In the past few years, allegations against county departments of social services have formed the basis of lawsuits against some North Carolina counties and drawn attention in the press. In the wake of substantial media coverage on North Carolina’s social … Read more

This post is Part 6 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

This post is Part 5 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

This post is Part 4 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

This post is Part 3 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

This post is Part 2 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

This post is Part 1 of a multi-part series. For a more detailed explanation and legal analysis of the issues discussed in this blog post series (including citations to cases referenced in the post), please see Local Government Law Bulletin … Read more

Local governments and local government officials are increasingly using social media as a way to engage with the public. As anyone who has scrolled through Facebook or Twitter lately can attest, comment sections on social media posts are often filled … Read more

In recent months, my colleagues and I have received an increasing number of questions about how to handle hostile, harassing, or threatening behavior from citizens. The scenarios encountered by local government officials and employees include a wide range of behavior: … Read more

In North Carolina, a county director of a department of social services (DSS) is responsible for administering and providing a wide variety of social services and economic services programs. Recently, a DSS director asked me for some information on how … Read more