GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1991 SESSION

CHAPTER 258
HOUSE BILL 440

AN ACT TO ALLOW REPRESENTATIVES DESIGNATED BY THE COUNTY DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 108A-14 reads as rewritten:
"§ 108A-14. Duties and responsibilities.
(a)	The director of social services shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(1)	To serve as executive officer of the board of social services and act as its secretary;
(2)	To appoint necessary personnel of the county department of social services in accordance with the merit system rules of the State Personnel Commission;
(3)	To administer the programs of public assistance and social services established by this Chapter under pertinent rules and regulations;
(4)	To administer funds provided by the board of commissioners for the care of indigent persons in the county under policies approved by the county board of social services;
(5)	To act as agent of the Social Services Commission and Department of Human Resources in relation to work required by the Social Services Commission and Department of Human Resources in the county;
(6)	To investigate cases for adoption and to supervise adoptive placements;
(7)	To issue employment certificates to children under the regulations of the State Department of Labor;
(8)	To supervise domiciliary homes for aged or disabled persons under the rules and regulations of the Social Services Commission.
(9)	To assist and cooperate with the Department of Correction and their representatives;
(10)	To act in conformity with the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 35 of the General Statutes with regard to sterilization of mentally ill and mentally retarded persons;
(11)	To investigate reports of child abuse and neglect and to take appropriate action to protect such children pursuant to the Child Abuse Reporting Law, Article 44 of Chapter 7A;
(12)	To accept children for placement in foster homes and to supervise placements for so long as such children require foster home care; 
(13)	To respond by investigation to notification of a proposed adoptive placement pursuant to G.S. 48-3(b) and (c); and
(14)	To receive and evaluate reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of disabled adults and to take appropriate action as required by the Protection of the Abused, Neglected, or Exploited Disabled Adults Act, Article 6 of this Chapter, to protect these adults.
(b)	The director may delegate to one or more members of his staff the authority to act as his representative.  The director may limit the delegated authority of his representative to specific tasks or areas of expertise."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 108A-101(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The word 'director' shall mean the director of the county department of social services in the county in which the person resides or is present, or his representative as authorized in G.S. 108A-14."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 7A-517 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(29)	Director of the Department of Social Services. – The director of the county department of social services in the county in which the juvenile resides or is found, or his representative as authorized in G.S. 108A-14."
Sec. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 11th day of June, 1991.

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James C. Gardner
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives