NELSON COUNTY, Va. – We are learning more about the decision to change who oversees the Nelson County Department of Social Services (NCDSS) board. The announcement was made Wednesday.
“We identified multiple practice issues and decisions made by agency leadership that were contrary to state law, regulation, and policy,” said Eric Reynolds, the Director of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman.
Reynolds said his office reviewed, investigated, and continues to monitor several cases handled by the Nelson County DSS after getting complaints from community members, parents, and family members involved in child protective services and foster care cases there.
Reynolds said several children were “left in unsafe situations” because DSS was not an active participant in the county’s Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), made up of the local Commonwealth’s Attorney, law enforcement, and key community members such as the local Child Advocacy Center.
“A functioning MDT is necessary for the effective investigation and prosecution of alleged child maltreatment,” said Reynolds, who added they should all collaborate and share information to coordinate their efforts as law enforcement and CPS conduct their individual investigations into the allegations. “Investigations can be hampered if any member is unwilling to collaborate with the others. We found that NCDSS was not sharing information or coordinating efforts with the local MDT causing misunderstanding and miscommunication among the MDT members and resulting in several children being left in unsafe situations.”
The most recent numbers from a DSS report show 17 children in foster care in Nelson County as of August 1.
The announcement Wednesday means Nelson Co. DSS oversight will be moved from an appointed local board to a board comprised of a local government official. County Administrator, Candy McGarry, will directly supervise the agency’s Director and will be supported by an advisory board, to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
“We want the public to know our doors are open, we have a path forward, and actively regaining the confidence and trust of our citizens and community partners is of primary importance,” said McGarry on Wednesday.
“I’m not surprised that the Nelson County Board of Supervisors exercised its authority to dissolve the county’s Board of Social Services. It’s unfortunate that this action had to be taken, but I understand that there was much frustration with the refusal of the Board of Social Services to address the serious concerns raised by community members, members of the Nelson County Multidisciplinary Team, and my Office regarding the decisions and actions taken by the Nelson County Department of Social Services in recent CPS and foster care cases,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds said one or two other localities dissolved its administrative board of social services since the Office of Children’s Ombudsman was created in 2021.
“With regard to one of them, it is my understanding that the locality’s decision to do so was based on very similar circumstances as Nelson County,” said Reynolds. “With Virginia having a state-supervised, locally administered social services system, authority to take action when a local department of social services fails to fulfill its statutory duties and responsibilities falls primarily on the local board of social services, which may be administrative (as Nelson County’s was prior to dissolution) or advisory (as it will be now).
For localities that have an advisory board of social services, a governing official of the locality (such as a county administrator or city manager) would be the designated individual having direct supervisory and oversight authority over the local department and its director.”
10 News has covered the Office of Children’s Ombudsman since 2021, before it started taking complaints. You can find more information about the office, how it investigates and how to file your own complaint here.