North Carolina’s new state budget funds a central piece of the Dominique Moody Safety Act, creating a state team to review high-risk child welfare cases while leaving several broader transparency and accountability proposals pending.
The budget provides $650,000 in direct state funding for the Dominique Moody provisions in the 2026-27 fiscal year, including $550,000 in recurring funding for six full-time employees on the Child Welfare Case Escalation Team and $100,000 in one-time funding to train child protective services employees and county social workers to recognize abuse and neglect.
The provisions follow the death of Dominique Moody, a 6-year-old Mecklenburg County girl who died in December after alleged abuse and neglect. Three caretakers were charged in connection with her death.
A North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services review found Mecklenburg County child welfare officials missed repeated opportunities to intervene. Four of five reports involving Dominique’s household that were screened out should have been accepted for investigation.
State officials also found county workers did not adequately review the household’s full child protective services history, make sufficient collateral contacts, or maintain the required level of contact to assess Dominique’s safety.
The findings prompted an eight-hour House Oversight Committee hearing and broader legislation named after Dominique. The House unanimously approved Senate Bill 280 in June, but only part of it was incorporated into the final state budget signed by Gov. Josh Stein on July 7.
Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, spoke in support of the proposed legislation, saying lawmakers have “no greater responsibility than to take care of the children of our state.”
“I read the report on Dominique, and it’s enough to make the biggest, strongest man cry to know what that child endured,” Jones said. “No child should ever, ever have to go through the torment that this blessed little soul went through.”
Jones added lawmakers owe action to Moody’s memory and to other children caught in the child welfare system.
“Maybe this will save that one child,” Jones said. “Dominique’s not the only one who has ever been through this. We owe it to her to have her name emboldened in the North Carolina law forever.”
The budget creates a Child Welfare Case Escalation Team within the DHHS Division of Social Services. The team will provide an additional level of state review when a county receives a new abuse or neglect report involving a child in a home with a significant child welfare history.
Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, a leading sponsor of the legislation, said the team would have been required to review Dominique’s case because of the number of reports that had previously been screened out.
“This would have provided a much-needed review, a second set of eyes, if you will, that could have reviewed the decision-making and ultimately, I believe, saved this life,” Chesser said in a statement provided to Carolina Journal.
Cases may qualify for escalation when a household has multiple previous reports, including reports that were screened out, or a pattern of substantiated or unsubstantiated allegations indicating chronic abuse or neglect.
Other qualifying factors include previous removals into foster or kinship care, repeated medical or mental health neglect, domestic violence, drug activity, prior child fatalities or near fatalities, and extensive contact with child welfare agencies.
County social services directors will be required to notify the state escalation team within two business days after receiving a new report involving a child in a high-risk home.
The assigned state specialist will be able to review the county’s complete case record and obtain relevant records from state or local law enforcement. The review will cover previous reports, interviews, collateral contacts, safety plans, services provided to the family, and county decisions.
The specialist will also identify gaps in services, assess the child’s current safety plan, and create a timeline of the child’s previous involvement with child protective services. The team will work with county officials to guide intervention decisions and identify additional services or protections.
Chesser said including the team in the budget demonstrates the level of support for the proposal in the House and Senate.
“I think its inclusion in the budget shows the overwhelming support this bill has in both chambers,” Chesser said. “I’m thankful that our leadership recognized the urgency of this change to prevent a future tragedy and ultimately allowed us to include it in the budget.”
DHHS is also directed in the budget to explore an automated process for counties to notify the state when a case qualifies for escalation.
The budget leaves out several broader reforms from the House-passed bill, including requirements for photo or video documentation during some home assessments, a study of county liability for child welfare failures, and a predictive risk modeling program to identify patterns across multiple reports and investigations.
It also excludes a public dashboard comparing county child welfare performance, expanded disclosure requirements after child fatalities or near fatalities, and annual reporting on escalated cases and the results of state intervention.
Chesser said the omissions resulted from the speed with which lawmakers completed the final budget, not from opposition to the remaining proposals.
“Given the nature of how quickly the budget came together, all provisions simply didn’t have time to get across the finish line,” Chesser said. “I don’t think this reflects on the importance of these provisions, nor the desire of the body to see them enacted.”
Chesser said he plans to continue pursuing changes intended to improve safety and outcomes for children in the state’s child welfare system.
