Dominique Moody Safety Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1144

Short Title: Dominique Moody Safety Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cunningham, Chesser, Colvin, and Lambeth (Primary
Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and
Operations of the House
May 4, 2026
*H1144-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES TO THE LA WS REGARDING ABUSE, 2
NEGLECT, AND DEPENDENCY CASES FOR JUVENILES. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
5
PART I. CHILD WELFARE CASE ESCALATION TEAM 6
SECTION 1.(a) Article 1 of Chapter 108A of the General Statutes is amended by 7
adding a new Part to read: 8
"Part 2C. Child Welfare Case Escalation Team. 9
"§ 108A-15.25. Child Welfare Case Escalation Team. 10
(a) Child Welfare Case Escalation Team. – The Division shall main tain a team of 11
representatives for each regional social services department that conducts escalation assessments, 12
consistent with this section, of juveniles that have a history of child protective services attention 13
due to a combination of safety and risk factors. The purpose of the team is to do all of the 14
following: 15
(1) Support county departments of social services. 16
(2) Provide an additional level of review to ensure child safety statewide. 17
(3) Provide quality assurance of the child protective services history of a family 18
who has returned to the attention of child protective services, including 19
assessing the quality of prior service intervention and further decisions of 20
services provided to ensure the safety and well -being of juveniles moving 21
forward with the family. 22
(b) Staff. – The team is staffed by the Division, including the assigned manager and 23
escalation specialists . The team shall collaborate and coordinate with (i) the director of the 24
regional social services department, (ii) the director of the county department of social services 25
where the juvenile subject to the escalation notification form resides , and (iii) local law 26
enforcement. 27
"§ 108A-15.26. Definitions. 28
The following definitions apply in this Part: 29
(1) Caretaker. – As defined in G.S. 7B-101. 30
(2) Division. – The Division of Social Services of the Department of Health and 31
Human Services. 32
(3) Extensive child welfare history. – Any one or more of the following: 33
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1144-First Edition
a. Involvement of a medically complex juvenile who requires 1
subspecialty care by two or more specialties. 2
b. Receipt of a second report for medical neglect within six months of 3
the current report. 4
c. Involvement of a juvenile that requires devices to sustain their 5
function, such as a tracheostomy or gastric tube, who has had three or 6
more prior cases for concerns of medical neglect. 7
d. Families with five or more child protective services cases with 8
concerns for neglect regardless of case decision or families that have 9
three or more cases, if any of those cases involved concerns for abuse. 10
e. Families that have three or more prior child protective services reports 11
with concerns for domestic violence or active or current drug activity. 12
f. Any report on an active temporary safety provider or kinship care 13
provider. 14
g. Cases in which there exists a previous child protective services history 15
with the family and involves a near fatality of a juvenile. 16
h. Any case that has had a prior history involving a child fatality as a 17
result of concerns for abuse or negle ct and there is a new child in the 18
residence. 19
i. Multiple prior involvements with child welfare services, including 20
in-home services or permanency planning. 21
(4) Juvenile. – As defined in G.S. 7B-101. 22
(5) Near fatality. – As defined in G.S. 7B-2902. 23
(6) Team. – The Child Welfare Case Escalation Team. 24
"§ 108A-15.27. Criteria for team involvement. 25
(a) Criteria. – The director of the county department of social services shall proceed 26
through the process for notification of the Child Welfare Case Escalation Team under subsection 27
(b) of this section if a county department of social services receives a report of abuse or neglect 28
to screen under Article 3 of Subchapter I of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes that meets any of 29
the following criteria: 30
(1) Extensive child welfare history. 31
(2) Three or more reports within a 12-month period involving the same or similar 32
allegations that were screened out that indicate a pattern of concern despite 33
prior screening decisions. 34
(3) History of prior removal and placement in to foster care, such as previous 35
removal of juveniles from the home due to similar or identical allegations. 36
(4) Three or more substantiated findings involving the family that demonstrate a 37
pattern consistent with chronic or habitual neglect. 38
(5) Ongoing medical or mental health neglect, such as repeated reports indicating 39
failure to address juveniles ' medical or mental health needs wit h allegations 40
consistent across multiple reports and time frames. 41
(b) Notification. – If a child welfare case meets the criteria of subsection ( a) of this 42
section, the receiving county department of social services shall complete an escalation 43
notification form within two business days and return via email or automated process to the 44
escalation team. 45
(c) Information Sharing. – The assigned escalation specialist shall coordinate with the 46
county department of social services to obtain access to the entirety of the case record to address 47
immediate safety of the juvenile. Upon request, the county department of social services shall 48
provide any records in their possession related to the juvenile 's case and identified in the 49
escalation notification form. Pursuant to G.S. 7B-302, the escalation specialist may also demand, 50
in writing, records in possession of State or local law enforcement. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1144-First Edition Page 3
"§ 108A-15.28. Team assessment. 1
(a) Assessment. – Once the escalation specialist receives all pertinent information and 2
records from the county department of social services under G.S. 108A-15.27, the escalation 3
specialist shall do all of the following: 4
(1) Assess child welfare history, including all reports and findings, interviews 5
conducted and collateral interviews, safety plans developed for the juvenile , 6
and services provided to the family. 7
(2) Identify gaps in services and other areas that impact safety of the juvenile. 8
(3) Review the overall safety planning for the juvenile in the current assessment 9
to determine if there are additional steps required to ensure safety. 10
(4) Create a chronologica l time line of child protective services intervention to 11
understand the maltreatment factors of concern related to the family to aid in 12
decision making. 13
(b) Collaboration. – The escalation specialist assigned to the case and other team 14
members shall provide necessary technical assistance to the county department of social services 15
throughout the assessment phase of the child protective services case to identify any patterns or 16
contributory factors from past history that may impact a caretaker 's ability to assess and control 17
for present danger threats. The escalation specialist shall do all of the following in collaboration 18
with the county department of social services: 19
(1) Be involved in determining the case decision and in identifying services 20
