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YES. North Carolina statutes grant to each
county's Department of Social Services (DSS) broad powers to
investigate cases of alleged abuse, neglect and dependency
and, where necessary, to file petitions taking such minor
children away from the parents on at least a temporary basis
until the perceived problem has been remedied. Failure to
remedy the alleged problem, or a variety of other grounds, can
result in the filing of an action to terminate one's parental
rights, whereby a parent may be permanently deprived of all
rights arising out of the parent-child relationship. Next to
the imposition of a death sentence or deprivation of one's
liberty, the State cannot impose upon its citizens any more
severe penalty than termination of one's parental rights.
Therefore, it is important to have experienced counsel
involved on behalf of any parent being investigated for child
abuse, child neglect, or child dependency.
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