A Moore County family has won a settlement from the county over allegations that the social services department would not return custody of children with disabilities to their mother after she received cancer treatment.
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Rumina Slazas’ two children were kept in institutions after her 2022 cancer treatment, even though she was able to take care of them, her 2024 federal lawsuit said. She was in remission for almost a year while the county kept custody of her children.
The suit went to mediation earlier this year and the county agreed to a settlement totaling $55,000.
Slazas’ son, J.S., who was 16 when the 2024 lawsuit was filed, will receive about $12,633, according to court documents. Her daughter, S.S., who was 15 when the lawsuit was filed, will receive $19,000. Slazas will receive $8,000. Disability Rights North Carolina, which represented the family, receives the rest.
“I did nothing wrong to lose my kids, I just got sick,” Slazas said in a statement. “This settlement does not undo the trauma my children and I experienced, but I am hopeful it results in better outcomes for other children with significant disabilities in the child welfare system.”
Moore County officials did not immediately respond to calls and an email for comment.
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According to the lawsuit, S.S. has intellectual and developmental disabilities. She spent nearly nine months at UNC Health and four months in a psychiatric residential treatment facility in South Carolina before she was able to return home.
A family sues Moore County for institutionalizing children after their mother’s cancer diagnosis
J.S. has intellectual and physical disabilities that limit his ability to walk and care for himself. He lived for a while in the county’s social services office before being transferred to an intermediate care facility. J.S. returned home after about 16 months in county custody.
S.S. and J.S. did not receive the care they needed while institutionalized, resulting in mental and physical decline, the lawsuit said.
“While no amount of money will ever make the Slazas family whole, this settlement demonstrates that survivors of unlawful institutionalization deserve compensation,” Holly Stiles, Assistant Legal Director for Litigation at DRNC, said in a statement.
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