Moore County has reached a reported $55,000 settlement with a local mother and her two children over claims that the county’s Department of Social Services unnecessarily kept the children in institutional settings.
The federal lawsuit was brought by Rumina Slazas and her two children, identified in court documents by the initials J.S. and S.S. Both children have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Disability Rights North Carolina represented the family.
Lawsuit Followed Mother’s Cancer Treatment
According to the lawsuit, Slazas was hospitalized for cancer treatment in 2022. Moore County DSS took custody of her children while she was receiving treatment.
The complaint alleged that the county did not promptly return the children after Slazas returned home and was later declared to be in remission. It also claimed DSS failed to use available community-based or home-like services for the children.
Slazas’ son spent several months separated from his family in an intermediate care facility. Her daughter spent approximately nine months in the pediatric emergency department at UNC-Chapel Hill before being transferred to a psychiatric residential treatment facility in South Carolina, according to the complaint.
Both children were eventually reunited with their mother.
Federal Disability Claims Allowed to Proceed
Moore County previously asked a federal court to dismiss the family’s claims. In July 2025, a federal judge ruled that the family had presented a plausible claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act and allowed that portion of the case to continue.
That ruling did not decide the underlying allegations. It determined that the claim met the legal requirements to proceed toward further litigation.
The case later went to mediation and ended with a settlement totaling $55,000, according to court documents reported by NC Newsline.
Family Hopes Case Leads to Better Outcomes
Disability Rights North Carolina described financial settlements in unnecessary institutionalization cases as uncommon. Such cases more frequently result in orders directing agencies to provide different placements or support services.
“I did nothing wrong to lose my kids, I just got sick,” Slazas said in a statement released by the organization.
She said the settlement cannot undo what her family experienced but expressed hope that the case will lead to better outcomes for other children with significant disabilities in the child-welfare system.
Moore County officials did not immediately respond to NC Newsline’s request for comment about the settlement.
Sources: Disability Rights North Carolina and NC Newsline.
