A new report on Person County's Department of Social Services (DSS) released Monday morning, as the county and department are under intense scrutiny, following the death of a one year old in DSS care in May.
The report has been in the works for over a year, and was commissioned from an outside consulting group. It details what the county has done right, and what can be done better, as the county works to merge various social departments.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Among the areas identified for improvement were Child Welfare Services.
The report’s authors found staff did have a strong sense of teamwork, but were also struggling with poorly maintained and organized paperwork, and a high workload. The report found providing staff with more resources, “could prevent placement and removal of children from the home.”
The report was released as community activists and family members of 1-year-old Kemari Morgan have been sharply critical of the county and DSS.
Morgan was found dead on May 24, at what family members said was the foster home he and his two-year-old sister had been placed at in Roxboro. Few details have been released since, but at the time, the Person County Sheriff’s office told WRAL Morgan had previous medical conditions. As of Monday, investigators are waiting on a toxicology report to determine Morgan’s cause of death.
“When children die, something has to change,” said Amanda Wallace, a former Wake County CPS investigator and founder of the group Operation Stop CPS.
Wallace addressed the Person County Board of Commissioners during their Monday meeting.
“It’s your responsibility to do something here,” she said.
Activists and Morgan’s family have also called on the county to remove Morgan’s sister from the foster home, and place her either back with the children’s mother, or grandmother.
Both women pled their case to the board of commissioners two weeks ago.
“All I know is my baby is no longer here, and the people who were supposed to protect him, failed him,” said Bree Morgan, Kemari's mother.
“The baby needs to come home," said Pamela Morgan, Kemari's grandmother. "She don’t need to sit there and wonder, where’s my little brother at?”
The Person County Sheriff’s Office, state and local DSS offices are involved in the investigation into Morgan’s death.
The social services report released Monday did include some praise for the county’s department, including steps leaders have taken to improve office communication.
“We’re actively working to improve things bit by bit,” said assistant county manager Brian Hart.