OTHER DHHS DIVISIONS

A number of complementary programs and services, also administered by county departments of social services, are supervised by Department of Health and Human Services agencies other than the North Carolina Division of Social Services.

The North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services promotes independence and enhances the dignity of North Carolina's older and disabled persons and their families through a community-based system of opportunities, services, benefits, and protections; to ready younger generations to enjoy their later years; and to help society and government plan and prepare for the changing demographics.

The North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind provides treatment, rehabilitation, education and independent living alternatives for blind and visually impaired residents of North Carolina. Through vocational rehabilitation, the Division helps people find and keep jobs. The Division also promotes the prevention of blindness through educational programs.

The North Carolina Division of Child Development protects the well-being of children while they are away from their parents by licensing, monitoring, and regulating child day care. The Child Development Division provides technical assistance to help child care programs accommodate children with special needs, assists home child care providers on meeting safety standards, and helps communities establish resource and referral agencies to help families find the child care they need. The Division also helps low-income families pay for child care, enabling parents to go to work.

The North Carolina Office of Citizens Services allows citizens to travel through the maze of the human service delivery system by answering questions, cutting through red tape and serving as a clearinghouse for information relating to the services to which the people of the state are entitled. The Office of Citizen Services' toll-free Information and Referral Service/CARE-LINE is staffed with specialists who offer information and referral on human services within the Department of Health and Human Services and non-profits across the state. The office also handles complaints and inquiries related to department services through an Ombudsman Program. A bilingual specialist is available for Spanish-speaking callers. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., except holidays.

The North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides a broad range of services for children and adults, their families and the professionals who serve them including interpreter services, access to technology and coordination of human services for the deaf and hard of hearing. The state's 600,000 deaf and hard of hearing citizens can find the assistance and information they need from the North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The Office of Education Services provides leadership and direction for the DHHS residential schools and education programs. The Governor Morehead School, the state's residential school for the blind, operates under the Division. Located in Raleigh, the school serves children from birth to age 21. The school's programs include a preschool for children from birth to age five, an academic program for youth ages five to 21, and an alternative program for youth ages five to 21 who have other disabilities in addition to blindness. An outreach program is also available to children attending public school.

The Office of Economic Opportunity helps families to achieve economic independence with incomes above the federal poverty level. Families get help in finding a job or housing or any number of services that lead to independence. The office also gives shelter to an average of 2,000 homeless individuals and families per day, helping them get shelter, food, health care, and child care. The homeless can also get psychological and substance abuse counseling. OEO channels funds to community-based, private nonprofit agencies in the form of Community Services Block Grants (CSBGs), Community Action Partnership grants, and Emergency Shelter Grants Program.

The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation inspects, certifies, registers and licenses hospitals, nursing homes, adult care homes, mental health facilities, home care programs, and other health facilities. It determines the need for many such health facilities and services across the state and develops a plan to meet that need. The Division reviews health care facility designs and construction for safety and other concerns. It also oversees the effectiveness of the state's emergency medical services (EMS) system, issues permits for all ambulances in the state and certifies all local EMS personnel. Other responsibilities include inspection and compliance enforcement and construction approval for local jails. The Division also regulates charitable solicitations and bingo.

The North Carolina Division of Information Resource Management (DIRM) supports the Department of Health and Human Services' business and client record keeping needs. The Division also provides technical services to the department and its related agencies, assuring access to department-maintained records for more than 14,000 local computer workstations across the state. In addition, DIRM processes and mails more than 17 million client documents each year.

The North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance is chiefly responsible for administering the federal Medicaid Program. The Division also manages the Community Alternatives program, which helps the elderly and disabled remain in their homes by providing needed health and personal care services. The Baby Love program helps improve women's access to early prenatal care and preventive health care for low birth weight infants. Carolina Access connects people with primary care doctors who manage their patient care needs. Health Check is an outreach program aimed at improving the quality of health care among low-income children. The program guarantees eligible children regular comprehensive health exams that include necessary immunizations, screenings and follow-up care.

The North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services helps North Carolina's most vulnerable and disabled citizens with mental, developmental, and substance abuse problems exercise their rights and responsibilities. The Division is responsible for making sure that needed services are provided to children and adults with disabilities in North Carolina. The Division's aim is for everyone to live as productive citizens and to be able to take part in social, educational, health and job opportunities to the fullest.

The North Carolina Division of Public Health works to protect, promote, and preserve the health of North Carolinians through ethical, compassionate, and evidence-based public health practice. The Division's wide range of programs and services are aimed toward protecting and improving the health of the people who live and work in North Carolina. Public health programs reach out to help build healthy families and communities, promote healthful living, lower the risk of disease and untimely death, and reduce the consequences of disease. The Division of Public Health also gathers and analyzes statewide health data and statistics needed for making sound public health decisions and policies. The Division works with other DHHS Divisions, state agencies and local health departments and in partnership with public and private groups to ensure a healthy North Carolina.

The North Carolina Office of Research, Demonstrations & Rural Health Development works with local and state leaders to design and implement strategies for improving health and dental care access for rural residents. Our Medical Placement Services Staff provides recruitment assistance to rural and under served communities with no placement fees.

The North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services works to promote employment and independence for people with disabilities through customer partnership and community leadership. The Division also provides services that encourage and reinforce independent living for the disabled, through two main components: the Vocational Rehabilitation Program and the Independent Living Services Program.

The North Carolina Vital Records Unit is responsible for registering all births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and divorces which occur in North Carolina, coding those events for statistical research purposes, maintaining the records properly, and locating and providing certified or uncertified copies of those records. The registration process involves a statewide system of hospitals, funeral directors, registers of deeds, local health department staff, and others who register vital events. Once vital events have been registered, the individual vital records are preserved in a secure environment. When appropriate, they are corrected, amended, or even replaced. Certified and uncertified copies are provided when requested for legal actions, passports, law enforcement investigations, child support enforcement, health-related research, and official identification.

For additional information, please visit the DHHS Division List