Mecklenburg County's new plan to fix its child welfare system after a six-year-old's death lacks measurable goals, a state lawmaker says.
The county released a Corrective Action Plan on Friday, Sept. 4, outlining four areas for improvement within its Youth and Family Services department. The plan follows the December 2025 death of Dominique Moody, who weighed 27 pounds when she died after being starved, beaten and confined to a dog crate in an East Charlotte home, WCCB Charlotte reported.
State Rep. Carla Cunningham, who represents Mecklenburg County's District 106, co-sponsored the Dominique Moody Safety Act. She said the county's plan does not go far enough.
"Teeth are not there. That's mostly what sticks out to me," Cunningham said.
The plan calls for "timely" and "consistent" communication with law enforcement and other agencies. It also addresses a case backlog by balancing caseloads and adding staff. Cunningham said the county needs specific, trackable benchmarks so residents can see whether improvements are happening.
The county's newest budget includes $2.5 million for child, family and adult services, with funding for up to 18 new child welfare positions.
No public response from Mecklenburg County officials to Cunningham's criticism was available as of publication.
How the case unfolded
Documentation in the Moody case showed child protective services failed to conduct home visits and did not report concerns to law enforcement, according to WCCB. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) placed Mecklenburg County social services on a correction plan in May after a state investigation found numerous violations, WBTV reported.
The Charlotte Observer reported that county commissioners heard the corrective action plan on Tuesday, Sept. 1, and that state officials described problems in the department as "systemic." The case prompted firings, investigations and new legislation.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Tonya McKnight, Moody's legal guardian, who is charged with first-degree murder, WBTV reported. Three women total are accused in the case.
New state law takes effect in October
The Dominique Moody Safety Act, co-sponsored by Cunningham and Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, takes effect in October. The law creates a Child Welfare Escalation Team at the state level to investigate reports of abuse and neglect in high-risk households, according to WUNC.
The bill passed the North Carolina House unanimously. The Senate did not vote on the original bill, but some of its provisions were folded into the state budget.
Cunningham said the escalation team would give county caseworkers an additional resource and relieve some of the pressure on the local system. In a July interview with WUNC, Chesser described the team as a "watchdog on the watchdog" that checks whether caseworkers are making the right calls with the information available to them.
Cunningham said DHHS will review the corrective action plan and work with the county to strengthen it if the state finds it inadequate. No timeline for that review has been announced.
