Residents and social workers press Alexander County leaders on foster care staffing and licensing

Several residents and a former county social worker told the Alexander County Board of Commissioners on the evening of the board’s March 2025 regular meeting that chronic staff turnover and limited licensing capacity at the Department of Social Services are harming local foster children and families.

At the meeting, former social worker Taneal Hellman said staffing shortages left remaining workers "doing the job intended for 3 or 4 people," and said licensing historically has not been given enough priority, leaving the county with far fewer foster homes. "When we don't have a licensing worker who can give the job the time and attention it needs, we start to lose the foster parents that we do have left," Hellman said.

The remarks were echoed by longtime foster parent Brenda Price, who said she has fostered more than…