North Carolina Department Of Health & Human Services

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) Central Administration Division, a U.S. state government entity based in Raleigh, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants and a holder of indefinite delivery contracts, delivering health, human services, nutrition assistance, child welfare, vocational rehabilitation, and aging services programs to North Carolina residents and the federal government across 88 customer agencies.

NC DHHS's federal footprint is dominated by formula grant awards—a characteristic of state-administered entitlement programs. The agency received over $734 billion in obligated funding across 2,257 total awards (99% prime awards, 1% sub-awards) since 1985, with recent annual volume averaging 100–121 awards per year. The top five federal customers by award count—the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (233 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (181 awards), the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (168 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (161 awards), and another DHS Administration for Children and Families tier (149 awards)—account for 40% of recent awards. These funders reflect the agency's core mission: administering SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, CHIP, child welfare, foster care, adoption assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and aging services on behalf of the federal government.

Recent representative work spans nutrition assistance, child and family services, rural health transformation, and behavioral health. NC DHHS received a $132 million formula grant from the Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Division for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children (CFDA 10.646) on October 1, 2025, and a $2.303867 billion Medicaid entitlement block grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CFDA 93.778) on the same date. The agency administers a $639 million cooperative agreement with CMS for the Rural Health Transformation Program (CFDA 93.798), launching "NC ROOTS" hubs and Mobile Integrated Health services across 85 rural North Carolina counties through June 30, 2030. For child welfare, NC DHHS received an $18.407 million formula grant under the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program (CFDA 93.645) and a $600 thousand cooperative agreement for a predictive risk model pilot in child welfare decision-making (CFDA 93.670). On the behavioral health side, the agency holds a $144 million Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (CFDA 93.959) and a $67 million Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services award (CFDA 93.958), both obligated October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027.

NC DHHS also operates a single-award indefinite delivery contract with the Food and Drug Administration valued at $19 million (September 2023 to September 2028) for North Carolina State Tobacco Retail Inspection Program services, including undercover buy operations and compliance checks to enforce youth access restrictions. The agency has issued 8 task orders against this IDV worth $354 thousand in combined potential value. Four other IDVs carry smaller task order volumes and values: Indefinite Delivery Contract 06000160040 (5 task orders, $103 thousand), Contract 75F40123D00032 (4 task orders, $4.1 million), Contract 06000360043 (2 task orders, $506 thousand), and Contract 24362018D0014 (1 task order, $2 thousand).

NC DHHS distributes federal funds to 100 North Carolina counties, county departments of social services, Area Agencies on Aging, 42 Federally Qualified Health Centers serving nearly 695 thousand patients, community action agencies, nonprofits, and universities, including sub-award relationships with the Duke-Margolis Health Policy Center and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for health services research and implementation support. The agency holds a sub-recipient relationship with Insight Human Services for the Family Recovery Housing Initiative under SAMHSA's substance abuse treatment grant (CFDA 93.490) and with Halifax Community College for the Nurse-Family Partnership component of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program. One hundred one awards (combined potential value $3.9 million) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, signaling recompete activity in that window across child care, nutrition, aging, and vocational rehabilitation programs.