Press Releases

MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services invites media to a press conference in Goldsboro announcing the new name of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities. This name change marks an important milestone for the vocational rehabilitation program in North Carolina, reflecting the real progress achieved by people with disabilities over the last century and celebrating the potential and accomplishments of North Carolinians on their journey to independence.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tuesday, May 7, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss Medicaid expansion resources, who is newly eligible and how to apply for health coverage.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Aging is partnering with the N.C. area agencies on aging and local service providers to distribute fans to eligible recipients through Operation Fan Heat Relief from May 1–Oct. 31.

MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services invites media to a press conference in Morganton announcing the new name of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities. This name change marks an important milestone for the vocational rehabilitation program in North Carolina, reflecting the real progress achieved by people with disabilities over the last century and celebrating the potential and accomplishments of North Carolinians on their journey to independence.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Spanish-language Cafecito and tele-town hall on Tues., April 30, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss cancer prevention, guidance, resources and care for the Hispanic/Latino community.

MEDIA ADVISORY — Leaders from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and state legislators will join the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities on Thursday, May 2, for a town hall to discuss key priorities for North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including choice and access to community-based services.

MEDIA ADVISORY — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley will be the keynote speaker at the second annual ‘Why Us Kids?’ rally in Franklin, NC. The event was created by Gracie Parker, an 11-year-old youth mental health activist who shares her lived experience to raise awareness of the ongoing youth mental health crisis and advocate for school-based, trauma-informed support services for students of all ages across the state.

PRESS RELEASE — As part of an ongoing effort to transform North Carolina’s behavioral health crisis response system, the NC Department of Health and Human Services today announced a $22 million investment to expand community crisis centers and peer respite care across the state. This investment will increase North Carolina’s capacity for community-based crisis treatment by 20%, helping to ensure people experiencing a behavioral health crisis have alternative options to emergency departments or community and state psychiatric hospitals when seeking care.

MEDIA ADVISORY — The 32nd annual North Carolina Paramedic Competition will take place Sunday, April 28, at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center. Six groups from across the state will complete for the title of Top Paramedic Team, including the reigning champions Pender EMS. The competition occurs during the annual NC Emergency Medical Services Expo.

MEDIA ADVISORY — Leaders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, NC Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education will join a roundtable with Guilford County Schools on Wednesday, April 24, to discuss the importance of school-based resources in improving physical and behavioral health outcomes for North Carolina children and families. NCDHHS received a historic $835 million to transform behavioral health care in North Carolina, with $80 million specifically focused on children and family well-being. Of that funding, this year, NCDHHS is investing $7 million in services like school-based telehealth to ensure children have better access to behavioral health support and treatment.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tuesday, April 23, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss human papillomavirus (HPV) prevention as well as HPV-related cancer guidance, resources and care.

MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services is announcing the division’s new name: the Division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities. This name change reflects the division’s century-long history of critical work with North Carolinians with disabilities. NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley, EIPD Director Kathie Smith and EIPD clients will celebrate the change at a kickoff event, which will include addresses from clients, partners and division leadership on Tuesday, April 23, at 10:30 a.m. at the Haywood Building on Dorothea Dix Campus in Raleigh.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC) today jointly announce an agreement in the Samantha R. et al. vs. NCDHHS and the State of North Carolina litigation. This development signifies the commitment of both organizations to ensure all North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have the resources they need to live healthy, independent lives in communities of their choosing.

PRESS RELEASE — Tailored Plans are a new kind of NC Medicaid Managed Care health plan for approximately 210,000 beneficiaries with a serious mental illness, a serious emotional disturbance, a severe substance use disorder, an intellectual/developmental disability or a traumatic brain injury in North Carolina. They will cover doctor visits, prescription drugs and services for mental health, substance use, I/DD and traumatic brain injury in one plan. Eligible North Carolinians who are covered by NC Medicaid Direct will be covered by a Tailored Plan beginning July 1. The name of their Medicaid plan will change but the services covered remain the same. A bilingual toolkit with accessible resources is now available for people impacted by the transition to Tailored Plans.

PRESS RELEASE — As indicated by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services,  Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was detected in a dairy herd in North Carolina. HPAI was previously detected in dairy herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico and Ohio. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today issued the following statement in regard to public health concerns:

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released an update to its Early Childhood Action Plan to address key actions the department is taking to improve early childhood development in North Carolina. As Governor Roy Cooper proclaims this week as Week of the Young Child in North Carolina, the updated action plan and efforts to improve children’s behavioral health in North Carolina support the department’s mission to ensure all children get a healthy start in life and develop to their full potential in safe and nurturing families, schools and communities.

PRESS RELEASE — As part of an ongoing commitment to improve behavioral health and resilience in North Carolina, the NC Department of Health and Human Services is investing in transforming the state’s behavioral crisis response system to ensure people experiencing a behavioral health emergency have alternatives to emergency departments when seeking the care they need. NCDHHS today announced a two-year plan to invest approximately $15 million in nine behavioral health urgent care centers across North Carolina. This investment will increase the state’s capacity to provide behavioral health urgent care by nearly 50%.

MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Director of Child Development and Early Education, Ariel Ford will participate in two upcoming child care forums in North Carolina. The events seek to raise awareness to the child care crisis in the state and the need for more child care opportunities in North Carolina which support children’s healthy development and learning, allow parents to work and keep businesses running.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today published the 2024-25 Olmstead Plan to improve community inclusion for people with disabilities. Designed in partnership with key stakeholders and people with lived experience across the state, the plan advances the work to ensure people with disabilities have the resources they need to live and thrive in the communities of their choice. 

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting a statewide increase in mpox cases. Over the past six months, 45 cases have been reported in 12 counties across North Carolina.