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County's child services rank among state's best
A recent review by state officials ranks the quality of child protective services, foster care and adoptions in Jackson County as exemplary.

The N.C. Division of Social Services conducts the review every two years for all 100 county Departments of Social Services in the state, said Bob Cochran, director of Jackson County's Department of Social Services. Of the 91 counties evaluated so far, only 38 have passed all six of the evaluation categories with a score of 80 percent or better. Jackson County scored above 90 percent in all six and scored 95 percent or higher in five.

The local review was conducted in May by a four-person team from Raleigh. The categories and percentages achieved are: Intake, 91.63; Investigative Assessment, 97.10; Prevention and Placement, 98.92; Planning Following Placement, 97.67; Case Planning and Case Management, 100; and Legal process and Documentation, 95.27.

"We are extremely proud of this accomplishment by the dedicated social workers at DSS," said Katie Allman, chairman of the local Social Services Board. "We know that it is often a thankless job they do, and it is nice when the state recognizes the workers' efforts to perform consistently high quality services for our community."

Cochran said he, too, was pleased with the findings.

"While no organization can guarantee the safety and well-being of every abused and neglected child in every situation, the citizens of Jackson County can be assured that child protective services, foster care and adoptions are provided in a consistently dependable, qualified and professional manner here in Jackson County," Cochran said. "The social workers and their supervisors are doing excellent work that takes place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they are to be commended for this achievement."

The official report contained praise for the local department.

"It is clear that Jackson County DSS takes pride in providing quality services to support families and protect children. This is work that is extraordinarily difficult and requires exceptional professional judgment," the report states. "The review team saw many examples of agency staff going the extra mile to ensure that the children of Jackson County are protected and achieve permanency."

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