How are the different types of local public health agencies similar?
Each local public health agency in North Carolina has a board, a director, and an agency with staff members who provide public health services at the local level. Each agency is required to be accredited by the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board.
- Boards: The boards governing the agencies serve as the policy-making, rule-making, and adjudicatory body for public health within the department’s jurisdiction. Each type of board may impose fees for public health services, subject to some conditions.
- Directors: Each local agency has a director whose role is defined in part by laws that specify the powers and duties of a local health director.[1] The powers and duties do not vary much by agency type, but there are a few differences that apply to a director of a public health authority or a consolidated human services agency.
- Services and Functions: Each agency must perform functions and provide services necessary to satisfy state laws.
[1] The main statute setting forth the powers and duties of local health directors is G.S. 130A-41. See also G.S. 153A-77(e) (consolidated human services directors); 130A-45.5(c) (public health authority directors). However, other powers and duties appear in several other statutes in Chapter 130A.
Public Officials - Local and State Government Roles
Topics - Local and State Government
