On April 8th, NCACC Executive Director Kevin Leonard was featured on “Education Matters,” a television program created by the Public School Forum of North Carolina to inform the public on the state of public education in North Carolina. The interview discussed the staggering need for public school construction funding and proposals that can help address funding shortfalls. This issue is NCACC’s top legislative goal.

The program is available online at this link and on the WRAL web site.

On Friday, April 21, Buncombe County hosted a Regional Managers Meeting. Among other topics, managers discussed the challenges counties are facing as a result of the opioid crisis and its impact on law enforcement and emergency medical services.  Managers also discussed the proposal to change the definition of “delinquent juvenile” to include ages 16-18. Currently, individuals age 16 and older, who are charged with a crime, are treated as adults in North Carolina’s criminal justice system. Legislation has been introduced in the General Assembly to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 18, with the exception of felony crimes. This proposal is consistent with a priority NCACC legislative goal. Managers reported requests for additional facilities and staffing resources in relation to the proposed change. 

This May, the NC Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Division will hold a series of community workshops to engage citizens, local governments, and other stakeholders as it develops a statewide strategic plan. The Public Transportation Statewide Strategic Plan will serve as a roadmap to address public transportation needs throughout North Carolina and adapt to changing demographic trends. The workshops are free and open to the public and no registration is necessary to attend. For more information on the plan, as well as workshop dates, times, and locations, go to this link.

This month, NCACC is hosting its annual series of District Meetings throughout the state. The purpose of these meetings is to hear from county officials in the area about any issues impacting their county, and to discuss county legislative priorities and General Assembly outreach. Thus far, NCACC has conducted meetings in Burke, Transylvania, New Hanover, and Lee counties. District Meetings will wrap up this week, with meetings in Halifax County on Wednesday April 26 and Tyrrell County on Thursday April 27.

The focus of discussion has centered mostly on the need for public school construction funds, which is the Association’s top legislative priority. The shortfall in funding for public school construction across the state has climbed to about $8.1 billion in recent years and NCACC is working with lawmakers to establish a reliable source of funding to meet the staggering public school facility needs throughout the state’s 100 counties. 

Counties also discussed the need to provide access to fast, reliable internet service in rural counties and efforts to address the opioid crisis. The District Meetings have brought to light the troubling reality that many counties are grappling with unprecedented numbers of children in foster care as a result of opioid abuse. The opioid crisis is straining local capacity and counties need more support to meet the urgent needs for social services. NCACC President Fred McClure is leading a Presidential Initiative to call counties to action to combat opioid abuse and engage in a county leadership forum on this issue.

On April 7, 2017, Kristen G. King of Franklin County received the Howard Holly Outstanding Clerk of the Year Award by the North Carolina Association of County Clerks. The Howard Holly Outstanding Clerk Award recognizes individuals who exceed standards in their profession and have made distinguished contributions to county government in North Carolina. Ms. King was appointed Clerk to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners in April 2006, and has held various positions in the NC Association of County Clerks, serving as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President and President.

BUILD, which is a national initiative that supports early childhood education, recently released a report on Quality Rating and Improvement Systems as part of its efforts to address the challenges of financing for early childhood education. The report praised an online resource that was developed by the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) to help communities in the state explore the full range of potential local strategies to generate revenue. NCACC Research Director, Linda Millsaps contributed to the development of NCECF’s Community Toolkit, which was lauded as an “excellent, up-to-date overview of both existing revenue streams and potential local-revenue-generation options.”   

UNC’s School of Government is offering a conference focused on engaging women in public service. The day-long program entitled, “Engaging Women Conference 3.0: Designing Your Way Forward,” will be held on August 25, 2017 at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown, 3415 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh. The program includes a series of interactive workshops to help women design a vision for their professional future. The cost of the conference is $150.00.  For more information or to register, please visit this link.

The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is holding a series of public input sessions across the state to gather feedback on North Carolina’s Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs. DHHS is accepting comments and ideas from the public from April 25 to May 25, 2017. Input will be used by the Department as it considers whether modifications are needed to the Section 1115 of the State’s waiver application, which was submitted on June 1, 2016, to the federal agency that oversees Medicaid and NC Health Choice. Written comments can be sent by email to MedicaidReform@dhhs.nc.gov; by U.S. mail to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits, 1950 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1950; or delivered in person at the Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothea Dix Campus, Adams Building, 101 Blair Drive, Raleigh.
 
For additional information regarding transformation efforts and to view progress updates, please visit this link.