9-year-old in hotel with 150 used needles may trigger subpoena of social services director

A top local child welfare official could be brought before a legislative panel after police say they were told to leave a 9-year-old girl in a hotel room with 150 used hypodermic needles and a man she barely knew.

N.C. Sen. Chuck Edwards, R-Flat Rock, said he is asking a state legislative committee to subpoena Buncombe County Health and Human Services Director Talmadge "Stoney" Blevins over the way DSS dealt with the case.

"To try to understand what may have gone wrong in that incident on March 20, I feel I have no other option that to ask for the subpoena of Mr. Blevins," said Edwards, a two-term senator who is defending his seat against Democratic Mills River Councilman Brian Caskey.

Blevins offered no additional information in a meeting with Edwards and police, according to the senator. The director declined to comment to the Citizen Times. A county spokeswoman cited state law mandating confidentiality of DSS records.

Blevins has been at his post since early 2018, and according to the county government's website, his "leadership roles within his professional and faith community have influenced his leadership style which he describes as high support paired with high accountability. Stoney values initiative, intelligence and professionalism in the workplace and is committed to kindness and transparency within the agency and for the clients that we serve.''

He has held similar social services posts in Transylvania, Haywood and Wake counties.

In 2017 Blevins was sued for actions taken by Haywood social workers that plaintiffs said amounted to battery and inflicting emotion distress on two children, according to the Smoky Mountain News. Blevins and the plaintiffs' attorney Jeff Norris of Waynesville didn't immediately respond to Sept. 1 queries about the case's outcome. 

It is not certain the General Assembly's Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services will take the unusual step of ordering Blevins to appear, but co-chair Rep. Josh Dobson said Aug. 31 he backs Edwards' efforts and wants to take up the issue.

"I am in full support of having this before the committee," said Dobson, a McDowell County Republican running for state labor commissioner against Democrat Jessica Holmes.

Started with traffic stop

On the night of March 20, Black Mountain Police pulled over a swerving vehicle on Interstate 40 and found inside three adults and a girl, according to police reports. A search found needles and three grams of methamphetamine.

The officers arrested the adults, including the girl's father, whom the Citizen Times is not naming in order to protect the child's identity. At his instructions, they took the girl to a hotel where they were staying and where he said there was a man named Stanley who could look after her.

In the room, officers found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia including 150 used needles "in various locations throughout the room" including the bed, Officer Joe Moore said in reports and a March 22 email to Police Major Rob Austin.

Officers didn't feel it was safe to leave the girl in the room with a man whom she said she met that day. Moore called a DSS staff member who said "she could take a report over the phone but DSS would not respond to the scene," the reports said.

He told the staff member they had not found any relatives or family friends who could come get the girl. "(She) said if that was the only option, leave the child in the room alone or with the 'Stanley' individual."

He said he ended the conversation and took the girl to the police department. DSS staff called back multiple times asking for information to complete the report.

The girl lived in Tennessee and officers were able to contact her grandfather who eventually got a ride with the girl's aunt. They arrived at 1:30 a.m., picking her up from the station nearly seven hours after police found her in the car, according to the reports.

Chief: not first time

Black Mountain Police Chief Shawn Freeman said the incident wasn't the first where DSS had not been helpful and left children in a traumatic environment. On April 17, he called DSS after the parent of two children died, asking that someone take them from the house to a safe place.

The DSS staff member asked him for information, but Freeman said it would be difficult to get because it would have to come from the children, ages 12 and 14, who were very upset.

"I said, 'Ma’am, we just need one of your DSS workers to come out and help us with the children to get them away from this scene. It is tearing them up,'" Freeman said.

The staff member promised to call back in 10 minutes but did not, he said. At 7 p.m., nine hours after he called, DSS workers came to take custody.

After the March incident with the 9-year-old, Freeman called Edwards, who arranged a meeting with Blevins and police. The health and human services director declined to say that leaving the girl in the hotel was dangerous and would not give any other information, the senator said.   

State law and children

Asked about the events that night, Buncombe spokeswoman Stacey Wood said, "Pursuant to NC General Statute 108A-80, the department is unable to confirm or deny the identify of someone receiving public assistance or social services."

The statute states that "it shall be unlawful for any person to obtain, disclose or use, or to authorize, permit or acquiesce in the use of any list of names or other information concerning persons applying for or receiving public assistance or social services."

Asked if Blevins could talk about the rules governing such situations, Wood sent a 99-page document "Child Protective Services Intake Policy, Protocol and Guidance." 

Sara DePasquale, a child welfare law specialist with the UNC School of Government, said the state's juvenile code calls for social services records to be held in the "strictest of confidence." That means information cannot be given even to state legislators. A state or federal agency has to the right to records if the purpose is to protect the juvenile from abuse or neglect, Pasquale said.

Police taking the child doesn't seem to run counter to the intent of the law, which allows for them to take temporary custody and even requires that officers or any member of the public report suspected child abuse or neglect. 

"I think it could just be a matter of not having some sort of protocol in place, or a more formal memorandum of agreement to address 'What are we going to do when this happens,'" Pasquale said.

Police lack staff, resources

Freeman, the Black Mountain chief, said the problem with taking temporary custody of children for up to 12 — or even 24 hours, as allowed by law — is lack of staff and resources.

Most nights, the department has four people working, including officers and other personnel, he said.

"We're trying to do the right thing, but we don't have the ability to vet people the same way DSS does," Freeman said. That makes police uncertain about releasing children to adults whose backgrounds may not be entirely clear to officers. 

He said he too wants a clear protocol.

"Our whole concern, even when we reached out to Sen. Edward's office, was we are concerned about the kids, we need to streamline this with DSS," he said.

Legislative action? 

Edwards said he asked the N.C. Department of Social Services to look into the matter and was told he would be notified at the conclusion of their inquiry but has not heard back. 

He tried to get a law passed to give legislators access to DSS records but faced opposition from lawmakers who said it amounted to overreach.

"My belief is that for legislators to perform their oversight duties, they have to have access to the information," he said.

While it's not certain when the joint health and human services committee may meet to take any action, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger appeared to signal support, appointing Edwards to the Social Services Regional Supervision and Collaboration Working Group.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.