For government officials, the line between official and personal social media pages may sometimes be blurry. Imagine a county commissioner or city council member who maintains a Facebook page that combines photos of her family vacations with updates about important … Read more
Over the past few months, I’ve talked to a number of local government employees who are beginning to experiment with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT (among many others) to do their work. Some local governments in North Carolina … Read more
Children and teens who are in the custody of a county DSS are (or have been alleged to be) abused, neglected, and/or dependent. While in out-of-home placements, these children experience (1) ongoing separation from their families and communities (e.g., parents, … Read more
Every year, county departments of social services investigate thousands of reports of child abuse and neglect across North Carolina. Tragically, some of those cases of abuse or neglect end in the death of a child. After one of these fatalities … Read more
As the 2023 Legislative Session continues, many session laws that amend child welfare statutes, including abuse, neglect, dependency; termination of parental rights (TPR); adoption of a minor; and foster care licensing became effective on various dates. Some of these changes … Read more
On August 16th, the legislature used an override of the Governor’s veto to pass S.L. 2023-106 (S49), a law enumerating the rights of parents regarding their children’s education, health care, and mental health needs. But in addressing a parent’s rights, … Read more
Every county in North Carolina is required to have a governing board for social services (G.S. 108A-1). What are the powers and duties of those boards? What’s the difference between a county board of social services and a consolidated human … Read more
The recent explosion of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, DALL-E 2) is quickly impacting every sector of society and local government is no exception. These tools offer benefits for the government workforce—including the potential to enhance workplace efficiency and … Read more
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), signed into law by President Biden on June 3, 2023 includes changes to two social services programs administered by county governments in North Carolina – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary … Read more
State law requires North Carolina counties to administer and provide a number of social services and public assistance programs described in Chapter 108A of the North Carolina General Statutes, including (among others) Work First, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, child … Read more