Agenda Package - 01-18-11 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

G4 • Health and Human Services Legislative Proposals Priority Goals as Determined by NCACC Board of Directors 1. Ensure adequate mental health funding — Seek legislation to ensure adequate capacity of state - funded acute psychiatric beds. — Oppose legislation to close state - funded beds until there is adequate capacity statewide. Seek legislation to maintain the existing levels of state funding for community mental health services. • Explanation: As state and federal policy changes have forced the downsizing of state psychiatric hospital capacity, commensurate local capacity has not kept pace with bed closures. The state has purchased local hospital beds set aside for the mentally ill, but additional funding is needed for increased bed capacity. Counties and local hospital emergency rooms have had to manage an increasingly large mentally ill population with inadequate community services, and mental health client caseloads are on the rise in countyjails and among the homeless. 2. Retain State Aid to Counties — Seek legislation to retain the State Aid to Counties to maintain federal matching funds. • Explanation: State aid to counties represents about 3 percent of county administrative costs for public assistance programs. These funds are used by county Departments of Social Services to match federal funds for the administration of services and benefits to • customers. In 2009, the General Assembly eliminated State Aid to Counties ($5,473,985) on a non - recurring basis for both years of the biennium. State Aid to Counties was supplanted byARRA [Stimulus] funds. 3. Allow county flexibility to organize local human services. — Seek legislation to allow counties to organize human services based on community need, including the removal of the population threshold in 153A -77. — Oppose legislation that would mandate consolidation of social services functions. • Explanation: Currently, counties with populations greater than 425,000 can restructure human services and assume direct control of any activities under the separate boards of social services, health, and mental health. Mecklenburg and Wake have exercised this option. Other Goals Maintain childcare subsidy funds and allocate to counties. — Seek legislation to allocate all childcare subsidy funding directly to counties. — Oppose legislation that would reduce childcare subsidy funding • Explanation: Annual childcare subsidies of $360 million are funded by federal ($291 million) and state ($69 million) monies. The state used stimulus funding to substitute some state dollars for 2010 -11. Presently, childcare subsidies are allocated to both county Departments of Social Services and local Smart Start partnerships, and then the local partnerships allocate some of their funding back to DSS. Smart Start allocations can only be used for pre -K children. I� L