Who We
Are:
About
the
NC Department of
Health and Human Services
Organization | Departmental Facts | Departmental History |
Secretary Dempsey Benton| Mission
of DHHS
Organization
Dan Stewart, Deputy Secretary
Jackie Sheppard,
Assistant Secretary for Long-Term Care and Family Services
Linda Povlich,
Senior Advisor
The Department is divided into 30 divisions and offices. DHHS divisions and offices fall under four broad service areas - health, human services, administrative, and support functions.
DHHS also oversees 18 facilities: mental retardation centers, psychiatric hospitals, alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers, schools, early intervention programs, and one special care center.
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Departmental Facts
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the largest agency in state government, responsible for ensuring the health, safety and well being of all North Carolinians, providing the human service needs for fragile populations like the mentally ill, deaf, blind and developmentally disabled, and helping poor North Carolinians achieve economic independence.
DHHS touches the lives of virtually every North Carolinian from birth to old age--prenatal programs, child development programs, and rest home regulations, are all part of DHHS charge.
DHHS has more than 19,000 employees.
DHHS' operating budget is $14 billion. Three divisions account for most of the department's budget. $9.7 billion is housed in the Division of Medical Assistance. The Division of Social Services accounts for $1.2 billion. The Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services accounts for another $1.1 billion.
More detailed facts and figures for our divisions and offices are available on our Facts and Figures page. Program facts and figures are available in our Program Management Database.
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Departmental History
In the early 1970s there were more than 300 state agencies or departments, including the Department of Public Welfare, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Mental Health, regulatory agencies, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. A plan was developed by a Legislative Commission to group "like" agencies and departments under one umbrella. The General Assembly enacted the "Executive Organization Act of 1971," which created the Department of Human Resources.
The newly created department brought together a number of free-standing departments, including mental health and social services. These departments became divisions in the new Department of Human Resources.
The Legislature enacted the "Executive Organization Act of 1973," which repealed the 1971 Act. It kept much of the previous language but required the transfer of divisions or agencies within other departments to what would be considered the most appropriate department. Under this legislation, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation was transferred from the Department of Public Instruction to DHR.
In the early 1970s many rural North Carolinians had no access to medical treatment. Many rural counties didn't even have a doctor. The rural poor were either unable to see a physician or had to drive long distances to do so. The Office of Rural Health was established by Executive Order in 1974 to address this issue.
In 1977, the legislature created the Division of Aging and added it to DHR so that more emphasis could be given to the needs of the growing elderly population. In 2004, this division became the Division of Aging and Adult Services.
In 1978, the Division of Medical Assistance was created within the Department to administer the Medicaid program. Prior to DMA's creation, Medicaid had been administered by the Division of Social Services, with county departments of social services determining eligibility. It was determined that with its large budget and rules and regulations it needed to be a stand alone division and was transferred from DSS. Eligibility continues to be determined by the county departments of social services.
In 1989, the legislature created the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and a Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. At that time the division was the central administrative office for the three schools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and provided services to preschoolers and the adult population. In 1999 the schools were transferred to the Division of Education and Early Intervention.
Also in 1989, the Division of Public Health was transferred from the Department of Human Resources to the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources (DEHNR). Legislation was enacted in 1997 to transfer most of the Division of Public Health back to the Department of Human Resources, and to change the name of the Department to the Department of Health and Human Services.
From the beginning of subsidized child day care in the early 1970s, that program was located in the Division of Social Services. It was later transferred to the Division of Facility Services, since most of the child care requirements at that time included certification, monitoring for compliance of regulatory items, and payments. The Division of Facility Services changed its name to the Division of Health Service Regulation in 2007
With the advent of Smart Start in 1993, the Governor and Secretary created a Division of Child Development. Child care services were transferred to that division with the goal of creating a division that would emphasize the needs of children and provide more affordable, high- quality child care.
In 1994, an Internal Audit Section was formed, which was formalized by the the General Assembly in 1997 into the Office of the Internal Auditor (G.S. 143B-216.50-.51). The Office of the Internal Auditor performs various types of audits and reviews both within the Department and at the subrecipient level for grantees, based on need assessments coordinated with the DHHS Office of the Secretary.
In July 1999, the Secretary created the Early Intervention and Education Division. The three Schools for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind were transferred to this Division. In July 2001 the name was changed to the Office of Education Services.
Listed below are all the Secretaries who have served the Department from the beginning to the present:
- In 1971 Governor Bob Scott appointed Dr. Lenox Baker;
- In January 1973 Governor Jim Holshouser appointed David Flaherty;
- In January 1976 Governor Jim Hunt appointed Dr. Sarah Morrow;
- In January 1985 Governor Jim Martin appointed Phillip Kirk;
- In May 1986 Governor Jim Martin appointed David Flaherty;
- In January 1993 Governor James B Hunt appointed Robin Britt;
- In January 1997 Governor James B. Hunt appointed Dr. David Bruton;
- In January 2001 Governor Michael Easley appointed Carmen Hooker Odom;
- In September 2007 Governor Michael Easley appointed Dempsey Benton.
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Secretary Dempsey Benton
Governor Mike Easley appointed Dempsey E. Benton Secretary of the N.C.
Department of Health and Human Services on September 5, 2007. Dempsey
brings 38 years of public service to the position.
Dempsey used his managerial skills to provide leadership to three cities in North Carolina and to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, where he served as chief deputy secretary from January 2001 until February 2007.
He served as the Raleigh city manager from 1983 to 2000, and as the city’s assistant manager from 1974 to 1983. Earlier, Dempsey was the city manager of Elizabeth City and also held the position of Finance director of Rocky Mount. During those years he honed his fiscal managerial and leadership skills as he guided those cities through challenging budgetary cycles during the economic ups and downs of the times.
Dempsey is the 12th secretary of DHHS, one of the largest departments in state government with 19,000 employees and a $14-billion annual budget. The department’s mission: to provide efficient services that enhance the quality of life of North Carolina individuals and families so that they have opportunities for healthier and safer lives resulting ultimately in the achievement of economic and personal independence.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1967 and a master’s in public administration in 1971, Dempsey is a member of Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society and Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.
His fiscal skills have resulted in 10 consecutive awards for financial reporting from the Governmental Finance Officers Association, which promotes professional management of government for the public benefit. He is chairman of the N.C. Geographic Information Coordinating Council; chairman of the long-range planning committee of the Centennial Authority, owner of the RBC Center; a member of the N.C. Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Commission; and served as chairman of the N.C. Interagency Leadership Team, whose efforts are aimed at environmentally responsible transportation development to coincide with economic development.
He and his wife, Barbara, live in Raleigh. His wife is a retired elementary
teacher. Their daughter, Katherine, is an attorney.
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Mission and Philosophy
The mission of the Department of Health and Human Services is to provide efficient services that enhance the quality of life of North Carolina individuals and families so that they have opportunities for healthier and safer lives resulting ultimately in the achievement of economic and personal independence.
The department is devoted to quality customer service. We welcome your input and suggestions to how we can improve.
Last Modified: February 27, 2008 .