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North Carolina

20 ELIGIBILITY REVIEWS

Frequent contact with Work First families is critical in ensuring their success at moving to employment. Counties are strongly encouraged to review a family’s progress on the terms of the MRA Plan of Action/Outcome Plan at least every three months. Families that do not participate in or allow the county to complete the periodic review will lose their Work First payment for at least one month. The family may re-apply for Work First, but eligibility can begin no earlier than the first of the month following the month of ineligibility. A face-to-face interview must be conducted, and eligibility re-determined at a minimum of every 12 months.

The Work First worker must provide or arrange for appropriate accommodations for families with limited English proficiency or with disabilities to ensure reviews are conducted as scheduled.

CHILD-ONLY CASES

In alignment with North Carolina’s 2019-2024 Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), strategic priorities include ensuring safety, permanency and well-being needs are met for all children involved with child welfare services. This includes providing support to meet the diverse needs of relatives and kin who are caring for children in the child welfare system. Namely, by 2024, NC’s CFSP aims to decrease the number of days it takes a child to exit foster care and increase the rate of permanent exits (reunification, adoption, guardianship, custody).1This goal reflects certain requirements identified in Rylan’s Law, as well as the Family First Prevention Services Act which has an increased focused on family-based placements and supports for kinship caregivers. County departments of social services/agencies are encouraged to provide family enrichment services to child- only cases and to conduct home visits. Children in child-only cases are likely to be “known” to the child welfare system. Often the child resides with a relative or kin rather than in the foster care system.

In terms of eligibility, child-only cases must be reviewed within six (6) months after the application has been approved and at least every 12 months thereafter. All reviews require a face-to-face interview. Counties must evaluate and determine whether additional contact is needed for individual families. In child-only cases there are several provisions that makes a family non-compliant. Some of these provisions include but are not limited to:

1) Child support non-cooperation, 2) Sanctions for failure to meet MRA provisions (child only); • Failure to have children who receive assistance appropriately immunized and required Health Checks and; • Failure to ensure children who receive assistance stay in school. • Failure to report changes in situation within ten days of knowing of the change; such as income and family composition, that affects the payment;

1 Also aligns with North Carolina’s Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP) which outlines a cohesive vision, sets benchmarks for impact by the year 2025, and establishes shared stakeholder accountability to achieve statewide goals for young children from birth through age 8. Visit here for more information: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/early-childhood/early-childhood-action-plan