Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) were developed in response to a requirement set forth in the 1996 reauthorization for the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA), section 106 (c). The CRPs are directed to evaluate state child welfare agencies and make recommendations for improvement in child protective services. In doing so, they are to assess how well the state is coordinating adoption and foster care programs and how child fatalities are reviewed. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), Division of Social Services (NC DSS) is the state’s child welfare authority responsible for the oversight of CRPs in North Carolina. Currently, to meet federal requirements, NC DSS has designated the state’s existing 101 Community Child Protection Teams (CCPTs) as CRPs. CCPTs are interdisciplinary groups of community representatives that were established in 1991 under N.C. General Statute § 7B-1406, and further formalized and expanded in 1993, to promote a community-wide approach to the problem of child abuse and neglect. Legislation passed in 2024 requires North Carolina to establish a minimum of 3 CRPs by January 2025 in compliance with the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).