TITLE
Title
NCDHHS/COUNTY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING PURSUANT TO N.C.G.S. 108A-74 AND QUARTERLY MANDATED PERFORMANCE MEASURES UPDATE
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Sharon Barlow
Rosanne Wiley-Hayes
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BACKGROUND
Background
Session Law 2017-41 / N.C.G.S. 108A-74 requires all counties to enter into an annual written agreement, referred to as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) for all social services programs excluding medical assistance (Medicaid). State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018-2019 was the first year of these agreements.
The Department worked jointly with the NC Association of County Directors of Social Services to vet all measures prior to the finalization for the MOU with an effective date of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. The measures for the SFY 2026-2027 and SFY 2027-2028 MOU can be found in Attachment I entitled MOU Performance At-A-Glance. These are the only measures that will be evaluated as part of the MOU for SFY 2026-2027 and SFY 2027-2028 and are subject to performance improvement actions.
In the future, NCDHHS will consider a pause on issuing a corrective action plan on a county-by-county basis if there are barriers outside the control of the county that has a significant impact on the county's ability to meet their performance requirements (i.e., a significant hurricane, tornado, etc.). While the state will continue to monitor performance and share data with counties and provide support, if the pause is in place there will be no formal performance improvement or corrective actions taken related to MOU performance.
The cover letter from the State with an overview of the MOU process as well as other related documents are attached; these include:
1. A cover letter providing an overview of the MOU process for FY 2026-2027 and FY 2027-2028
2. Memorandum of Understanding between DHHS and counties FY 2026-2027 and FY 2027-2028
3. Addendum A for State Data Sharing and IT Security MOA FY 2026-2027 and FY 2027-2028
4. Attachment I - MOU Performance At-A-Glance combined performance measures
5. MOU Performance Measures Corrective Action Plan Process
There are no changes in the overall performance standards or the activities that are measured. There are several standards that are measured based on a county's prior year performance, but the State is still reviewing those county-specific performance rates.
The proposed agreement, as amended, maintains the requirement that both Social Services and Child Support comply with meeting certain performance and growth measures. The goal of the annual agreement is to support the provision of the consistent quality of services that ensure the safety, health and well-being of children, adults and families served across North Carolina.
Included with the proposed MOU amendments is the attached quarterly update on performance measures for the months of April - June 2026 in alignment with the SFY 2024-2025 and SFY 2025-2026 MOU.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approve, in substantial form, and authorize staff to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Guilford County as required by North Carolina General Statute 108A-74; and receive quarterly performance measures updates for the months of April-June 2026.
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