County staff report increases in foster-care caseload and outline recruitment, training efforts

Cabarrus County social-services officials updated the Board of Commissioners on child-welfare operations, reporting caseload and foster-home metrics and describing efforts to recruit and train new foster families.

Deputy child-welfare staff cited a snapshot of "about 182 children" currently in care and said the county had roughly 43 active foster homes. Staff also reported 198 reports screened in during the referenced period and emphasized the county’s focus on safety, due diligence and family engagement.

Tammy Baird, program administrator, walked the board through intake and adult-protective-service examples and explained that services prioritize keeping individuals in their homes when safe and appropriate. On foster-family development, the department described a seven-week training program that staff said has helped increase capacity.

Board members asked how many families are in the recruitment pipeline; staff said there are families interested in becoming foster parents and that state-level approvals are required. Commissioners also asked about regulatory oversight and coordination with state agencies; staff said the state performs regulatory functions and the county conducts protective-services evaluations.

Ending: The presentation concluded with staff offering contact information and asking commissioners to support recruitment and community awareness efforts; no board action was taken during the update.