How Could You? Hall of Shame-Matthew and Aimee Rund

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Buncombe County, North Carolina, former Sheriff’s deputy and foster parent Mattthew Lund and his wife Aimee “were charged with 15 counts of child abuse on July 23, have been licensed foster parents since Sept. 18, 2018, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the regulation of foster parents.

The Lunds were licensed as foster parents six years after Matthew Lund was fired from the Hendersonville Police Department following his involvement in an on-duty shooting. No criminal charges were filed against him in that incident.

Due to privacy laws, department spokesperson Catie Armstrong said she could not disclose if the charges of child abuse against the Lunds came from their foster children.

The Lunds are accused of locking four children, ages 2, 4, 7 and 13, inside their rooms without food, water, or access to the bathroom, and nailing their windows shut. According to the Buncombe County Register of Deeds, which keeps birth certificates, the Lunds are not the biological parents of any children born within the county.

Armstrong did not respond to questions in time for publication about how many foster children the Lunds have cared for since 2018, if there are still foster children in their home, or if they are still licensed foster parents.

The Lunds are not in jail. There is no bond listed on their arrest warrants.

Matthew Lund was fired by Buncombe County sheriff Quentin Miller following the charges. Miller is a longtime foster parent himself. In the past, he said he and his wife have fostered more than 100 children.

“All reports of child abuse and neglect against a foster parent are investigated by the County Department of Social Services in accordance with law and rule,” Armstrong said.

Stacey Wood, a spokesperson for Buncombe County’s department of health and human services, said all investigations into abuse are confidential.

“Release of records related to a specific child welfare case is prohibited by Federal and State law,” she said in an email.

Though the state licenses foster parents, county social service agencies or private agencies supervise parents while they have children in their custody.

In order to become a foster parent, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services conducts a criminal background check, interviews the potential foster parents, and visits their home.

Foster parents are required to complete a 30-hour course, called Trauma Informed Parenting for Safety and Permanence, that teaches them about the child welfare system and teaches techniques on how to be a successful foster parent.

Foster parents must be re-licensed every two years.

The N.C. Child Welfare Manual, which describes the licensing process in greater detail, explains that the goal of foster care is to “assure that children in out-of-home care have safe, nurturing homes that will help them grow and reach their full potential.”

“When a child requires care outside the family unit, it is the duty of the State to assure that the quality of substitute care is as close as possible to the care and nurturing that society expects of a family,” the manual says.

The Lunds will both appear in court on Sept. 7.”

Former Buncombe sheriff’s deputy charged with child abuse was licensed foster parent
[Asheville Citizen-Time 7/29/21 by Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven]

REFORM Puzzle Piece