Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 165

Short Title: Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Torbett and Loftis (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 24, 2025
*H165-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE 2
WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. Article 3 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding 5
a new Part to read: 6
"Part 6A. Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office. 7
"§ 143B-156.1. Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office. 8
(a) Establishment. – There is hereby established the Child and Family Welfare 9
Ombudsman Office within the Department of Health and Human Services . The Office shall 10
report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Office shall focus on youth, 11
birth families, and resource parents that are directly involved in the North Carolina child welfare 12
system, including (i) assisting foster parents with issues , (ii) resolving conflicts related to the 13
licensing of family and therapeutic foster homes, (iii) placing children in foster care and assisting 14
in adoption procedures, and (iv) providing support and information to assist the foster care 15
process, and (v) other related matters. The Office shall advocate on behalf of these populations 16
in this State and support their rights to ensure their voices are heard and concerns are addressed. 17
The Secretary shall select a person who is qualified with unique or lived experience, with a 18
familiarity with State and federal laws and rules regarding foster care to serve as the Ombuds . 19
Any additional staff shall also have work or lived experience in the foster care space. The Office 20
shall coordinate with all State and federal agencies , including the Department of Health and 21
Human Services, th e Social Services Commission, and local county departments of social 22
services, to effectuate the purpose of the Office as described in this Part. 23
(b) Powers and Duties. – The Office shall also have the following powers and duties: 24
(1) Gather information through interviews and directly access case information 25
within court and State databases. 26
(2) Disseminate and advertise information to resource parents on the rights of 27
resource parents in this State and seek to educate resource parents about State 28
and federal laws and rules applicable to their situation. 29
(3) Investigate and attempt to resolve hindrances and issues for families or 30
individuals seeking approval for licensure as a family foster home or 31
therapeutic foster home and current resource parents navigating compliance 32
with existing State and federal laws and rules. 33
(4) Assist resource parents with waiver applications for licensure, if applicable. 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 165-First Edition
(5) Offer classes or instructional videos to resource parents to assist in the 1
licensure process. 2
(6) Identify resources for resource parents seeking licensure approval, 3
modification of foster homes, or other support resources. 4
(7) Gather and review all relevant information when receiving a complaint or 5
inquiry. 6
(8) Formulate a process for mediation between parties. 7
(9) Work with all local county departments of social services to provide outreach 8
information to youth, families, and resource parents. 9
(c) Neutrality. – In exercising duties under this Part, the Office shall operate in a neutral 10
manner and complete comprehensive, unbiased views of matters using all relevant information 11
to make recommendations for action, if necessary. The Office shall prioritize and determine the 12
Office's scope of work and focus internally, without the interference of any other agency. The 13
Office shall develop and maintain a credible review process for all casework undertaken. 14
(d) Confidentiality. – All communication between the Office and prospective resource 15
parents or individuals seeking assistance from the Office shall be confidential and shall not be 16
considered public records under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 17
(e) Whistleblower Protection. – It is the policy of this State that persons in the foster care 18
system have the right to report violations of law or ethical concerns to the Office for the protection 19
of the public . Therefore , n o person, firm, corporation, or unincorporated association , or a 20
stakeholder, may subject a person to adverse action , termination, demotion, compensation 21
reduction, or hostile work environment for reporting a violation of law or ethical concerns to the 22
Office. The Office shall conduct a review of every report and determine the correct action to take 23
to protect the whistleblower depending on the circumstanc es of each report, including referring 24
the report to the proper law enforcement agency or the Office of the Attorney General for review. 25
(f) Reporting. – By October 1 of each year, the Office shall compile data and submit it 26
to the Office of the Governor and the Department of Health and Human Services detailing the 27
number of inquiries and complaints handled by the Office and trends in recurring issues for 28
resource parents and local county departments of social services , including qua ntitative and 29
qualitative data . The Office shall make all reports available on their public website. Any 30
information contained in the report shall not be able to be used to identify any individual or 31
resource parent. The Office shall use the data to submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight 32
Committee on Health and Human Services no later than November 1 of each year." 33
SECTION 2. There is appropriated the recurring sum of one hundred thirty -seven 34
thousand dollars ($137,000) for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and one hundred forty -five thousand 35
dollars ($145,000) for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to the Department of Health and Human Services 36
to establish the Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office and hire one full -time equivalent 37
employee. 38
SECTION 3. The Department of Health and Human Services shall have the Office 39
operational by January 1, 2026, and shall engage in appropriate rulemaking to implement the 40
provisions of this act. 41
SECTION 4. Section 1 and Section 2 of this act become effective July 1, 2025. The 42
remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 43