Path to Permanency

05/20/2026

Important conversation this morning regarding the case surrounding the tragic death of Dominique Moody. These Charlotte reporters and UNC-Chapel Hill child welfare expert speak candidly about what we should learn from the case and potential measures to prevent future tragedies. The need for greater transparency and accountability were the overarching themes.

05/19/2026

📣 RSVP today for our upcoming virtual webinar: Safeguarding the Path to Permanency for Foreign-Born Youth in Foster Care

Join Path to Permanency and Foster + Bloom Family Formation Law Group on Thursday, May 21, 2026, from 1:30–2:30 PM for an important training on the intersection of North Carolina child welfare law and immigration pathways. This webinar will cover how to identify foreign-born children in foster care and understand legal options including SIJS, I-130 petitions, asylum, U visas, and T visas.

This training is especially relevant for attorneys, GALs, social workers, foster/kinship parents, and child welfare professionals who want to better protect youth from aging out or reaching permanency without legal residency.

✅ Free virtual webinar
✅ Approved certification for continuing education for NC lawyers, NC social workers, GALs, and foster/kinship parents.
✅ Important guidance on age-out deadlines and immigration planning

RSVP here: https://www.pathtopermanency.org/events-1/safeguarding-the-path-to-permanency-for-foreign-born-youth-in-foster-care

Explore the intersection of NC child welfare law and immigration pathways. This webinar covers how to identify foreign-born children in foster care and navigate legal options including SIJS, I-130 petitions, and humanitarian relief such as asylum, U visas, and T visas.

05/14/2026

“If there are small changes we can make to help foster kids reach permanency faster, we should do that.”

This is why Path to Permanency exists.

In Mecklenburg County, our mission is to reduce the amount of time kids spend in foster care by bringing together the people who know the system best: former foster youth, foster parents, GALs, social workers, attorneys, and community members with lived experience.

Last year, 50 front-line voices helped identify the top barriers to permanency: accountability, case professional turnover, and mental health. Today, our growing movement includes more than 280 members across all six Mecklenburg districts.

Our first solution focuses on Permanency Planning Review meetings, or PPRs—state-mandated quarterly case reviews meant to keep every child’s case moving toward a safe, permanent home. These meetings matter. When they don’t happen consistently, children wait longer.

Watch the reel to hear why timely decision-making can change a child’s life.

Because childhood is short. Permanency can’t wait.

05/12/2026

Oops—our email needed a little permanency planning review of its own. 😅
Quick correction from today’s email: our summer opportunities virtual update will be Tuesday, 6/2, from 7:30–8:30 PM.
We’ll be sharing updates and ways to get involved with Path to Permanency’s work this summer:
*workflow and technology
*the judicial scorecard
*improving in-county placement capacity
*increasing parent defender pay
*networking within the system
We hope you’ll join us and plug into one of these important efforts! Link to RSVP:
https://www.pathtopermanency.org/events-1/base-update-meeting-2

05/08/2026

In Mecklenburg County, too many children are growing up in limbo.

By law, children should reunify within 1 year or reach another permanent home—through guardianship or adoption—within 2 years. But in Mecklenburg, over half of youth in foster care still do not have permanency after two years.

And the cost is more than emotional.

Foster care costs an average of $48,000 per child, per year in county tax dollars alone. The longer cases drag on, the more our community pays—and the more children lose.

Delayed permanency means more trauma, more instability, and more childhood spent waiting on adults to make decisions.

When children can safely return home, move to guardianship, or be adopted in a timely way, kids win. Families win. Taxpayers win. Our whole community wins.

This is a call for accountability.

We need consistent case reviews that prioritize the child’s timeline—not just the system’s timeline. We need clear expectations when progress is not being made. And we need a stronger commitment to timely permanency: reunification, guardianship, or adoption.

Because when nothing changes for years, that is not grace.

That is a child losing their childhood.

And that should matter to all of us.

05/06/2026

YFS' response to WFAE's inquiry following Path to Permanency's Press Conference on April 21, represents a really big step for Mecklenburg County foster youth and for P2P's mission.

We are encouraged by the county’s commitment to a new tracking process and designated staff to coordinate these reviews. And we will keep listening, surveying, and advocating to ensure policy becomes practice for every child in care.

Because children deserve more than uncertainty. They deserve communication, accountability, and timely permanency.

