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North Carolina is expanding a program that helps foster families thrive

By Good Info News Wire

April 17, 2025

North Carolina is expanding its Success Coach program, supporting foster care transitions with free services to maintain family stability and prevent re-entry.

North Carolina is taking a groundbreaking step to support families transitioning out of the foster care system with the statewide expansion of its Success Coach program. This innovative initiative, which has already shown promising results in Catawba County, offers free, personalized support to help families maintain stability and prevent children from re-entering foster care.

A new era of family support in North Carolina

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is transforming its approach to post-foster care support by implementing a comprehensive permanency support model. This expansion represents a $16.5 million investment in state and federal funding over three years, aimed at serving families across the state who exit foster care through various paths, including adoption, reunification, guardianship, custody, or kinship care.

“Every child deserves a safe, loving and stable family, and Success Coach is a key part of our commitment to making that a reality for all families exiting foster care,” NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai said in a press release.

How the Success Coach program works

The program pairs families with specialized social workers who provide:

  • Individualized coaching and advocacy
  • Resource navigation assistance
  • Support for up to two years at a time
  • Services that can be accessed multiple times as needed
  • In-home support at no cost to families

Services are tailored to each family’s specific needs and may include parenting support, crisis prevention, case management, and assistance with basic needs such as housing, employment, and education.

Proven success in Catawba County

The program’s effectiveness is already evident in Catawba County, where no children have re-entered foster care within 12 months of leaving the system over the past decade. The county has reported improved mental health outcomes and stronger parent-child relationships among participating families.

“Success Coach is already showing great results for improving permanency among families in Catawba County, and we know this program is a game-changer for children and families across the state,” said Catawba County DSS Director Karen Harrington.

Implementation and accessibility

Three regional vendors—Catawba County DSS, Boys & Girls Homes of North Carolina, and Children’s Home Society of North Carolina—will support the statewide rollout. The program includes quarterly training sessions for Success Coaches to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery across all regions.

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This article was created with the assistance of AI and edited by Cardinal & Pine staff.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.North Carolina is expanding a program that helps foster families thriveNorth Carolina is expanding a program that helps foster families thrive

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CATEGORIES: LOCAL NEWS
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