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Craven County social-services teams review child-welfare trends, expand drowning-prevention and safe-sleep outreach
Summary
A county social-services presenter told commissioners that child-welfare reports have slightly declined in recent years, outlined fatality-prevention findings and said the county will pilot life-jacket stations at boat ramps as part of 2025 prevention priorities.
A Craven County Department of Social Services presenter briefed the Board of Commissioners on the work of the Community Child Protection Team and the Child Fatality Prevention Team, reporting on 2024 caseload data, prevention recommendations and planned community partnerships for 2025.
The presenter said that in 2024 the county received 1,292 child-welfare reports; 845 of those were screened in under county policy and 55 involved substance-affected infants. The presenter noted a roughly 4% decrease in reports from 2023 to 2024 and an approximately 7% decrease from 2021 to 2024 in substance-affected reports; the presenter also cited a 27% decline from 2021 to 2024 in a related category discussed in the presentation.
The teams review high-risk cases and identify service gaps. The presenter said Franklin County DSS classifies substance-affected infant cases as high risk and requires weekly contact, managerial involvement in safety planning and documented case decisions at closure. For mental-health placements the presenter reported ongoing partnerships with Trillium and Springbrook (an inpatient center in South Carolina) and referrals to South Mountain PAC and Easterseals. The presenter said staff continue to refer parents to veteran services and to peer-support resources for caregivers of children with disabilities.
On fatality prevention, the presenter said the team reviewed 18 deaths in which abuse or maltreatment was not the leading cause. Ten of those were attributed to perinatal conditions such as prematurity. The presenter said no sickle-cell system problems were identified and that sexually transmitted diseases appeared among causes investigated; the county health department provides free sickle-cell testing and prenatal-care education. The presenter emphasized continued safe-sleep education, noting that Craven County DSS and the health department provide safe-sleep assessments for infants under 1 and can supply pack-and-plays or car seats when families cannot afford them; an educational video plays in the health department and DSS waiting rooms and staff distribute related QR-code resource magnets.
A prevention project identified by the team addresses drowning risk. The presenter said the teams have secured approval from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to pilot life-jacket stations at boat ramps and swimming areas; the pilot will include locations in Craven County and Jones County.
The presenter closed by thanking the board for previous funding and support and by offering the QR-code magnets to commissioners for distribution in the community.
What this means
The presentation summarized recent case-volume trends and reinforced existing prevention priorities: substance-use education for pregnant people, safe-sleep outreach, mental-health placement coordination and a new drowning-prevention pilot. Commissioners thanked the presenter for materials (magnets with a QR-code resource link) and offered to share them in the community.
No formal action was taken on the presentation itself; staff identified follow-up work and referrals to community partners for the 2025 focus areas.