needed for incorporation into the family case plan, taking i nto account the 21
family's history and interventions identified in the chronological time line. 22
(2) Guide current intervention steps and improve practice, any practice concerns 23
from child protective services involvement, and discuss that involvement with 24
the county director of social services. 25
(c) Response. – The county department of social services shall respond to all unaddressed 26
safety concerns identified through the team's review process immediately or within the same day 27
of notification. 28
(d) Review. – The team and other assigned and Division and Department of Health and 29
Human Services staff shall review records to ensure that practices that have deficiencies are 30
corrected and there is communication with county department staff and others to improve child 31
welfare practice at all levels across the county departments of social services." 32
SECTION 1.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 33
Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (Division), the sum of five hundred fifty 34
thousand dollars ($550,000) in recurring funds beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, in addition 35
to one hundred fifty -seven thousand dollars ($157,000) in federal receipts beginning in the 36
2026-2027 fiscal year, for six full -time equivalent positions to staff and implement the Child 37
Welfare Case Escalation Team, as established in this section. These full-time equivalent positions 38
shall include human services program consultants and one human services program manager. 39
SECTION 1.(c) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social 40
Services, shall explore means and resources n eeded to automate and reduce the burden on the 41
county workforce to alert the Division of escalation reviews as established under this section. 42
When exploring these options, the Division shall consider using the Partnership and Technology 43
Hub for North Carolina to make an automated process for those reviews. 44
SECTION 1.(d) The Division shall amend protocols and rules as necessary to 45
integrate Child Welfare Case Escalation Team involvement into the entry of a private residence, 46
as provided for under G.S. 7B-302(h), as amended by this act, to ensure seamless and coordinated 47
assistance for high-risk juveniles at risk of abuse or neglect. 48
49
PART II. CPS EMPLOYE E ASSESSMENT HOME VI SIT AND RECORD 50
MODIFICATIONS 51
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Page 4 House Bill 1144-First Edition
SECTION 2.(a) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social 1
Services, shall adopt rules to amend Subchapter 70A of the North Carolina Administrative Code 2
and update associated Division policies, Child Protective Services Assessments Policy, Protocol, 3
and Guidance, and the Partnership and Tech nology Hub for North Carolina to require directors 4
of departments of social services to require photographs or video evidence be gathered during an 5
initial investigative assessment response or initial family assessment response if evidence tends 6
to show a juvenile subject to the assessment has been alleged to be abused or neglected, consistent 7
with the requirements of Article 3 of Subchapter I of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes. 8
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 7B-302 reads as rewritten: 9
"§ 7B-302. Assessment by director; military affiliation; access to confidential information; 10
notification of person making the report. 11
… 12
(e) In performing any duties related to the assessment of the report or the provision or 13
arrangement for protective services, the director may consult with any public or private agencies 14
or individuals, including the available State or local law enforcement officers who shall assist in 15
the assessment and evaluation of the seriousness of any report of abuse, neglect, or dependency 16
when requested by the director. The director or the director's representative may make a written 17
demand for any information or reports, whether or not confidential, that may in the director's 18
opinion be relevant to the assessment or provision of protective services. Upon the director's or 19
the director's representative's request and unless protected by the attorney -client privilege, any 20
public or private agency or individual shall provide access to and copies of this confidential 21
information and these records to the extent perm itted by federal law and regulations. If a 22
custodian of criminal investigative information or records believes that release of the information 23
will jeopardize the right of the State to prosecute a defendant or the right of a defendant to receive 24
a fair trial or will undermine an ongoing or future investigation, it may seek an order from a court 25
of competent jurisdiction to prevent disclosure of the information. In such an action, the custodian 26
of the records shall have the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence evidence, or 27
clear and convincing evidence if the request is from the Child Welfare Case Escalation Team 28
pursuant to a written demand under G.S. 108A-15.27(c), that disclosure of the information in 29
question will jeopardize the right of the State to prosecute a defendant or the right of a defendant 30
to receive a fair trial or will undermine an ongoing or future investigation. Actions brought 31
pursuant to this paragraph shall be set down for immediate hearing, and subsequent proceedings 32
in the actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts. 33
… 34
(h) The director or the director's representative may not enter a private residence for 35
assessment purposes without at least one of the following: 36
(1) The reasonable belief that a juvenile is in imminent danger of death or serious 37
physical injury. 38
(2) The permission of the parent or person responsible for the juvenile's care. 39
(3) The accompaniment of a law enforcement officer who has legal authority to 40
enter the residence. 41
(4) An order from a court of competent jurisdiction. 42
(5) If the report alleges suspected abuse or neglect of a high-risk juvenile and the 43
Child Welfare Case Escalation Team has been activated and is assisting the 44
county department of social services conducting the assessment at the 45
juvenile's residence." 46
47
PART III. RECOGNITION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT TRAINING 48
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 49
Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services, the sum of one hundred thousand 50
dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year for training for child 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1144-First Edition Page 5
protective services employees and social workers employed by county departments of social 1
services to recognize abuse and neglect. Once developed, the Di vision shall ensure that this 2
training is virtually available for future trainings and continuing education for those employees 3
that need it. The Division shall prioritize training specialists, prior to dissemination to the entirety 4
of social workers statewide. 5
6
PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE 7
SECTION 4. Sections 1(b) and 3 of this act become effective July 1, 2026. Section 8
1(c) of this act is effective when it becomes law. The remainder of this act becomes effective 9
October 1, 2026. 10