DHHS to Hold Virtual Mental Health Town Hall Meetings to Hear from those Receiving Services

State leaders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (DMHDDSAS) are partnering with UNC-TV and the Governor’s Institute to host several virtual town hall meetings during October and November to listen to the concerns and experiences of consumers, family members and advocates of the state’s MH/DD/SAS services and system. The town halls will feature remarks and presentations from Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & IDD Kody Kinsley, DMHDDSAS Director Victor Armstrong and the CEO for the Local Management Entity/Managed Care Organization for each area’s town hall.
 
These virtual town halls will be held for MHDDSAS constituents and stakeholders in each of the seven LME/MCO catchment areas. Questions can be posted in the live chat during the virtual town hall, or a recorded video message can be uploaded beforehand to a OneDrive folder set up for each meeting. Questions can also be emailed to Suzanne Thompson at suzanne.thompson@dhhs.nc.gov, with “Virtual Town Hall” included in the subject line.
 
Each virtual town hall can be accessed via Facebook live on the NC Governor’s Institute Facebook Live page at 6 p.m. on the following dates for each of the remaining six LME/MCOs:

North Carolina’s public Behavioral Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities System is undergoing major changes, and NCDHHS wants to hear from consumers, families and advocates about how the system is working and how the department can assist in creating a system that improves health outcomes and promotes recovery for all North Carolinians.

In 2019, an estimated 113,816 adults and children received behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities services through North Carolina’s public mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services system, and an additional 8,066 individuals were served through state-operated facilities. The virtual town hall events will provide an opportunity to respond to questions and discuss concerns from consumers and their families and advocates. The meetings also will provide an opportunity to discuss the status of the transition of the state’s Medicaid program to managed care.

A virtual town hall for those in the Alliance Health LME/MCO catchment area was held on Sept. 17, 2020.

LME-MCOs are public managed care organizations that provide a comprehensive behavioral health services plan under the NC 1915(b)(c) Waiver for people in need of mental health, developmental disability or substance use services.