Newsletter Articles

State employees from across North Carolina, including many from the Department of Health and Human Services, attended the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Program and John R. Larkins Award Ceremony on Jan. 17 in Raleigh. The annual event commemorates the life of Dr. King and celebrates the value of public service. This year's ceremony featured former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the first African American woman to hold this federal appointment.

January marks the 10th anniversary of when North Carolina's smoke-free restaurants and bars law went into effect. A decade later, the law remains the strongest in the Southeast.

The North Carolina and U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services teamed up for town hall on Jan. 22 to educate health care and IT professionals about managing cybersecurity threats and protecting patients.

North Carolina's efforts to address and improve maternal health across the state were the focus of a listening session held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 27 in Raleigh.

A documentary about Black ASL, the unique dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) that developed within historically segregated African American Deaf communities, was produced through a non-profit at NC State University and will be screened throughout North Carolina.

In an effort to hear directly from those served through North Carolina's public behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities system, the NC Department of Health and Human Services has scheduled six additional town hall listening sessions.

The Veterans Life Center, a residential program designed to improve the lives of veterans who are experiencing reintegration problems after serving in the military, held a grand opening on Aug. 1. The facility provides temporary housing and services to help veterans achieve self-reliance.

Four local WIC agencies were awarded the Loving Support Award of Excellence (LSA) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for exemplary breastfeeding support practices. The LSA was received by the local WIC programs in Clay, Gaston, New Hanover and Wilson counties.

Staff from the Elizabeth City, Washington and Wilmington unit offices of DHHS' Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) recently delivered supplies to the local YMCA in Bertie County to help residents who were impacted by Hurricane Isaias in early August.

The COVID-19 crisis has provided an important moment for NCDHHS' Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) to lead the country by offering innovative, digital professional development supports to all NC Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) teachers across the state. While in-person learning is strongly recommended for all NC Pre-K children, DCDEE is working proactively to ensure that families who may need to quarantine are able to continue to readily support their child's learning and stay aligned to their classmates.