Cumberland County’s Departments of Social Services and Public Health run dozens of services. Organizations across the county operate even more. It can be mind-numbing for residents to navigate all the different eligibility requirements for each service, let alone know programs that might help them exist.
That is why the two departments created the Connected Care Program. Housed in the Spring Lake Family Resource Center on Laketree Boulevard, the collaborative program aims to help residents connect and navigate services run by the departments, state and federal governments and local community.
“We know it can be a complicated system,” said Dr. Jennifer Green, director of the Dept. of Public Health. “So our role is not to take over for another entity. We just want to make it easier for families, to help navigate.”
In its first year of full operations, the Connected Care Program worked with over 220 families and individuals to get them anything from glasses to housing. The number is close to the maximum number of cases the program can currently handle.
“This is very much a work in progress. I feel great about it,” said Brenda Jackson, director of the Dept. of Social Services. “I think there’s definitely room for us to continue to develop and grow the program.”
Four teams handle the families and individuals part of the Connected Care Program. Each team has a social worker, nutritionist, nurse, income maintenance worker and a community social services assistant. The income maintenance workers help program participants find income benefits. The community social services assistants help residents connect to everyday services like transportation. Each of them ensures the needs of those assigned to them are met.
The teams work either in-person, by phone or virtually with residents. Sometimes, the work is simply connecting residents with services that already exist.
“It’s a lot of information and referrals, a lot of supporting other efforts and supports out in the community,” Jackson said.
Other times, the teams use Connected Care Program funds — all of which comes from the county’s budget — to bridge gaps in services created by other programs’ strict funding requirements.
“’Maybe I’m just over the eligibility requirements for my rental assistance by just, you know, sometimes it’s honestly just a few dollars,’” Green said. “’I’m just over income, but I really need that support that’s going to get me on my feet.’ We’re going to fill the gap there.
The Connected Care Program can cover situations like these because the county is the sole funder of the program, said Jackson. While state and federal funding come with strict requirements to follow, the county is more flexible about what costs it will cover. Of the $390,254 allocated to the program in 2022, the teams have about $300 per case to bridge gaps in care.
“Most programs aren’t going to pay for a pair of pants for somebody to go to a job interview, but Connected Care can pay for that,” Green said. “You’re on the housing waiting list and going to be in your house between public housing in a month, but need a little bit of money to support rent for this month before federal or state housing kicks in? Connected Care can do that.”
In certain cases, Jackson said the program can even pay for bus tickets to get those in the program to safer, more stable environments. Jackson emphasized, however, that the Connected Care Program is a case management program — not a financial assistance source for rent payments or other large monetary needs.
People are referred to the program; anyone or any organization can make referrals through NCCARE360, so long as the person or family referred lives in Cumberland County. Besides being the referral system, NCCARE360 is a one-stop-shop for individuals to find and organizations to refer people to any county, state and community services under its network.
A social worker supervisor from the Dept. of Social Services and an administrative officer from the Dept. of Public Health screen referrals. Once accepted to the Connected Care Program, residents are assigned to one of the four teams to coordinate their care until their situations improve and they are deemed stable.
The program is technically a pilot project pushed by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. In 2022, the board allocated the program funds for 16 full-time program positions and operating costs for three years. This year marks its third, and final already funded, year.
Residents can apply or refer someone for the Connected Care Program through NCCARE360’s website.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.
