By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Raleigh, NC - In an emotional press conference on Tuesday, May 5th, a bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers introduced House Bill 1144, also known as the “Dominique Moody Safety Act,” following a harrowing investigation addressing abuse and neglect, regarding the death of a six-year-old girl who was allegedly tortured and kept in a cage for extended periods of time. The bill, primarily sponsored by Representatives Carla D. Cunningham (Un-Mecklenburg),
Mike Colvin (D-Cumberland), Allen Chesser (R-Nash), and Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) seek to overhaul how the Department of Social Services (DSS) handles high-risk abuse and neglect cases through the creation of a specialized "Statewide Escalation Team."
The legislation is named after Dominique Moody, a girl born in 2018 who lawmakers expressed had been failed by the very systems designed to protect her. According to testimony provided during the filing, Dominique was placed in the custody of a maternal aunt in Mecklenburg County in 2019. Between 2019 and December 2025, Social Services received five separate reports of abuse and neglect. All were deemed "unsubstantiated." Law enforcement visited the home 59 times over those four years, roughly 14 times a year. Yet no intervention occurred. On December 16, 2025, Dominique died. She weighed only 27 pounds. "Her sister participated in a forensic interview," Representatives shared. Investigations confirmed Dominique was kept in a cage, and that adults would whoop her with a belt, a stick, or a pole. It was revealed that adults would put a bag over her head and tape her eyes so she could not see them eat.
Lawmakers are calling the case a "systematic failure" and are proposing a $550,000 allocation to fund six specialist positions within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). These specialists will act as an "Escalation Team," modeled after the RAMS program at UNC Chapel Hill (which currently only focuses on children ages 0-3). The new team would monitor abuse and neglect cases for children up to age 17 across the state, providing an extra layer of expertise and state-level oversight to local DSS offices. "This is not about condemning local case workers," said Rep. Colvin. "It’s about adding the support and policy enhancements needed to save one life. If we can save one life, it’ll be worth this call to service."
Beyond the new task force, the bill mandates increased training for social workers. Currently, lawmakers noted that some social workers receive as little as 4% of their training specifically on identifying the nuances of abuse and neglect. The bill aims to significantly increase that percentage to ensure signs of chronic abuse, like the scars and fractures found on Dominique, are caught before they turn fatal. Lawmakers admitted they are currently navigating "legal hurdles" as litigation surrounding Dominique’s death has made some records inaccessible to the Oversight Committee. Furthermore, a backlog in the Mecklenburg County court system could delay public discovery of the full facts for years.
Despite these hurdles, the sponsors are urging Senate colleagues to move quickly. "We can’t wait five or six years for prosecutions to tell us what went wrong," said Rep. Cunningham. "More children are exposed to these situations every day. We must let Dominique’s death be the catalyst for change now."
The bill is expected to move to committee later this month. Lawmakers urged the public and the press to "keep their calendars open" for potential oversight hearings as the session continues.
