Social Services

Families are Needed!!
Thousands of children in North Carolina enter the foster care system each year, and range in age from infants to 18 years old. All foster children have unique backgrounds, experiences, personalities, strengths and needs. Some children in foster care require extensive care for physical or emotional handicaps and disabilities. Sometimes it becomes necessary to remove children from their homes. Maybe the home is not safe, maybe the caregiver could not care for them, or maybe they were abandoned... it does happen.

Purpose:

To provide Case Management services for Medicaid residents in an Adult Care Home or Family Care Home when they become totally dependent on staff for eating assistance, consistent help with toileting, and/or ambulation.

Mailing Address:
Henderson County Department of Social Services
1200 Spartanburg Highway
Suite 300
Hendersonville, NC 28792

Phone: (828) 697-5500 FAX: (828) 697-4544
Adult Abuse/Neglect Reports (8am to 4:30pm): (828) 694-6241
Adult Abuse/Neglect Reports (after hours): (828) 697-4911
Children Abuse/Neglect Reports (8am to 4:30pm): (828) 697-5572

North Carolina State law requires that every county provide Child Protective Services in order to ensure the safety of all children in the state. The Department of Social Services is the agency that receives all reports of neglect or abuse, investigates those reports and provides services to maltreated children to prevent abuse or neglect from recurring.

• Neglect is the most common form of maltreatment, but it receives far less attention than abuse.

• Children younger than 4 years are at greatest risk of severe injury or death.

Adult Care Homes (ACH) also referred to as Rest Homes, Homes for the Aged, or Assisted Living, are homes which provide residential care for seven (7) or more aged and disabled adults.

Family Care Homes (FCH) provide for two (2) to six (6) individuals. These homes provide around-the-clock or live-in staff that prepare meals, supervise medications, and provide assistance with bathing, grooming and other personal care needs.

Purpose: APS receives and evaluates reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled adults (age 18 and older). Services are designed to identify, remedy and prevent problems that result in such cases. APS strives to protect the disabled adult while acknowledging the client's right to self-determination.

Program Services:

• Evaluation of disabled adult situations.
• Support for caregivers of disabled adults.
• Referrals to appropriate agencies to stop abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Adult Day Care/Day health services provide an organized program of services during the day in a community group setting for the purpose of supporting the personal independence of older adults. The program focuses on the social, physical and emotional well-being of the person and offers a variety of activities designed to meet the individual needs and interests of the participants.

Henderson County Department of Social Services provides services to those interested in agency, relative, step-parent and independent adoptions. Agency adoptions involve children who are not able to safely return to their parents. Placement for these children is provided by licensed foster parents or relatives that are approved by the court. Often licensed foster parents or relatives are chosen as the adoptive parents for children who have been in their care. The process for becoming a licensed foster parent is outlined below.