Mitchell County DSS reports 20 children in foster care, urges local foster recruitment

At a regular Mitchell County board session, Mitchell County Department of Social Services staff reported that 20 children were in foster care and urged recruitment of more local foster homes to reduce placements outside the county. Candace Franklin, who said she supervises adoptions and licensing part of the time, provided the caseload numbers and licensing totals.

Why it matters: Department staff said many children placed out of county lose schools, churches and community ties; keeping more placements local is a stated goal that would affect children’s stability and county casework needs.

Franklin listed placement counts and licensing figures during the director’s update. "The total children in foster care is 20," Franklin said. She reported five children in county placements and 15 placed out of county, and said 11 foster homes in the county are licensed. She also provided levels and placements: five children in county foster homes; nine placed in basic care; three in level‑2 therapeutic foster care; three in level‑3 group homes; one in a crisis center/psychiatric hospital/PRTF; three in DPA (volunteer placement agreements) ages 18–21; and one categorized as runaway/detention/other.

Franklin said recruitment and targeted training are the primary paths to increasing in‑county capacity. "My hope and my dream is that we could have more children living in the county that they're, used to, that they're familiar with," she said, adding that recruitment, public outreach and therapeutic training would be needed to serve higher‑needs children.

Board members and staff discussed learning from other counties. A board member recommended contacting Ginny Millsaps from McDowell County, noting that McDowell had stronger recruitment numbers; staff did not dispute the suggestion and said they would pursue outreach. The transcript records staff saying they will follow up with that contact.

Child protective services (CPS) and adult protective services (APS) figures were reported alongside foster statistics. For July, DSS received 23 CPS reports and screened 10 in; 13 assessments remained open at month’s end. APS reports were described as increasing; staff reported 16 wards and 15 payees and said APS is handling a heavy workload with fewer staff compared with CPS. The department reported serving 83 children with subsidy programs in the county.

Discussion vs. decisions: The meeting record shows this was a staff report and discussion. No ordinance, resolution or policy change was adopted during the discussion of foster care, and no formal direction beyond staff follow‑up and outreach was recorded.

Staff and board members identified training and licensing capacity as constraints to keeping more children in county placements. Franklin and other staff said therapeutic‑level training and recruitment of quality foster families — not merely higher counts — are priorities.

Looking ahead: Staff said they will follow up with outreach to other counties for recruitment strategies and return with updated numbers and recommendations at a future meeting.