Wilson County DSS joins state pilot to standardize trauma assessments for children in care

Rob Wheeler, deputy director of the Wilson County Department of Social Services, told the Board of Commissioners at the April meeting that the county is participating in a state pilot to standardize trauma screening and clinical assessments for children entering foster care.

Wheeler said the pilot pairs foster-care social worker screening with a group of licensed providers trained to perform trauma-informed comprehensive clinical assessments (TICAs). "The quicker we can get kids assessed and get them matched with the appropriate services, the better off they're gonna be," Wheeler said, summarizing the research rationale behind the effort.

The county is using the state's Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP). Wheeler said Wilson County's internal clinical team was selected as a provider for the TICA component, and the other selected provider serving the county is based in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He said the pilot involves four counties—Surry, Rockingham, Rutherford and Wilson—and Wilson is the only participating county in the eastern part of the state.

Wheeler described training and quality assurance steps: foster-care social workers received training on trauma recognition and screening; internal clinicians completed advanced trauma training and are adapting to the state's new assessment form; completed assessments will be reviewed by an independent third-party licensed trauma professional for quality assurance. Clinicians must meet scoring standards during training and demonstrate consistent performance before moving to independent practice.

Wheeler said the county has made a small number of early referrals to its clinicians and expects to monitor outcomes as the pilot proceeds. He told the board that the state's broader rollout was delayed by recent federal freezes on grants and other funding, and he estimated—without a firm date—that a wider statewide rollout might occur "around the first of the year," subject to grant availability.

No formal board action was taken during the presentation. Commissioners received the update and did not place a new directive on the agenda.

Ending: County staff will continue implementation and monitoring of the pilot and return updates as the program advances and as the state sets a formal rollout schedule.