birth families, including their wants and desires for their families and making genuine efforts to help them meet those goals are some simple ways to partner with families. Whether during home visits or Child and Family Team Meetings, when we notice and share family strengths and resiliency, as well as share honest feedback about safety concerns, we build trust with families. Asking family members for their help in understanding the situation or in finding solutions for identified problems is a bridge-building experience.
Maintaining meaningful connections between children and their families is essential whenever it can be done safely. Safety must always come first. Staying connected and achieving permanency requires creativity. No two people are alike, no two cases are alike, and rigid approaches rarely meet the complex realities families face. Effective partnerships allow for flexibility, innovation, and the exploration of options that may not fit traditional models. With the birth family comes the supportive systems already around them, such as church, extracurricular groups, civic groups, neighbors, friends, extended family, and more. Children who remain connected with their families and systems generally experience better outcomes, and when we recognize and lean into the family’s valued resources, we help bolster those connections.
Foster and adoptive families are other central partners in achieving permanency for children. Often foster families are our first line of support if relatives/kin are unable to provide care for children who have been removed from their parents. Providing quality and timely training, support, connection to resources; being available; and sharing as much information as we can about the child and the child’s needs…these are the minimum requirements for good partnerships with foster parents. Shared parenting is often a new concept to many families and can feel threatening at first. Connecting new foster parents with some of the pros in our county has been a great strategy for growing capacity for shared parenting. Our adoptive families have an obvious role in permanency, but they also often find ways to keep children connected with their birth families in safe and meaningful ways, when it is appropriate to do so. Further, early-childhood traumatic experiences are often not visible until later stages of child development, and our adoptive families are there to work through those challenges, which are sometimes severe. We offer the Resource Parent Curriculum to foster, kinship, and adoptive families because of the evidence-based and practical strategies available to families and staff who participate.
Schools:
The local school system is also a critical partner for families and DSS. Attending to the educational needs of children in a wide variety of placement types can be challenging, but we have found that our school system is invested in children’s well-being alongside us. Not only do we meet some children because of the attentiveness and compassion of their teachers, but we also get help preserving some sense of normalcy for children in care. We also seek support addressing educational needs for children or youth in hospitals for behavioral health needs, experiencing multiple placements, or other unique situations. For years, we have provided educational opportunities by speaking about child abuse and neglect reporting for the school system’s staff development activities and participated in training about early childhood trauma along with our school partners. We also connect with educators through numerous community groups. Every intersection is an opportunity to understand and support one another.
Courts:
The court system is also a central partner in achieving timely and meaningful permanency. Judges, attorneys, and Guardians ad Litem (GAL) each bring a distinct and essential perspective. When courts are fully engaged—committed to applying the law with fidelity, hearing all voices, and holding all parties accountable—children benefit. Parent attorneys are also key partners in this work. Too often misunderstood, they are not working to excuse harm; rather, they are working to ensure that families are treated fairly and that reunification—when safe—is pursued thoughtfully and responsibly. We all meet regularly to ask “How are we doing?” We review the aggregate data together to determine where we are performing well and what we can improve.
Health Care:
Children involved with DSS often have complex needs. Meeting those needs requires a broad network of professionals. Medical and dental care providers, therapists, counselors, and other behavioral health professionals, address physical, emotional, and developmental needs that are essential to well-being. Sometimes children come to DSS with services in place, and other times, we find that families need help understanding their children’s specific needs. Stigma, family history, and a fear of the unknown are just a few reasons why families don’t reach out for help and may need extra support. Health care professionals can provide facts and data to DSS workers and family members that help us all understand “why,” and give us options on what we can do about it. This is also true for the unmet health needs of birth parents. Sometimes the crisis of foster care placement becomes the opportunity for recovery and healing for birth parents and their whole family. The services in this vast array are also important referrals for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. Identifying needs and connecting with the right resources are important ways to partner with families.
A Shared Responsibility
We all want our community members to be happy and healthy. We want children to be in safe, supportive, permanent settings. Permanency is also a shared responsibility. No single agency, system, or profession can achieve it alone. We can’t be precious about our processes, and we must leave our egos behind. When we share information openly and invite inquiry, we can engage families as true partners, prioritize timely permanency, and remain open to innovation. When we invest in partnerships across systems and commit to working together, we move closer to a system where every child in North Carolina can grow up safe, supported, and connected.
Micah Ennis is the Director of Social Services in Rowan County
