Social Services

Today in Henderson County 44.5% of all children are on Medicaid and NC Health Choice, and 44.7% of all children have private health insurance. More and more young families in our county's labor force, particularly from the service sector, are coming to Social Services for health care assistance and child support. We expect these will be growing numbers with the rising cost of health care costs and private insurance becomes even more scarce.
Another factor in children's social work services such as Child Protective Services, is lack of other community resources for families, teachers, and other concerned people to turn to for help. The state's fiscal situation, stock market decline, and related economic situations have cut back resource development and availability for families.

Joblink is located on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College and is a partnership of community agencies committed to providing quality job planning, education, training and job placement services for all residents in Henderson County. To learn more about Joblink please contact us at (828) 694-1755.

Work permits are issued by our receptionist in the Social Services lobby. Your child must be present to sign and bring proof of age along with the completed permit, signed by both employer and parent/guardian.

Any individuals(s) or business(es) owning or possessing personal property used or connected with a business or other income producing purpose on January 1. Temporary absence of personal property from the place at which it is normally taxable shall not affect this requirement. For example, a lawn tractor used for personal use, to mow the lawn at your home is not listed. However, a lawn tractor used as part of a landscaping business in this county must be listed if the lawn tractor is normally in this county, even if it happens to be in another state or county on January 1.

NCGS 105-308 reads that ..."any person whose duty is to list any property who willfully fails or refuses to list the same within the time prescribed by law shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. The failure to list shall be prima facie evidence that the failure was willful." Pursuant to NCGS 14-3, a class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment for up to six months.

No, market value does not change at the same rate on all properties. There are differences among individual properties and between neighborhoods. Values can vary according to property type, condition, size, construction quality, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, location, amenities and topography as well as other factors. Market value is determined by buyers and sellers in the local real estate market. It is possible that sales in one area of the County may indicate a significant decrease in value in a given year, while in another area of the County, the sales may indicate a significant increase in the same year. It’s also possible for properties in the same neighborhood to show different value changes. Many factors are considered during the appraisal process.

Real property includes land, structures and improvements on the land, including manufactured homes on a permanent foundation or other manufactured homes located on land owned by the owner of the mobile home.  North Carolina law provides for a permanent listing system relative to real property, meaning that the taxpayer does not have to list real property every year.  The taxpayer does have an obligation to list any improvements or changes to the real property during the listing period (January).  Examples of changes that should be listed include the construction of an addition to a home or the installation of a swimming pool or outbuilding.  Obtaining a building permit does not alleviate the taxpayer of this obligation to list changes to real property. 

This is not a quick process.  The training itself is usually laid out over 3 months and since Henderson County DSS only provides this training twice a year, you maybe looking at 6 to 9 months from your initial contact.  Therefore we ask everyone to please be patient.

• First, an “Informal Appeal form” must be completed and returned to the Assessor’s office.  This form must be returned prior to the date the Board of Equalization & Review convenes which is usually during the month of April.  Please include any documentation that supports your opinion of the value of your property.  Acceptable documentation includes, but is not limited to; photographs, sales records, appraisals, comparable sales, etc.  Your appeal will be thoroughly reviewed by an appraiser. 
• Adjustments to values may be made based on a re-analysis of appealed property.  Once the owner is notified of the results, the owner may accept the value or appeal to the County’s Board of Equalization & Review.  The Board of Equalization & Review is a board appointed by the County Commissioners and consists of Henderson County residents with a solid real estate or business background who are familiar with local real estate values. 
• Taxpayers may file an appeal with the Board of Equalization & Review by contacting the Assessor’s Office in person, by mail or by telephone call.
• The Tax Department’s website contains tax appraisal values and property information for all parcels within the County.  Use this tool to compare values or property characteristics within your neighborhood.  Access this site by visiting www.hendersoncountync.gov and choosing “Government”, then “Tax Offices” then “Real Property Data Search”.  Because tax values are based on market value, also review recent sales in your area as a comparison to the value of your property.

An increase or decrease in the appraised value of a property may not predict whether the property tax liability will increase, decrease or remain the same. 

Only after the tax rates are set by the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and other taxing districts can property tax liability be determined.

New tax rates are normally set by June 30 of each year, which in the case of this reappraisal, will be June 30, 2023.

You don’t!! You will always carry a thought or memory with you. Just think if a child can make that kind of impression, what impressions you can make on them. Think of the good you can do.

NCGS §159-11(e) provides that in each year in which a general reappraisal of real property has been conducted, the budget officer shall include in the budget, for comparison purposes, a statement of the revenue-neutral property tax rate. 

The revenue-neutral property tax rate is the rate that is estimated to produce revenue for the next fiscal year equal to the revenue that would have been produced for the next fiscal year by the current tax rate if no reappraisal had occurred. Revenue neutral does not necessarily mean that taxpayers will be paying the same amount of property tax for FY2023 that was paid during FY2022. 

