Navigating services like health, housing and transportation can be confusing and difficult. The NC Department of Health and Human Services and the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation have teamed up to design a tool aimed at making this process easier.
NCCARE360 is creating an infrastructure to connect North Carolinians, including families with young children, to community resources. Its goal is to build a network of healthcare and human services organizations with a technology platform that allows for a coordinated, community-oriented and person-centered approach to care.
For example, providers like pediatricians and early childhood home visitors can use NCCARE360 to electronically refer families and individuals with identified needs to community resources, like employment services. They can also use the system to learn if those connections were successfully made.
NCCARE360 has three main functions:
- A statewide resource directory that will include a call center with navigators, a data team verifying resources, and the ability to share resources with individuals using text or chat functions;
- A community resource repository to integrate resource directories across North Carolina; and
- A shared technology platform that enables health care and human service providers to send and receive secure electronic referrals, communicate in real-time, securely share client information, and track outcomes.
NCCARE360 implementation started in January 2019, with partners the United Way of NC/211, Expound Decision Systems and Unite Us. The goal is for NCCARE360 to be available in every county by the end of 2020. Community Engagement Managers on the NCCARE360 team will work with early childhood education providers to understand how the tool can best meet their needs and fit into their existing work.
To learn more about NCCARE360, you can visit the NCCARE360 website or view this webinar developed by our partners at the NC Partnership for Children/Smart Start.