Background

For over 20 years, our community has had the support of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools-Department of Social Services (“CMS-DSS”) Educational Liaisons (“Liaisons”). The four Liaisons are CMS employees housed at Youth and Family Services (“YFS”) and play a crucial role in ensuring our students in foster care have access to the education they deserve and are entitled to under the law. 

 

The Liaisons sit at the critical intersection between the education and child welfare systems, facilitating students’ enrollment, managing Best Interest Determination (“BID”) meetings to allow for school stability, and ensuring immediate enrollment for students in foster care. The Liaisons keep the schools up to date on which students are enrolled and how to contact other critical parties, such as the YFS social worker. To the benefit of both CMS and YFS, the Liaisons routinely participate in student-level meetings, ensure proper documentation reaches the appropriate people, and serve as active on-call experts for just about every education-related situation a student in foster care might encounter. In addition to student-level work, the Liaisons train both CMS and DSS staff on the educational rights of students in foster care and lend their expertise in a variety of community collaborations. CMS is eliminating their positions after June 30, 2026.

 

⚡ TAKE ACTION (5–10 minutes)

📧 1. Email CMS School Board Members TODAY

An email template is included below for your convenience. Remember to individualize it before sending. 

CMS Board of Education Members:

Chair Stephanie Sneed: stephaniem.sneed@cms.k12.nc.us

Vice Chair Dee Rankin: gregoryd.rankin@cms.k12.nc.u

Lenora Shipp: l1.sanders-shipp@cms.k12.nc.us

Liz Monterrey Duvall: elizabethd.monterrey@cms.k12.nc.us

Monty Witherspoon: m1.witherspoon-brown@cms.k12.nc.us

Charlitta Hatch: charlittac.hatch@cms.k12.nc.us

Shamaiye Haynes: shamaiyek.haynes@cms.k12.nc.us

Cynthia Stone: cynthiab.stone@cms.k12.nc.us

Anna London: annae.london@cms.k12.nc.us 

 

🗣️ 2. Sign Up for Public Comment (Optional)

 

📅 CMS Board of Education Meeting: May 12 at 6:00 PM 

At the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
🕔 To be eligible to speak, sign up by May 11 at 5:00 PM

 

 

WAYS SIGN UP

Completing the Board of Education Public Speaking Sign Up Form;

or telephone at 980-343-5163; or

by email at boardclerk@cms.k12.nc.us

 

Talking points are included below. 

 

 

📧  Email Template

 

Dear CMS Board of Education Members,

I care deeply about the educational stability and success of students experiencing foster care in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). [Explain your role and connection to education and/or foster care.] 

 

I am concerned about the planned elimination of the four CMS-DSS Educational Liaison positions at the end of June 2026, and the impact on students experiencing foster care. Thank you for the thoughtful discussion at the May 5, 2026 CMS Joint Budget Working Group meeting regarding foster care supports and the CMS-DSS Educational Liaison positions.

 

During the budget meeting, District leadership shared its intention to transition to a single district-level point of contact paired with the involvement of school social workers. Based on the unique needs of students experiencing foster care, the degree of coordination required among various stakeholders, and the significant caseloads of school social workers, this change carries a significant risk that these students’ needs will not be met. 

 

Students experiencing foster care are not simply another subgroup to serve; they are subject to specific federal protections and requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Fostering Connections Act, including immediate enrollment, transportation coordination, and rapid Best Interest Determination meetings. These processes require deep familiarity with both the education and child welfare systems, sustained cross-agency coordination, and the ability to respond quickly as placements change. Critically for highly mobile students, continuity of adult support across school changes is essential.

 

Given what is at stake for approximately 425 CMS students currently experiencing foster care, I respectfully urge the Board to consider retaining the four CMS-DSS Educational Liaisons positions. 

 

Thank you for your service and for considering this important issue.

 

                                                          Sincerely,

                                                           [Your Name and Contact Information]

 

 

Talking Points

• For over 20 years, our school system (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) and our Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) have had CMS-DSS Educational Liaison positions to help students experiencing foster care access their education.

• If anything, students experiencing foster care in CMS need more support, not less. They are significantly trailing their peers academically, with grade-level proficiency in math at 38%, grade-level proficiency in reading at 32%, and a four-year graduation rate of only 46%. 

• I appreciate CMS’s effort to reduce duplication and improve efficiency, but I’m concerned this change will unintentionally shift specialized foster care coordination work onto already overburdened school social workers. 

• Students experiencing foster care are subject to unique federal protections and requirements that demand rapid, cross-agency coordination—not just school-level support. 

• The liaison roles provide continuity across school moves; without them, highly mobile students will lose a consistent point of contact. 

• A single point of contact at the district will not have the capacity to complete the variety of time-sensitive tasks the liaisons currently handle. 

• The work of the CMS-DSS Educational Liaisons is felt deeply across the juvenile court system, child welfare system, and broader community.