N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-45

Every indigent child which may be placed in any orphanage, children's home, or child-placing institution in this State, which shall be an institution existing under and by virtue of the laws of this State, shall be under the control of the authorities of such institution so long as, under the rules and regulations of such institution, the child is entitled to remain in the same. The authority of the institution shall be the same as that of a parent or guardian before the child was placed in the institution; but such authority shall extend only to the person of the child.