Orange County NC Website
29 <br />Guiding Principles <br />• The Association supports county, regional and state collabo- <br />ration to improve agency automation and simplify programs, <br />to streamline administration and to improve client interac- <br />tion. <br />• The Association opposes earmarking of block grant funds, <br />and supports increased funding for mandated services, pro- <br />vided the increases do not require additional county expen- <br />ditures. <br />• Counties must be actively engaged in setting health and hu- <br />man services policy and program requirements. Programs <br />should be flexible and recognize the state's changing demo- <br />graphics. <br />• Health and human services programs should encourage re- <br />sponsible behavior and should be targeted to those citizens <br />least able to care for themselves. They should encourage <br />families to be responsible supporters of their children and <br />help individuals find sustainable, long -term employment. <br />• The state should take the lead in financing, implementing, <br />maintaining, and supporting statewide automated systems; <br />automation efforts undertaken by the state should connect <br />and integrate with county automation initiatives. <br />• Members of county human service agency boards should be <br />appointed by the boards of county commissioners. <br />Goals <br />HH -1: Support continued state funding of Medicaid and sup- <br />port efforts by the state to provide healthcare access for all <br />citizens. <br />• The state historically required counties to fund a portion of <br />all Medicaid service costs and required counties to fund all <br />Medicaid administrative costs not reimbursed by the federal <br />government. County Medicaid costs were outpacing proper- <br />ty tax base growth, and most counties were spending more <br />on Medicaid than for school capital needs. <br />