Wake County Health & Human Services Committee members on April 7 reviewed proposed implementation initiatives tied to the countystrategic plan that aim to lower barriers to health and behavioral services, expand benefit navigation and strengthen services for veterans.

The initiatives presented by staff are meant to advance the countystrategic plan adopted in April 2024, which sets 24 goals across six focus areas. For the community health and well-being focus area, staff said the committee will measure progress on Goal 3 by tracking whether 5% more residents report lower barriers to care by 2029 using a community survey conducted every two years.

The presentation identified a set of initiatives intended to contribute to those goals: conducting a comprehensive review of behavioral health services for youth; encouraging facility co-locations and mobile service models to bring care into neighborhoods; improving early identification and assessment of people entering care; updating a maternal and infant health plan; evaluating ARPA-funded health and behavioral pilots for possible operational integration during FY 2026 budgeting; and improving service navigation resources countywide.

"We want to connect them to care more quickly," Jason Horton said, describing an initiative to assess screening at entry to care so people do not exit services before outcomes are met. Horton introduced the initiatives as staff-developed recommendations that will be prioritized and sequenced for implementation based on available resources.

Commissioners pressed staff on access barriers that could limit the initiativesimpact. Commissioner Waters asked whether transportation and services for people with disabilities were part of the access conversation; Horton said transportation had not surfaced as a distinct barrier in the focus-team discussions but that staff would take it back for review. Waters also asked about specialty-care shortages, such as developmental pediatricians; Horton said the planned market assessment and community conversations would help quantify specialty-care gaps.

Commissioner Jackson asked how the committee will reach priority populations named in the initiatives and whether baseline data exist for those groups. Horton said the community survey included follow-up questions about barriers and that the most common responses were insufficient numbers of providers, long wait times and cost of services.

Several commissioners noted overlapping themes across goals, particularly the need for better service navigation, data-sharing and technology to streamline benefits applications. Jason Horton and commissioners discussed keeping initiatives flexible and sequencing implementation so early steps inform later ones. Commissioner Adamson urged building a centralized, easy-to-use resource for residents seeking food, rent or utility assistance; Horton said the initiatives include work to better develop and maintain integrated networks of care such as NC Care 360 and the Wake Network of Care.

Why it matters: committee members said the initiatives are intended to move the strategic plan from high-level goals to operational work that could be reflected in the FY 2026 budget and in future county programs. Commissioners asked staff to return with prioritization recommendations and to address gaps identified in the discussion.

Details and next steps: staff said the strategic plan is a living document and they will take commissioner feedback back to focus teams. The county manageroffice and the Health & Human Services Department will continue work on the market assessment with Guardian Healthcare, and ARPA-funded pilot assessments will inform FY 2026 budget proposals.

Speakers quoted or identified in this article are listed in the attached attribution whitelist. The committee approved minutes at the start of the meeting by voice vote; a motion to approve the minutes "as presented" carried, but the transcript does not record a named mover or numerical tally.

Less critical context: Horton said staff intentionally presented initiatives in a randomized order so commissioners could judge the collective contribution to the goals rather than an ordered priority list. Commissioners suggested staff consider combining related technology and navigation initiatives to build momentum.