Update: House Bill 612 passed the House in a 111-0 vote on May 6, 2025.

A bipartisan proposal to better North Carolina’s foster care system was introduced in the General Assembly this week aiming to resolve ongoing struggles that cause innocent children to get hung up in the state’s foster care system.

House officials introduced the Fostering Care in NC Act (HB 612) during a press conference on Wednesday, which would reduce delays and secure permanency to move children out of DSS custody as safely and quickly as possible, which results in better outcomes for children.

The challenge is that permanency depends on multiple systems seamlessly working together, including the courts, child welfare services, behavioral health services, and more.

“Delays in one system create barriers in another,” said Lisa Cauley, Senior Director for Child, Family, and Adult Services at NC DHHS. “This bill brings these systems together around the shared goal of reducing delays and securing permanency to move children out of DSS custody as safely and quickly as possible.”

All 100 counties in North Carolina operate their foster care systems individually through the Division of Social Services (DSS), headed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The different operations make standardization of services and care difficult, something the new proposal aims to repair through procedural reforms.

“This bill’s focus is streamlining the process and trying to get the courts out of the way and the system out of the way, and for being a burden to foster parents, if you will, in some ways. This is more focused on process, this particular piece of legislation,” said Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash. “I think right now, just in co-sponsorship, we’re close to having the votes to get it across the floor as it sits right now.’

Key provisions of the bill include:

  • Giving the state more power to watch over county social services through a rule called “Christal’s Law.”
  • Updating rules for courts handling custody, guardianship, and adoption; including letting parents and adoptive families agree on contact after adoption.
  • Setting rules for where kids in care can stay, needing court approval for places without a license.
  • Scheduling regular check-ins with the court to see how kids in care are doing.
  • Stops parents from owing child support to the state while their kid is in foster care.
  • Adding kids affected by human trafficking or certain sexual crimes to the “abused juveniles” list for better protection.
  • Making social services check abuse reports within 24 hours and reports of neglect within 72 hours, and processes to address issues when there’s a conflict of interest.

“This bill gives North Carolina a really great opportunity to move closer to having an efficient, predictable, and consistent process centered around safety and permanency for all of our children who make some sort of impact with the foster care system,” said co-sponsor Rep. Vernetta Alston, D-Durham.

Leaders have been working on the 28-page legislation for 16 months, going to great lengths to craft policy that effectively moves the needle for the children who need it the most. Chesser said they brought everyone to the table to participate in the conversation around bettering foster care outcomes, including DHHS and DSS, in addition to gaining approval from dozens of other foster care and health groups.

Many of the supportive groups have their own initiatives to enhance the state foster care system, such as Your Case Plan, a company that aims to streamline communication among foster parents, biological parents, case workers, and attorneys through a new communication tool.

Ryan O’Donnell, CEO of Your Case Plan, created a communication tool designed for all parties involved in the foster care process to prevent communication issues that cause delays among the many personnel involved in the system. O’Donnell built the app originally to help his foster son, who had been in the system for seven years, reunite with his family.

“His case probably could have lasted a few weeks if they had simply gotten all on the same page and knew who to reach out to,” O’Donnell said. “And it’s just crazy how many kids just fall through the cracks because we don’t have systems and everything to do what’s best for the kids.”

He explained that if everyone shows up to court but not everyone is on the same page, the case might get kicked down the road for another three to six months. Similar to My Chart, Your Case Plan gives everyone involved one place to stay on the same page so kids don’t get stuck in the care because of staff turnover and communication gaps.

“Technology can play a really big part in improving transparency and accountability in social services,” O’Donnell added. “I think everyone kind of feels the frustration when you’ve got a new person who gets assigned to a case, they don’t know the backstory. A lot gets lost in translation so we just try to make it really easy for organizations to get started.”

The app is currently statewide in Oklahoma and launched just weeks ago in North Carolina. It’s currently available in four counties — Mecklenburg, Buncombe, New Hanover, and Durham — and they aim to be statewide by the end of the year.

You can follow the progress of the Fostering Care in NC Act here.