Your monthly briefing on Aging, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Homeless Management Information Systems for North Carolina partners.
CASEWORTHY NORTH CAROLINA BRIEF | JULY 2026
Welcome
You told us you want to hear more about AI, so we are leaning in. This month opens with Part 1 of a new series from our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Shayne Champion. Alongside that, the usual North Carolina (NC) briefing: the newly signed state budget, the Governor’s July 8 veto of House Bill (HB) 437, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
What’s in This Month’s Issue:
Featured From CaseWorthy: Shayne Champion on AI Security for Human Services Leaders
Aging in NC: SB 257 Personal Care Rate Increase
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): $1M LME/MCO Study
Homelessness and HMIS: Stein’s HB 437 Veto and the FY26 CoC Local Competition
Where the Verticals Meet: Federal and State Policy Shifts and What They Signal for NC Providers
Case Study Spotlight: Lancaster County Community Action Partnership
More to Read This Month: Unique NC and National Reads for This Week
Quick Poll: What Is Your Organization’s Biggest AI Question Right Now?
FEATURED FROM CASEWORTHY
New Artificial Intelligence Security Series
Our CISO is publishing a four-part series on securing Artificial Intelligence for human services. Part 1 lays the groundwork. Here are three takeaways worth carrying into every AI conversation:
Right-size the hype. ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot are book-smart with no lived experience. Treat them like a brilliant twelve-year-old college grad: capable, but never unsupervised.
You are not starting from scratch. Zero trust, identity and access management, data classification, and encryption still do most of the heavy lifting for AI risk.
Manage AI like a user, not a program. It pursues objectives rather than following rules, so identity governance, not just code review, has to sit at the center.
Organizations that slow down long enough to secure AI properly will leapfrog the ones cleaning up breaches later. Read the article in full →
GO DEEPER ON AI
Watch the on-demand webinar: Beyond the Buzzwords: How Human Services Organizations Should Approach AI, featuring David Lewis and Darius Beverly.
SB 257 Delivers a Personal Care Rate Increase, Not New Slots
The final Senate Bill (SB) 257 state budget, signed by Governor Josh Stein on July 7, includes $21.3 million to raise rates for workers providing personal care services that allow older adults and people with IDD to remain in their communities. The Governor’s recommended budget had asked for 200 additional Innovations Waiver slots at an estimated $9.3 million; that funding did not make it into the final version. For aging providers, the rate increase helps the direct care workforce, but the underlying access problem for community-based supports is unchanged. See NC Health News’ budget analysis.
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
Legislature Funds a $1M Study of LME/MCOs and DSOHF
The final budget sets aside $1 million for an outside firm to study cost-saving opportunities at the Division of State-Operated Healthcare Facilities (DSOHF) and the Local Management Entity/Managed Care Organizations (LME/MCOs). With roughly 18,000 people already sitting on the Registry of Unmet Needs, advocates are watching this study closely. Families are worried it could become a runway to shrink the community-based system that Innovations depends on, rather than a path to strengthen it. Read Carolina Public Press on the final budget.
Homelessness and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
On July 8, Governor Stein vetoed HB 437, the drug-free zones and unauthorized public camping bill. In his statement, he called it “poorly constructed” and said it “fundamentally misunderstands how people suffering from addiction get healthy” and creates “another significant unfunded mandate for local governments.” House sponsor Representative Jake Johnson said he will urge colleagues to override. The General Assembly returns July 27, and providers should assume this is not settled. Read the veto coverage at WHQR.
FY26 CoC NOFO: NC Local Competition Well Underway
HUD released the FY26 CoC NOFO on June 2, putting $4.04 billion into competition, including $1.3 billion for new projects, with explicit priority for Transitional Housing and Supportive Services-Only projects. NC’s local competitions are now in full swing. The NC Balance of State CoC is running its process through the NC Coalition to End Homelessness (NCCEH), with pre-applications and applications due July 24 at 5 PM. The Wake CoC (NC 507) deadline is July 10 at 11:59 PM. Consolidated applications are due to HUD by August 26. Get the NCCEH funding timeline.
Where the Verticals Meet
Federal and State Policy Shifts and What They Signal for NC
A National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) analysis published June 2 lays out how shifts in HUD priorities, funding structures, and eligibility criteria could affect renewals, program design, and the people served across the country. Pair that with the NC picture this month: SB 257 raised personal care worker rates but declined to add Innovations slots, and HB 437 asks local governments to police public camping without funding shelter or treatment. For NC providers, the practical takeaway is that FY26 CoC applications need defensible performance data and clean Annual Performance Reports, and that eligibility and coordinated-entry workflows should be documented tightly, regardless of how the legal and regulatory landscape settles. Read the NAEH analysis.
CASE STUDY SPOTLIGHT
Lancaster County Community Action Partnership
Lancaster County CAP, the largest anti-poverty organization in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, uses CaseWorthy as its HMIS and case management platform. When HUD retired the VI-SPDAT, the Coalition used CaseWorthy’s apBuilder to design its own local prioritization tool. In December 2025, a live Application Programming Interface (API) integration with Find Help via PA Navigate turned CaseWorthy into a closed-loop referral network. For NC Balance of State agencies staring at a July 24 NOFO deadline, it is a clean example of what an HMIS that carries its weight looks like.
Axios Raleigh on the final NC budget deal. Read at Axios, June 30. A clear summary of the $34.4B package, the tax-cut schedule, and what did and did not make it into the final version.
The Assembly on what is in the budget and what got left out. Read at The Assembly, June 30. Long-form context on NCInnovation, data center taxes, and the negotiations that shaped the final bill.
NC Budget & Tax Center on cost shifts to counties and families. Read the NC Budget & Tax Center analysis, July 2. A counterweight read on who absorbs the fiscal impact of the tax-cut trajectory.
WLOS on the Asheville Salvation Army Center of Hope shelter closure. Read at WLOS, July 1. The downtown shelter will pause overnight services on October 1 due to a $90,000 per month funding gap, affecting 65 nightly residents. The food pantry stays open.
Carolina Journal on the July 27 return to Raleigh. Read at Carolina Journal, July 6. A snapshot of the 19 bills still awaiting the Governor’s action and what lawmakers can take up when they come back.
QUICK POLL
What is your organization’s biggest AI question right now?
A. Which use cases are actually safe to pilot
B. How to write an AI acceptable-use policy for staff
C. How to evaluate vendor claims about AI features
D. We are not ready to think about AI yet
Reply with A, B, C, or D. We will share the results next month.
Questions or feedback? Questions or feedback? Please reach out to us! Thanks for the work you do across North Carolina.
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