Rural NC County Sees Rapid Rise In Unregulated Care Homes
By Jaymie Baxley NC Health News In the winter of 2021, social workers in rural Wilson County were overwhelmed by a surge in reports of adults with disabilities being abused. In a typical month, the county's Department of Social Services receives about 30 such complaints. But that February, the agency fielded 33 reports in just seven days. When Nichole Atkinson, manager of the department's Adult and Family Services program, began
