Guilford County Commissioners to Vote on $42,000 Contract Increase for Child Welfare Staff

Guilford County’s child welfare division currently lists 776 children in its custody, a figure that anchors a new request for temporary staffing funds. The Board of Commissioners will vote on Thursday, Nov. 5, to increase a contract with Vanguard Professional Staffing by $42,000. The move would raise the total contract value from $190,000 to $232,000.

The agenda item cites specific staffing shortages that drive the cost. September data shows 28 foster care social workers available to handle the custody cases and 32 assessment social workers managing 1,160 open cases. The department reports that 14 workers are scheduled to begin work within the next month. Until those hires arrive, supervisors are covering vacant caseloads, and staff have been shifted between program areas to keep services running.

Vanguard has provided temporary social workers to the county since July 2021. These contractors perform duties such as home visits, court summaries, and on-call coverage. Spending under the current agreement reached approximately $183,000 before monthly costs doubled in the recent past. County officials attribute the spike to a rise in caseloads and a drop in availability from other temporary staffing agencies. The additional $42,000 is intended to allow contracted workers to finish current assignments.

This is not the county’s first expansion of temporary staffing in this sector. In February 2026, commissioners approved a jump in funding for a separate contractor, Allies 4 Outcomes, from $136,440 to $433,997. Officials stated that the firm supplied more Child Protective Services staff than projected, which used up the original budget. A new $322,000 agreement with Allies 4 Outcomes was approved in August, splitting funds between temporary staffing and capacity building.

The current staffing strain follows a period of intense state oversight. In 2023, state regulators mandated corrective action after three children died in a house fire in December 2022. Investigators identified failures in screening reports and conducting safety assessments. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on April 23, 2025, that the county had finished all requirements of the corrective action plan. County records from a September 2025 agenda noted that cases open for more than 120 days dropped from 387 to 95 during that improvement effort.

Historical records show the growth in the department’s workload. A request from June 2022 listed 17 vacant social worker positions, 461 children in custody, and 530 open assessment cases. The current figures represent more than double the number of open assessment cases from that 2022 snapshot. The county plans to pay for the Vanguard increase using funds from vacant positions within the part-time salaries budget. State and federal reimbursements cover between 50 and 75 percent of these costs. Board approval is required because the amended contract exceeds the $200,000 threshold.

The vote is scheduled for the consent agenda at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Old Guilford County Courthouse.