CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Advocates are leaning on legal action with the hopes of turning the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) foster care into a place for treatment instead of trauma.
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Disability Rights North Carolina and the state's NAACP chapter with leaders who are fighting to improve practices inside psychiatric residential treatment facilities, known as PRTFs.
In the federal complaint, the PRTFs are referred to as "prison-like" and advocates argue they are being overused based on a 114% increase since 2010.
Cherene Caraco, CEO of Promise Resource Network said she experienced the issues of the mental health system firsthand as a teenager and now wants to work to counter the continuing troubles recent studies have shown.
“They are finding and have found for quite a while abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse of children in these environments," Caraco said.
She added more should be done to try to help instead of hurt those who struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse.
“Then there’s a whole other level of trauma and betrayal that happens that leads people to question if it is even safe to seek treatment," Caraco said.
NCDHHS data also shows children of color make up more than 40% of those confined to PRTFs and are more likely to be affected by systemic issues as a result. As part of the lawsuit, advocates are calling for more oversight and accountability.
In a statement, NCDHHS addressed these concerns and some of the solutions include:
- Establishing a new Division of Child and Family Well-Being dedicated to meeting whole child and family well-being that includes behavioral health prevention and treatment.
- Proposing a statewide Children and Families Specialty Plan within Medicaid-managed care to ensure foster children receive integrated physical and behavioral health services with specialized care management
- Releasing a coordinated action plan laying out strategies to address the urgent crisis of children with complex behavioral health needs who come into the care of child welfare services; and advocating for greater investment in child welfare, behavioral health, and regulatory oversight workforces. This plan was created and endorsed by many stakeholders, including child and family advocates, behavioral health providers, LME/MCOs, county DSS offices, and people with lived experience.
NCDHHS also added that significant funding is needed in order to continue to make these solutions a reality.
Contact Briana Harper at bharper@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.