{"id":4197,"date":"2026-07-08T21:35:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4197"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:35:48","slug":"child-welfare-reforms-named-for-charlotte-girl-who-died-in-abuse-case-become-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4197","title":{"rendered":"Child welfare reforms named for Charlotte girl who died in abuse case become law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reforms to North Carolina\u2019s child welfare system named for a Charlotte child found dead of alleged abuse are now law.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Dominique Moody Safety Act<\/a>, which establishes a new statewide team to review some of the state\u2019s most serious child welfare cases, passed in the General Assembly as part of the new North Carolina state budget. Gov. Josh Stein signed the budget into law Tuesday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s named for the east Charlotte 6-year-old who died<\/a> in December. Moody, who\u2019d been in her aunt\u2019s custody, showed signs of abuse and malnourishment<\/a>, law enforcement said previously. The Charlotte Observer and other news outlets reported police and social services received reports<\/a> about Moody\u2019s home before she died.<\/p>\n

The aunt and two other women face first-degree murder charges<\/a> in the case.<\/p>\n

Moody\u2019s death sparked a flurry of investigations and calls for action.<\/p>\n

Multiple county employees were fired or disciplined after an internal investigation, county manager Mike Bryant said previously<\/a>. The state Department of Health and Human Services ordered the county to develop a corrective action plan<\/a> after an investigation into Mecklenburg\u2019s social services found \u201ca broad, systemic lack of appropriate safety planning to address identified danger indicators and risk factors to the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after grilling Charlotte leaders at an hourslong hearing<\/a> in Raleigh, leadership of the state House Oversight Committee called on Mecklenburg\u2019s district attorney to conduct criminal investigations<\/a> into county social services employees involved with Moody\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

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The legislation named for Moody was initially introduced by Charlotte-area state Rep. Carla Cunningham, alongside Reps. Allen Chesser, Mike Colvin and Donny Lambeth. Chesser, a Nash County Republican, previously told the Observer<\/a> Moody\u2019s case and other child fatalities \u201crevealed a reoccurring critical gap\u201d the new bill aims to address.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepeated reports of abuse or neglect were often screened out, allowing chronic patterns to go unaddressed,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The new Child Welfare Case Escalation Team will get involved when county social services departments report an allegation of abuse or neglect against a juvenile in a \u201chigh-risk\u201d situation. \u201cHigh-risk\u201d scenarios include situations where the child has special medical needs or cases of \u201cchronic neglect.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 5:13 PM<\/span> with the headline “Child welfare reforms named for Charlotte girl who died in abuse case become law.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NC auditor reassigns Dallas Woodhouse after controversy over early voting plans<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dominique Moody Safety Act, named for a 6-year-old Charlotte child police say died of abuse, became law as part of the new North Carolina state budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nChild welfare reforms named for Charlotte girl who died in abuse case become law - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4197\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Child welfare reforms named for Charlotte girl who died in abuse case become law - 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