DSS reports CFSP rollout, Medicaid transportation reversal and recent collections figures

Dwella Hall, director of Columbus County Department of Social Services, updated the board on multiple program items. She said the Children and Family Services Plan (CFSP) went live on Dec. 1, 2025; the plan is a single statewide health plan designed to ensure access to comprehensive physical and behavioral health services for Medicaid-enrolled children and young adults served by the child-welfare system. Hall said a Healthy Blue representative meets in the county office twice weekly to assist staff and beneficiaries.

Hall reported that recent concerns about a federal freeze on childcare development funds have not produced an official notice for North Carolina; the state currently issues subsidy payments after attendance submissions so the county has not been notified of a funding freeze to date.

On Medicaid transportation, Hall said a September 29, 2025 state notice reduced reimbursement rates for non-emergency Medicaid transportation by about 3 percent, but subsequent court rulings required the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to reverse those reductions and restore rates to their Sept. 30 levels.

Hall reported child-support collection figures on the record: November collections were $369,999 and December collections were reported in the transcript as $404,107,944; the December figure appears anomalous and may reflect transcription error or an extra digit. Program-integrity recoveries were $917 in November and $4,090.96 in December.

Hall ended by offering to bring further updates if state-level changes occur.