Article 1B.
Transitions to Community Living.
§ 122C-20.5. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) Individual with serious and persistent mental illness or SPMI. - A person who is 18 years of age or older who meets one of the following criteria:
a. Has a mental illness or disorder that is so severe and chronic that it prevents or erodes development of functional capacities in primary aspects of daily life such as personal hygiene and self-care, decision making, interpersonal relationships, social transactions, learning, and recreational activities.
b. Is receiving Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Income due to mental illness.
(2) Individual with serious mental illness or SMI. - An individual who is 18 years of age or older with a mental illness or disorder that is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, that impairs or impedes functioning in one or more major areas of living and is unlikely to improve without treatment, services, supports, or all three. The term does not include a primary diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or dementia. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.6. Department to establish statewide supportive housing program for individuals transitioning into community living; purpose.
The Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, shall establish and administer a tenant-based rental assistance program known as the North Carolina Supportive Housing Program. The purpose of the program is to transition individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness or serious and persistent mental illness from institutional settings to more integrated community-based settings appropriate to meet their needs. Under the program, the Department, in consultation with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and LME/MCOs, shall arrange for program participants to be transitioned to housing slots available through the program with all the rights and obligations created by a landlord-tenant relationship. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.7. Administration of housing subsidies for supportive housing.
The Department may enter into a contract with a private vendor to serve as the housing subsidy administrator for the North Carolina Supportive Housing Program with responsibility for distributing rental vouchers and community living vouchers to program participants based on a formula developed by the Department. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.8. Eligibility requirements for NC Supportive Housing Program.
The Division of Aging and Adult Services shall adopt rules to establish eligibility requirements for the program. The eligibility requirements shall, at a minimum, include income eligibility requirements and requirements to give priority for program participation and transition services to individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness or serious and persistent mental illness who are currently residing in institutional settings. The Division may adopt temporary rules necessary to implement this Article. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.9. In-reach activities for supportive housing.
The Department shall have ongoing responsibility for developing and distributing a list of potentially eligible program participants for each LME/MCO by catchment area. Upon receipt of this information, each LME/MCO shall have ongoing responsibility for prioritizing the list of individuals to whom it will provide in-reach activities in order to (i) arrange an in-person meeting with potentially eligible participants to determine their eligibility and level of interest and (ii) report back to the Department on the LME/MCO's recommended list of program participants on a daily basis. Upon receipt of an LME/MCO's recommended list of program participants, the Department shall make a final determination of eligibility. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.10. Allocation of supportive housing slots to LME/MCOs.
The Department shall annually determine the number of housing slots to be allocated to each LME/MCO as follows:
(1) Each year, the Department shall distribute at least fifty percent (50%) of the housing slots available through this program equally among all LME/MCOs.
(2) The Department shall award additional housing slots to LME/MCOs based on local need, as determined by the information provided by LME/MCOs to the Department in accordance with G.S. 122C-20.9. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.11. Transition of program participants into housing slots.
The LME/MCO shall develop a written transition plan for each individual determined to be eligible and interested in participating in the North Carolina Supportive Housing Program. The transition plan for the approved housing slot shall identify at least all of the following:
(1) Available housing units that meet the individual's needs.
(2) Any transition services that will be necessary for the individual, including, but not limited to, a one-time transition stability payment, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per individual, for up-front move-in costs approved by the Department or the housing subsidy administrator.
(3) Solutions to potential barriers to the individual's successful transition to community-based supported housing.
(4) Any other information the Department deems necessary for the individual program participant's successful transition into community-based supported housing. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.12. Transition services.
LME/MCOs shall provide individualized transition services to program participants within their respective catchment areas for the 90-day period following the individual's transition into a housing slot provided through the program. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.13. Tenancy support services.
The Department or the housing subsidy administrator shall provide ongoing tenancy support services to program participants. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.14. Approval of landlords and housing units.
The Department shall develop an application process for owners of housing units seeking to participate in the program as landlords. The application process shall, at a minimum, include an inspection of the owners' selected housing units and a requirement that owners receive educational information from the Department about the North Carolina Supportive Housing Program prior to being approved as landlords. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.15. Annual reporting on NC Supportive Housing Program.
Annually on October 1, the Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services of the General Assembly on the number of individuals within each LME/MCO catchment area who transitioned into housing slots available through the North Carolina Supportive Housing Program during the preceding calendar year. The report shall include a breakdown of all funds expended by each LME/MCO for transitioning these individuals into the housing slots. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)
§ 122C-20.16. NC Supportive Housing Program not an entitlement.
The Department shall not be required to provide housing slots to individuals beyond the number that can be supported by funds appropriated by the General Assembly for this purpose. The supportive housing program established under this Part, whether administered by the Department or a private entity, is not an entitlement, and nothing in this Part shall create any property right. (2013-397, s. 6(a).)