North Carolina program
The state’s special-needs referral line
A free state helpline connects families of children with health needs to local services.
What it is
A free state helpline connects families of children with health needs to local services.
Some support is easier to find near home than through a hospital far away. The Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs helpline helps caregivers find agencies and services. It is a place to ask about an unmet need.
Eligibility rules
- Caregivers and professionals helping children and youth with health challenges can use the line.
What you get
- Free information and referrals.
- Names of services near your home county.
What the help covers
- The Whole Child Health Section provides information and directs callers to other services.
If you decide to apply
- If you choose a referral, you can call 800-737-3028 or email CYSHCN.Helpline@dhhs.nc.gov with your county and needs.
NC DHHS Whole Child Health Section: 800-737-3028 · Official page ↗
If you decide to apply
- There is no benefits decision from the helpline itself. Each referred service has its own process.
Good to know
A referral does not itself pay a treatment bill or guarantee that another program will accept you.
Other details
- This is a free information-and-referral line, not a promise to pay treatment, travel, lodging or insurance gaps. The social worker can use it to locate a specific service, which will have its own funding and eligibility rules.
“Could the state helpline know about local help we have missed? Would a call be useful for our needs, and could you help us decide what to ask?”
Why I’m asking: I want to find services close to home without repeating the same search.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Have the list of what you need in front of you.
Your social worker
The helpline names agencies and services near home.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Nobody decides anything; it points you onward.
- Ask your social worker
- “Is there anything near home the state helpline would know about that we have not found?”
How to apply
First step: Call 800-737-3028 with your list written down.
- Call 800-737-3028 with a written list of what you are looking for.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Call 800-737-3028 or email CYSHCN.Helpline@dhhs.nc.gov.
What to gather
- A written list of what you are looking for
- Your county
How long: One call.
What a yes looks like
Names, numbers and programmes near home.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask the hospital social worker for the same list.
Watch out
- It is a referral line. It does not pay for treatment, travel or insurance gaps.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A free line for information and referrals: 800-737-3028.
Covers: Information and referrals for caregivers and professionals
What it costs the family: Free.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Who
- caregivers and professionals working with children and youth facing health challenges
The trap: It is a referral line. Nothing found says the state’s Title V programme pays for cancer treatment, travel, lodging or insurance gaps. Calling is free; that does not make treatment free.
Where I read this
- Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Help Line — NC DHHS Whole Child Health Section, read September 10, 2026
- NCDHHS CYSHCN resources — NC DHHS Whole Child Health Section, read September 10, 2026