Residents tell Cabarrus commissioners they were denied answers over child removals; concern raised about SNAP and food bank response
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Summary
Several public commenters accused county social services of mishandling child removals and asked for accountability; another commenter criticized the county's handling of a SNAP and food bank crisis and asked for transparency about $150,000 in funds.
During the informal public-comment portion of the meeting several residents made allegations about Department of Social Services procedures and demanded answers from county officials.
Jerry Anderson of Kannapolis said social workers and a judge were involved in what he described as an unjustified removal of his child and called for those employees to be removed from duties involving child custody. "Who comes to your house and takes anything and don't give you a reason, especially a child?" he said, adding he was owed an answer.
Jeter Anderson gave a related account, saying a child was removed on April 9, 2016, and that the family never received an explanation for the removal. He named specific social workers and accused them of neglect and mistreatment. Both speakers addressed the commissioners directly and demanded accountability; no county staff response is recorded in the public meeting transcript.
Robert Mitten (transcribed later as "Mitton") identified himself as a progressive and described himself as "Antifa" in the sense of being against fascism. He criticized the county's handling of a recent SNAP and food bank problem, asked how $150,000 was accounted for and whether churches or private donations replaced public funds, and urged transparency.
No formal response from county attorneys, DSS leadership or other staff is recorded in the public portion of the meeting on these allegations. Board members acknowledged the comments and proceeded to other agenda items; the transcript records no formal investigation directive in open session.
