Research Reports: Health Care & Human Services

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper decided not to join a lawsuit challenging whether the recently enacted federal health care bill is constitutional. The Attorney General's legal analysis used to justify not taking action avoided the primary legal questions regarding the law's constitutionality.

Under the new “Revocation of Charter for Lack of Academic Performance” policy, only low-performing charter schools are subject to closure by the NC State Board of Education. There is no equivalent policy for district schools. This study asks the question: How many public schools would close if the state instituted the policy three years ago and applied to charter and district schools alike?

In 2004, the legislature went too far in passing a complete and permanent ban on gun possession by all ex-felons. In August 2009, the North Carolina Supreme Court in Britt v. North Carolina held that those changes were unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff, Barney Britt.

North Carolina’s public schools continue to add administrative, non-instructional, and instructional support positions at rates that far exceed enrollment growth. Since 2000, North Carolina’s public school student enrollment (Average Daily Membership) has increased by approximately 13 percent, while school personnel has increased by nearly 18 percent. North Carolina’s pupil/staff ratio decreased from nearly 8:1 in 2003 to just over 7:1 in 2006.

The Avery County commissioners are asking county residents to approve a sale-tax increase on February 3. This report identifies over $10 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs; more than triple the amount that the proposed land-transfer tax increase is estimated to produce.

According to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, only a handful of fast-growing occupations require a four-year degree. A U.S. Department of Education report found that North Carolina devotes a relatively small share of its resources to vocational schools.

Mental health reform began in 2001, but has had disappointing results. This paper examines major areas of the mental health system – care management, criminal justice, provider networks, supplemental services, and payment. It offers some evolutionary steps toward improvement.

Sixteen percent of all jail and prison inmates have serious mental illness. One in every 10 police encounters involves a mentally ill individual.

Long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or an individual’s own home, is the largest portion of North Carolina’s Medicaid budget. It is also the fastest growing portion of that budget. As the state’s population ages, it will drive even more demand for these services. Medicaid was not meant to be inheritance insurance for baby boomers, but current policy in North Carolina allows it to be exactly this. Encouraging more people to rely on private payment options, such as reverse mortgages or long-term care insurance, will mean lower state costs for care and better results for individuals. This paper examines the state of long-term care in North Carolina, current abuses of the system, and private payment options.

The Minneapolis I-35 bridge disaster and the poor condition of North Carolina’s bridges should be a wake-up call for policymakers to set sensible priorities for transportation policy. N.C. has 17,782 bridges, of which 5,082 (29 percent) are deemed deficient by the federal government. N.C. ranks 32nd in the nation in percentage of deficient bridges — 10th worst in total number of deficient bridges.