Timely permanency placement for children living outside of their homes has been an issue for many years in our community. Many children were in the foster care system for years as social workers struggled to assist the families in making a decision in compliance with the issues that caused the child to be removed initially. As the Alliance worked with the Gaston County Department of Social Services (DSS) and their Families for Kids initiative during the past few years, specific areas of concern and solutions for those areas began to be formulated with the assistance of Chief District Court Judge Dennis Redwing.

Using a model developed in Mecklenburg District Courts and funded by the Sisters of Mercy Foundation and North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission, the Alliance developed the Child Dependency Mediation program as a strategy for more efficient and effective placement for children who had been removed from their homes due to neglect and abuse.

Child Dependency Mediation is an informal process of dispute resolution in which two trained mediators, as neutral third parties, assist in disputing parties with reaching a mutually acceptable resolution to the issues surrounding care and placement of children in DSS custody. The disputing parties could include parents, the parents’ attorneys, investigating social worker, DSS attorney, child’s attorney, Guardian Ad Litem, foster parents, reunification social worker, and any other parties identified as having a direct interest in or assisting in a positive outcome.

The ultimate decision making authority rests with the parties themselves. The mediator’s role is to assist the disputing parties in defining and clarifying issues, reducing obstacles to communication, exploring possible solutions, and reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement.

After the agreement is reached in mediation and all parties sign it, the DSS attorney takes the agreement to court at the next scheduled date and it is read into the record. Once the Judge approves the agreement, it becomes an enforceable order of the court. The order is reviewed in court every three months to verify compliance and the child is reunified or termination of parental rights occurs after the plan is completed – usually within twelve months.

The main goal of this program is to assist the child in finding a permanent solution to their home situation within twelve months. Other goals include shared ownership and development of case plans which increases parental compliance, reduce the time from removal to permanency, reduce the number of court hearings, reach full or partial agreement in all cases mediated, and to increase participant satisfaction of all disputing parties.