AN ACT to appropriate funds to be used for grants providing vocational rehabilitation training for individuals participating in a local judicially managed ACCOUNTABILITY and recovery court.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, the sum of seven million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used to provide grant funds to counties to allow local judicially managed accountability and recovery courts to obtain vocational rehabilitation training and other employment‑related services and supports for individuals assigned to a local judicially managed accountability and recovery court. Training obtained for individuals under this section shall be provided by a North Carolina community college, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, an NCWorks partner, a local workforce development board, a registered apprenticeship sponsor, or another public or private provider approved by the Department in consultation with the Administrative Office of the Courts. Grant funds received pursuant to this section may also be used to provide transportation to these trainings and other reasonable supports necessary to enable participation in training or employment, including books, testing fees, licensing or certification fees, uniforms, tools, equipment, and child care. Services provided under this section shall be reasonably related to the participant's case plan, treatment plan, recovery plan, vocational rehabilitation plan, or other individualized assessment‑based plan.

SECTION 1.(b)  The grant funds distributed pursuant to this section shall be distributed through a competitive grant program developed and managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, in consultation with the Administrative Office of the Courts. No county may receive grant funds distributed pursuant to this section in excess of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) in a single fiscal year, except that the Department may waive this limitation for good cause shown based on participant volume, documented need, regional service gaps, or multijurisdictional program participation.

SECTION 2.  Within 60 days of distributing a grant pursuant to this act, the Department of Health and Human Services shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services the county receiving the grant and the amount of funds awarded. The Department shall also report no later than March 1, 2027, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety on the number of participants served, the types of services funded, and any available information regarding training completion, credential attainment, employment placement, employment retention, and program completion outcomes.

SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, funds appropriated and distributed pursuant to this act shall not revert until June 30, 2028.

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2026.