North Carolina officials will take over a county child welfare agency that illegally removed potentially hundreds of kids from their homes.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that it will temporarily take over Cherokee County Cherokee County Department of Social Services, starting Monday.

The move comes after an Associated Press investigation revealed Cherokee County child welfare workers were not following state law and getting a judge's approval to remove a child from a biological parent.

Some parents told the AP that social workers in the mountain community forced them to sign the agreements.

One of the parents, Brian Hogan, says social workers threatened to throw him in jail or place his child in foster care if he didn't sign an agreement.