The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of the Division of Child and Family Well-Being to help achieve its vision of children who are healthy and who thrive in safe, stable and nurturing families, schools and communities.
“The new division is another step forward in advancing whole child and family health and well-being,” said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “Investing in families and children’s healthy development builds more resilient families, better educational outcomes and in the long term, a stronger society.”
The new division brings together programs and staff currently operating across multiple department divisions that support the physical, behavioral and social needs of children under one roof.
“Our Child and Family Well-Being team will wake up every morning with one priority: making it easier for families and caregivers to access the tools they need to give every child the opportunity to thrive,” said Chief Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being Susan Gale Perry.
Programs moving under the new Division of Child and Family Well-Being include:
- Nutrition programs for children, families and seniors (e.g., Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children/WIC; Food and Nutrition Services/SNAP; and the Child and Adult Care Food Program)
- Health-related programs and services for children (e.g., school health promotion; home visiting services; and programs for children and youth with special health care needs)
- School and community mental health services for children and youth (e.g., coordination with schools and services like System of Care that coordinate resources for children and families across multiple child service agencies)
- The Early Intervention/Infant-Toddler Program, which provides supports and services to young children with developmental delays or established conditions.
NCDHHS also announced two leaders supporting the new division. Dr. Charlene Wong, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, and Yvonne Copeland, Director of the Division of Child and Family Well-Being.
Dr. Wong is a practicing primary care pediatrician and serves as the Executive Director of the NC Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK) model, an innovative care delivery and payment model serving Medicaid-insured children in central North Carolina.
Director Copeland has more than 25 years of strategy, leadership, government relations and operations experience in public-sector health care with behavioral health expertise.