ABOUT THE HARNETT COUNTY
FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION PROGRAM

Harnett County Department of Social Services Children Services Division strives to ensure the safety and well-being of all the children within the county. In 2004, the agency received 1,046 reports alleging abuse, neglect, or dependency of a child or children. These reports were in reference to approximately 2,291 children. Once a report is made the Child Protective Services unit will make a decision whether or not an investigation into the allegations needs to be completed. Last year, Harnett County Child Protective Services substantiated approximately 31% of the reports that were taken. Of those cases, 93 children were removed from their home and placed in to foster care. The other cases received other supportive or preventive services.

Harnett County Department of Social Services currently has 138 children in the foster care program. Of those children, 35% are five years of old and under, 33% are ages six to twelve years old, and 30% are 13-18 years and older. A small percentage of children remain in care until the age of twenty-one years old. Of the 138 children in care at this time 38% of the children are African-American, 4% are Hispanic, 52% are Caucasian, and 2.5% are other. Twelve children are legally free for adoption at this time.

To better serve the needs of the children across the United States who are awaiting adoption, the federal government passed the Multethnic Placement Act. Harnett County Department of Social Services focuses on children waiting in foster care and works to identify and recruit families for foster care and adoption. The law prevents discrimination in the placement of children in foster care and adoption on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

Currently, most of the children who are legally clear for adoption have specific special needs. Special needs can be described as: children over the age of six, siblings, minority and or bi-racial children and children with physical, mental, and/or emotional handicaps. Most of these children are eligible for adoption assistance benefits after the final decree of adoption until they reach the age of eighteen. These benefits can include monthly cash payments, vendor payments, and reimbursement for some adoption related expenses. The children may also be eligible to continue to receive Medicaid to help with meeting their medical and mental health needs.

In addition to our need for adoptive homes for waiting children, we also need permanency planning foster homes. These are homes interested in providing care for children as long as out of home care is needed, even to adopt children if that becomes their permanent plan. Often the Court will determine that it is no longer appropriate to work with parents to reunify their child with them. However, it may take a longer period of time to legally free the child for adoption, and the child can best be served in a family that is prepared to adopt when that legal process is completed. We would like to encourage you to consider the foster care program as a possible means toward adoption.

Our licensing social workers provide orientation and pre-service training to give families the opportunity to explore this option of foster care. Through the pre-service training which is a thirty-hour training, families can make an informed decision about whether they would like to foster, adopt, or whether the permanency planning foster care option is best for them.