Read the full WFAE article to learn more. https://www.wfae.org/health/2026-05-06/after-foster-parents-raise-concerns-mecklenburg-county-says-it-will-improve-case-reviews?_amp=true

Mecklenburg County says it’s assigning staff to help ensure youth in foster care receive required 90-day case reviews. The move comes after local advocates raised concerns the meetings were not happening consistently.

05/05/2026

Childhood does not pause while systems wait.

Every month a child spends in foster care without permanency is a month of uncertainty, instability, and lost childhood.

This reel is a call to every adult with the power to act: we need accountability in Mecklenburg County’s foster care system.

We need case reviews that happen consistently and keep children moving toward permanency.
We need clear expectations when progress stalls.
We need leaders willing to ask hard questions and demand better outcomes.
And we need our community to speak up until every child has a safe, stable, permanent home — whether through reunification, guardianship, or adoption.

Timely permanency is not just a policy goal. It is protection. It is stability. It is childhood.

Share this reel. Tag a leader. Talk about the timelines. Join Path to Permanency as we work to make Mecklenburg County a place where children do not wait years for the family and stability they deserve.

05/04/2026

Are you a member of a child welfare team planning permanency for a foreign-born youth?

Join Path to Permanency for Safeguarding the Path to Permanency for Foreign-Born Youth in Foster Care, a 1-hour webinar led by Kelly Dempsey, Esq., Managing Member at Foster + Bloom Family Formation Law Group.

This training will help attorneys, social workers, GALs, caregivers, and child welfare professionals identify immigration issues early, understand key pathways like SIJS, I-130 petitions, asylum, U Visas, and T Visas, and align permanency planning with immigration strategy before critical age-out deadlines.

Attendees will learn how to spot red flags, avoid common pitfalls, and strengthen coordination between courts, DSS, GALs, attorneys, and foster families.

📅 Date: Thursday, May 21
🕐 Time: 1:30–2:30 PM
💻 Location: Virtual
🎓 CE/CLE credit
🔗 Register: https://www.pathtopermanency.org/events-1/safeguarding-the-path-to-permanency-for-foreign-born-youth-in-foster-care/form

Because immigration planning is a critical step in the path to permanency.

05/01/2026

Last week former foster youth spoke to County Commissioners, bravely saying "When you make decisions...I hope you think about me." We are encouraged by YFS' decision to work to establish Permanency Planning Reviews in every case. Executive Director, Josclyn Reed, meets with CC Arthur Griffin today to continue the conversation of accountability for these vital quarterly case meetings.

04/30/2026

Your voices are opening doors.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent email campaign to key stakeholders. Because you shared your stories, advocated thoughtfully, and leaned into this work, we are already seeing meaningful progress for Mecklenburg County foster families and children.

Your advocacy helped make these next steps possible:

✨ NC DHHS is planning an in-person listening session on May 7 with Mecklenburg County foster parents
✨ Caleb Theodros’ office has committed to staying engaged on legislation to improve North Carolina’s foster care system
✨ Meetings have taken place with NC House Representatives Mary Belk and Becky Carney
✨ We connected with a legislative assistant to NC Senator Woodson Bradley who has Guardian ad Litem experience and is highly engaged
✨ An introduction has been made to Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch
✨ County Commissioner Arthur Griffin reached out to hear directly about a foster parent’s experience
✨ County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell connected with us regarding Citizen Advisory Panel experience
✨ Conversations are continuing with Commissioners Laura Meier and Susan Rodriguez-McDowell to help elevate Path to Permanency in local discussions

This momentum is the direct result of your voices.

Thank you for learning how to tell your stories effectively, for showing up, and for helping move this work forward in such a powerful way. We are excited to keep building on this progress together.

Advocacy works. And this is only the beginning.

04/28/2026

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month—and here in Mecklenburg County, the reality is clear: too many children are still waiting for safety, stability, and a chance to thrive.

In 2025, Youth & Family Services reported:
▪️ 16,109 referrals to the child abuse hotline
▪️ 9,736 cases screened in for investigation
▪️ 713 families identified in need of services
▪️ 197 children entered foster care

At the same time, CMPD is investigating 725 crimes against children—most involving sexual abuse.

Behind every number is a child who deserves protection, support, and a future filled with possibility. A child experiencing abuse hasn’t yet taken their first step on the Path to Permanency.

Prevention starts with awareness. It continues with action. And it succeeds when a community refuses to look away.

Together, we can help more children take that first step—toward safety, healing, and permanency.