Federal lawsuit alleges local DSS demonstrated “deliberate indifference” to family 

Moore County Department of Social Services violated well-settled federal disability law when it sent two disabled siblings to institutional settings while their mother was temporarily hospitalized for cancer treatment, contrary to recommendations from disability services professionals that would have allowed them to remain in the community, according to a lawsuit Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC) filed last week on behalf of the family.

Both children have intellectual and developmental disabilities, and regressed physically and mentally while they were in custody of Moore County Department of Social Services (MCDSS), according to the lawsuit.

Rumina Slazas was released five weeks after she was hospitalized with cancer in the summer of 2022, and even after her medical team quickly declared she was in complete remission, MCDSS refused to return her children to her. MCDSS additionally failed to utilize community, home-like settings for her son, JS, and her daughter, SS, and unnecessarily institutionalized both children. These actions constitute “deliberate indifference” to the family’s federally protected rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the complaint.

As a result, JS, now 16, spent 16 months separated from both his mother and sister in an institutional setting known as an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF).

MCDSS dropped SS, now 15, at the Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) at UNC Chapel Hill without communication aids. Separated from both her mother and brother, SS spent nine months in conditions similar to solitary confinement. From there, MCDSS sent SS to a South Carolina psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) four hours away from her mother’s home. When Ms. Slazas visited SS at the PRTF, she observed bruises and bite marks on her daughter’s body that the facility could not explain. She also watched as SS was unable to focus her eyes. When Ms. Slazas reported these concerns, the time she was allowed to visit with her daughter was reduced. SS spent four months at this facility.

The siblings could have lived in the community, as demonstrated by the fact they lived in the community before they were removed and after they were returned to their mother, according to the complaint filed in US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages for the family.

Before MCDSS took custody of the siblings, JS was an extremely social teen who loved to explore and meet new people. SS was curious about interacting with people and visiting new places.

Since coming home to his mother, JS:

  • No longer trusts people easily and seeks constant reassurance he won’t have to go back to the facility
  • Self-harms by hitting himself in the head or face when his stress levels escalate, sometimes hard enough to bruise
  • Is protective of his belongings and stressed when anything is taken away from him, particularly his Chromebook

Since coming home to her mother, SS:

  • Frequently has toileting accidents; while in MCDSS custody SS regressed from independent toileting to wearing diapers
  • Is cautious about leaving her home for too long for fear she will not be allowed to return home
  • Requires constant reassurance from her mother they will not be separated. For example, when SS saw someone who looked like a Moore DSS employee who removed her from her home, she became extremely anxious
  • Required extensive dental work, including two crowns, four fillings, and the extraction of two teeth. Prior to MCDSS involvement, SS had only had dental work when she was three-years-old; since that time her mother helped her care for her teeth by brushing them with her, holding the toothbrush and helping SS with the movements. She did not need dental work again until her return from MCDSS custody.

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About Disability Rights North Carolina
Disability Rights North Carolina is the federally mandated protection and advocacy system in North Carolina, dedicated to advancing the rights of all people with disabilities, of all ages, statewide. DRNC is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a member of the National Disability Rights Network. Learn more about Disability Rights North Carolina at disabilityrightsnc.org. 

Contact:
Holly Stiles, Assistant Legal Director for Litigation
919-856-2195
holly.stiles@disabilityrightsnc.org