To calculate the revenue-neutral tax rate, the budget officer shall first determine a rate that would produce revenues equal to those produced for the current fiscal year, and then increase the rate by a growth factor equal to the average annual percentage increase in the tax base due to improvements since the last general reappraisal. This growth factor represents the expected percentage increase in the value of the tax base due to improvements during the next fiscal year.

The budget officer shall further adjust the rate to account for any annexation, de-annexation, merger or similar event.  The Assessor does not have the authority to establish the revenue neutral tax rate.  Decisions regarding the establishment, computation and implementation of the revenue neutral tax rate are made at the Governing Board level.  

Henderson County’s tax rate for FY2023 is .561 per $100 in value.  For real property, this rate is based on the 2019 reappraisal values. 

Foster parents receive monthly financial assistance based on each child’s age and needs. These payments are intended to help cover some added cost for caring for a foster child. Foster children are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, which includes medical, dental, and mental health coverage. Henderson County Department of Social Services will also cover childcare services if both foster parents work or they see it as a benefit for the child. With approval, we also reimburse for things such as extra curricular activities, etc…

Siblings are placed together whenever possible. However, sometimes it is in the best interest of the children to be separated based on their individual special needs. When appropriate, efforts are made by agencies to continue sibling visits after their adoptions.

There are very few infants and toddlers in foster care in need of an adoptive home. They are usually already placed in a licensed foster home when they become available for adoption, and most of our licensed foster home placements are prepared to adopt if any child becomes available. We highly recommend you consider the foster to adopt program if you are only interested in infants or younger children.

Make sure you have allowed pop-ups in your browser for the site. When you print a map from the 'Print' button at the top of the site, you may need to 'allow popups'. In some browsers, an 'information bar' comes up indicating that a pop-up has been blocked. In other browsers, a tiny icon in the right side of the address bar is what indicates that a pop-up has been blocked. Click on one of these prompts to allow pop-ups on the GoMaps site.

Please contact our office to discuss your potential project and possible funding options. To learn about these programs, visit the Division of Soil and Water Conservation website.

We provide free science-based educational lessons to students in any academic setting. These lessons are tailored to teacher’s needs and are designed to help meet the NC Essential Standards. Contact the Henderson Soil and Water Conservation District Education Coordinator, April Hoyt, to schedule an appointment (828-697-4949).

No.  By default, the search results will show matches for any word within the phrase.  In this example, you would receive results for all web pages and documents that contained either the word alarm or the word permit or both.

In order to search on an exact phrase, enclose your search phrase in quotations.  The search results for "alarm permit" will show matches for that exact phrase.

Making the transition from elementary to middle school is often difficult for children. This transition is even more difficult for a child with a disability. Middle school is a time when a child becomes an adolescent and he/she faces new challenges, academically and socially. We hope that the tools below will help you and your child prepare for this transition process.

Useful Tools

• Snapshot Profile About Your Child with Special Needs (PDF)
• Signs that Your Child with Special Needs is Being Bullied (PDF)
• Five Steps to Take to Protect Your Child from Being Bullied (PDF)
• Sex Education for Youth with Special Needs (PDF)
• Communication Tips for Parents - English (PDF)
• Communication Tips for Parents – Spanish (PDF)

The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides Web Soil Survey, a tool that can assist you in finding your soil type for your property or project. Visit this website to use the Web Soil Survey.

Go to http://henderson.courtcompsys.com/hendersonnc/ and 'Click here' to acknowledge the disclaimer.

Click 'View Images' to search by a deed or plat number.

Choose Book Type: 'Plat' and 'Images as PDF'.

Under 'Book', enter the YEAR of the plat (This can be looked up here), and under 'Page', enter the slide number; then click 'Go'. See image below for an example.

The data presented on Henderson County GIS websites is not "live" data, but consists of map data that is updated on a regular basis. Parcel, Street, and Address data are usually updated daily, and other map layers are updated as changes become available.

Please see the metadata for further clarification of accuracy and currency of the map data on this website.

Please visit the Erosion and Sediment Control website through the Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources Division of the NC Department of Environmental Quality and/or the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Local Program website.

Please contact either your water provider or a private plumbing service.  The phone number for the Customer Service Division of Hendersonville Water & Sewer is (828) 697-3052.

We do not collect or analyze water samples. Contact the Henderson County Division of Environmental Health in the Department of Public Health (828-692-4228) or contact a private water testing lab. A list of labs that test specific contaminants can be found at the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Resources Division website.

To learn more about wells in Henderson County, view the article "Testing Wells in Henderson County."

Ownership deeds are available online for transactions occurring after 1979. You can also look up and research deeds at the Register of Deeds site. For more information please contact the Henderson County Register of Deeds at 828-697-4901.

No, but we can suggest others that may be able to help. You can call the NC Department of Transportation at 1-877-368-4968 or submit an online request for assistance at their website, call Henderson County Emergency Management at 828-697-4728, or call a private contractor.

We do not. The Henderson County Division of Environmental Health in the Department of Public Health (828-692-4228) should be able to assist you.

Please contact Henderson County Center of NC Cooperative Extension at 828-697-4891. They have several staff and volunteers to help with plant identification.