Temporarily Limiting Intake of Second Chance Project 

Dear Community, 

We are taking a brief pause on some aspects of the current operations of the Second Chance Project to enhance and innovate our services. 

Up to this point, our focus has been on general client intake and clinic events to provide expunction and driver’s license restoration services to the public. However, the overwhelming demand for our services is outpacing our ability to provide services under the current model. We believe we can better serve our clients by reconfiguring our processes and being more strategic in our approach. 

To achieve this, we are temporarily shutting down certain aspects of the Second Chance Project to allow for strategic planning, collaboration, and reorganization. We’re thrilled to partner with our Innovation Lab to facilitate this process. 

During this transition period, our intake will be limited as follows: 

• Services in New Hanover County: Due to overwhelming demand in New Hanover County, we are pausing phone intake for Second Chance Wilmington. We will only be accepting direct referrals from Port City United.
• Durham County Services: Individuals residing in Durham or with cases in Durham seeking expunction or license restoration assistance should apply for services in person at the DEAR office in the Durham County courthouse. 
• General Intake for Other Areas Suspended: For residents outside of Durham, general intake for expunction or license restoration services is temporarily suspended. 

We’re aiming to unveil our revamped program by mid-June, packed with enhancements to better meet the needs of our community. We look forward to serving you again, and serving you better, soon! 

Sincerely, 

Legal Aid of North Carolina 

During April 2021, Legal Aid of North Carolina initiated a new statewide project, the Medicaid Appeals Technical Team (MATT), that is tasked with serving the legal needs of the 1.7 million Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina who have been enrolled into Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) during the State’s transition from a fee-for-service model of healthcare delivery to a capitated managed care model.   

MATT’s inaugural work during 2021-2022 was funded by grants from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.  MATT works collaboratively with our legal and community partners in North Carolina and nationally to achieve our goals of enforcing Medicaid beneficiaries’ rights, monitoring systemic issues through our appeals work to insure that the interests of beneficiaries are centered in the State’s transition to managed care, educating community partners about beneficiary rights to insure that beneficiaries are connected to resources to address issues in a timely fashion, and bringing a health justice and equity lens to our legal advocacy work to address inequities in our healthcare system, particularly systemic barriers created by structural racism and other forms of oppression.     

Our Services

Advice and Consultation:

• Medicaid eligibility issues;
• Access to Medicaid services;
• Beneficiary billing issues.

Representation in State Fair Hearings:

• Denials of Medicaid eligibility and terminations of coverage;
• Denials or reductions of medically necessary care and services;
• Denials of requests to disenroll or change plans.

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