Guilford County's child welfare agency is under a state corrective action plan. One expert explains what that means

This summer, Guilford County’s Department of Social Services became one of just a handful of counties to be placed under a corrective action plan by the state. The plan was imposed after an investigation revealed several deficiencies in the county’s management of child welfare services.

WFDD’s April Laissle sat down with Sara DePasquale, a professor specializing in child welfare law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to discuss what the plan means for Guilford County, and how the state determines when to intervene in local social services.

Interview Highlights:

On why it takes time for counties to comply with the plans:

“If a county department social services is at a point where there needs to be a corrective action plan, then there were some significant issues that we're seeing. And it's not just going to be one issue, it's going to be a myriad of practices that need to be addressed.”

On the state’s recent method of oversight: 

"It's certainly an improvement from what it was. I think some of the things that are a real struggle for the state and for the counties is a lack of resources in terms of staff, resources for the children themselves, and resources for the parents in terms of services. And so some of the problems with the system aren’t about supervision. Other problems with the system are about supervision. And so this certainly has been a more proactive approach for the state."