Top Stories for May 8, 2024

A happy family laughing on the sofa.

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board met on Tuesday, May 7. The agenda is available online and the meeting can be viewed on MeckTV. The Board’s next budget and public policy meeting is scheduled for May 14 at 2:30 p.m. 

1. Resident Review: Behavioral Health Plan: The Board of County Commissioners received a presentation on the County’s draft behavioral health strategic plan after more than a year of work by the community. The Board has identified behavioral health as a priority for improving the well-being of residents. Behavioral health generally refers to mental health and substance use disorders, life stressors and crises, and stress-related physical symptoms. Members of the public are encouraged to submit feedback before the plan is finalized. Residents can view the draft plan at MeckNC.gov and offer comments via the website, email, or phone. 

2. Support for Law Enforcement: Following last week’s shooting deaths of four officers in Mecklenburg County, the Board reviewed resources available through the County for local law enforcement, families, colleagues, and residents involved in such tragic incidents. Among the existing resources highlighted: 
- Child Development Community Policing program, where clinicians work alongside officers to deliver trauma-informed care to families and children involved in incidents. 
- Crisis Intervention Team, which brings together law enforcement, mental health professionals, mental health advocates, and other partners to better respond to mental health crises in the community. 
- MeckHope, a collaborative initiative begun during the pandemic to bring urgent and preventive mental health and drug/alcohol-related services to residents. 

3. Needed Now. Foster and Adoptive Parents: The Board proclaimed May as Foster Care Awareness Month in Mecklenburg County. The proclamation recognizes the importance of foster care and acknowledges the parents, family members, foster parents, kinship caregivers, child welfare professionals and system partners involved in caring for children in foster care. The proclamation is in conjunction with the launch of a renewed effort to recruit loving foster parents and the introduction of a new online application system which streamlines the process and makes it easier for new foster parents to get licensed. Visit MeckNC.gov/KIDS or call 704-336-KIDS (5437) to apply or learn more. 

4. Eye on the Atlantic: Hurricane season begins June 1, and this week is National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Last year, there were 20 named tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean, ranking fourth for the most-named storms in a year since 1950. Although Mecklenburg County is located inland from the coast, it’s important for residents to remember that rains associated with these storms often cause flooding hundreds of miles inland. This type of flooding is the second leading cause of fatalities during a tropical system and can persist for several days after a storm has dissipated. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management encourages residents to be prepared for flooding during a potentially active hurricane season. 

5. Teacher Appreciation Week: MECK Pre-K: This week is everyone’s chance to give a shout-out to teachers. Mecklenburg County salutes its teachers in MECK Pre-K, the County’s innovative program to offer high-quality education for all 4-year-old children residing in Mecklenburg County at no cost to their families. MECK Pre-K addresses the County Commission’s Early Childhood Development priority, which pledges to expand services that promote healthy early childhood development and education from ages birth to 5 years. MECK Pre-K is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year, seven years after first enrolling students.