Robbinsville – As Graham County continues to see lower COVID-19 case numbers, one county department has taken a big step toward normalcy.
At the Graham County Department of Social Services meeting Tuesday night, County DSS Director Cris Weatherford said that the agency had reopened its lobby to the public. He said the change was made as of this week, and that anyone visiting the office was asked to complete their business as quickly as possible.
“We sort of softly and quietly opened up our lobby this week, just to kind of let folks come back in the door and get what they need,” Weatherford said. “We still have applications out there for folks who just want to come in and grab something.
He said it also served to give the community more face-to-face access to DSS programs.
“They can at least come in and speak to a live person and get the help that they need,” Weatherford said. “We’re in a position to be able to do that now.”
Court backup
Weatherford again discussed the ongoing issues with child protective services court cases being continued.
He said that according to data from the Guardian Ad Litem program, 70 percent of CPS court cases had been confined in Graham County, compared with 45 percent in the state’s District 30, which includes the seven counties west of Asheville.
“Graham County’s (continuance rate) for 2019-20 jumped to 70 percent,” Weatherford said. “I met with (District Court Judge Roy Wijewickrama) and talked with him about that, letting him know that that’s unacceptable.
“We don’t ask for continuances; we come to court ready to have court.”
Weatherford largely blamed the issues on opposing attorneys biding their time or coming to court unprepared.
He said Wijewickrama was going to try to work with the county to fix the issue.
“These kids, their cases need to be in court,” Weatherford said.
Weatherford currently serves on the state of North Carolina’s Permanency Design Team and has stated that he plans to use that platform to help ease the court issue.