Bill
SB 1042
The bill creates a statewide, data-driven child welfare communications platform funded for 2026-27 to streamline court and interagency coordination for foster care cases.
Title: Child Welfare/Foster Care/Child Care Funding
Purpose
- The bill proposes additional funding and programmatic changes to support child welfare, foster care, and child care in North Carolina. It redirects and adds dollars to DHHS programs, enhances caregiver support, and creates a data-driven communications platform to improve court and interagency coordination in child welfare cases.
Key Provisions
Part I – Web and Mobile Based Communication Platform for Use in Child Welfare Cases
- Allocation: $250,000 in recurring General Fund money to DHHS (beginning in FY 2026-2027) to be given to the Office of Indigent Defense Services (OIDVS) to contract with an approved vendor by Oct 1, 2026.
- Purpose: Implement a secure web and mobile communications platform to:
- Provide automated notification (text, email) to all parties, attorneys, caregivers, and other designated individuals for all court hearings and interagency team meetings (e.g., permanency planning reviews, child and family team meetings, placement status change meetings).
- Enhance attorney-client and party-to-party communication to reduce court continuances, streamline discovery, and reduce barriers to permanency.
- Data Sharing: The Administrative Office of the Courts, Indigent Services, Guardian ad Litem Program, and DHHS Division of Social Services must enter a data-sharing agreement to ensure timely and accurate data for notifications and platform functionality.
- Effective Dates: Section 1.1 (platform funding) effective July 1, 2026; Section 1.2 (data sharing) effective upon becoming law.
Part II – Sports Wagering/Lottery Changes (Reallocation of Funds for Social Services)
- Appropriation Formula (amending G.S. 105-113.128(1)):
- Annual distribution of funds: $104,000,000 (interpretation note: the text shows a formula with “Two One hundred four million dollars ($2,000,000) ($104,000,000) annually” which appears to intend $104M annually for DHHS services, as allocated below).
- Breakdowns:
- $4,000,000 for gambling addiction education and treatment programs.
- $25,000,000 for child welfare and foster care services.
- Eligible uses include: home inspections for foster/therapeutic foster licensure; training for licensure as a therapeutic foster parent; initial placement items (e.g., school supplies, toiletries, clothing, diapers) up to $250 for children ≤5 years old and up to $500 for children ≥6, with child input where possible; emergency placement assistance.
- $75,000,000 for child-care services.
- Specific goals include:
- Increasing market-rate subsidies to the 75th percentile for three-, four-, and five-star rated centers/homes (per the 2023 ChildCare Market Rate Study).
- Extension of the Tri-Share Child-Care program (originally from S.L. 2023-134 and amended by S.L. 2024-34).
- Expansion of in-home child-care pilot programs (as established in S.L. 2023-134).
- Administration: DHHS to administer these funds and ensure compliance with the above purposes.
Part II (Additional Statutory Adjustments)
- G.S. 18C-162(a) (Lottery Revenues): Repeats/clarifies revenue allocation guidelines to the NC State Lottery Fund, specifying distribution priorities (prizes, transfers, administrative expenses, and retailer compensation). This section appears to preserve existing lottery revenue distribution rules and does not add new substantive changes to the fund’s allocation framework aside from aligning with the overall funding changes in the bill.
Part III – Implementation Plan for a Statewide Child Care Subsidy Rate Floor
- DHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DDDEE) must develop a plan for implementing a statewide child care subsidy reimbursement rate floor.
- Report: The Division must submit a recommended plan by December 1, 2026 to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division.
Part IV – Effective Date
- General effective date: The act becomes effective when it becomes law, with specific components phased in as noted (e.g., July 1, 2026 for Parts I and II funding mechanisms, and Part III’s reporting deadline).
Who Is Affected
- Children in foster care and those requiring foster/therapeutic foster care services.
- Foster families and licensed foster/therapeutic foster homes (through licensing support and initial placement provisions).
- Child-care providers and centers, especially those serving subsidized families (through rate adjustments and program extensions).
- Families relying on state child-care subsidies and Tri-Share program participants.
- Legal and social services stakeholders: DHHS, Administrative Office of the Courts, Indigent Services, Guardian Ad Litem, and county social services agencies.
- General public beneficiaries of gambling education/treatment programs and lottery-derived funding.
Timeline and Procedural Notes
- July 1, 2026: Key funding components for Part I (communications platform) and the initial change to Part II funding take effect.
- October 1, 2026: Vendor contract finalization deadline for the communications platform.
- December 1, 2026: DDDEE must submit statewide child care subsidy rate floor implementation plan.
- Section 1.2 data-sharing agreement: effective when the act becomes law.
- Section 2.5: Other sections become effective July 1, 2026, applying to net proceeds credited on or after that date.
Overall Impact
- The bill aims to modernize and streamline child-welfare proceedings through technology, while also expanding and stabilizing funding for foster care support, home inspections, caregiver training, initial placement needs, and child-care subsidies. It ties these investments to lottery proceeds and gambling-education initiatives, with explicit implementation milestones and reporting requirements.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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