Wake County

Wake County, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient across law enforcement, public health, human services, and community development programs, with no federal contracting footprint. The entity operates exclusively as a grant recipient (35% of awards as prime recipient) and grant sub-recipient (65% of awards, primarily through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services).

Wake County's grant portfolio spans nine federal agencies and programs. As a prime recipient, Wake County holds nine active grants from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, including a $878 thousand equipment upgrade project (body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, and radar systems for the Sheriff's Office, running through December 2027), a $307,485 body-worn camera expansion program for detention officers (completed September 2026), and a $250 thousand accreditation and quality assurance initiative effective through September 2027. The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services funds a $250 thousand public safety partnership and community policing grant (through September 2027) and a $521 thousand law enforcement mental health and wellness program (concluded May 2025). Wake County also received a $2 million Congressionally Directed Spending award from the Healthcare Systems Bureau for furniture and equipment procurement at a new 154,000-square-foot public health and social services campus at 3000 Falstaff Road, Raleigh (completion September 2026), and represents the largest county in North Carolina with responsibility for 1.2 million residents across 860 square miles of unincorporated area and twelve municipalities. A Corporation for National Service VISTA grant (approximately $300 thousand, ultimate completion June 2027) supports food security initiatives benefiting 35,000 low-income residents through asset mapping, food bank infrastructure development, and a meat donation program. The Bureau of Justice Assistance funded a $490 thousand opioid abuse management program (through September 2026) that procured naloxone and narcotics analyzers for the Sheriff's Office detox unit.

Sub-awards flow almost entirely through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as prime grantee, distributing federal funding for Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) programming, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administration, Ryan White HIV services, tuberculosis control, immunization programs, family planning services, breastfeeding support, maternal and child health nutrition, and emergency management planning. Wake County's human services department also received an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant (November 2021, completed October 2022) supporting early literacy programs across seven regional public library branches for kindergarten-through-second-grade remote learning recovery.

Awards per year have grown from nine in 2022 to twenty-one in 2024 and thirty-one in 2025, though the source captures only five awards in 2026 as of the July 2026 snapshot date. Four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating modest recompete exposure. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, and Administration for Children and Families collectively account for fifty-two percent of recent award count and ninety-seven percent of combined potential value. Wake County does not hold federal contracts, GWACs, or BPAs and does not operate as a federal contractor or subcontractor.