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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSS Board minutes 032116MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES March 21, 2016 1 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: March 21, 2016 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, Chair; Ann Wilkerson and Pat Garavaglia. GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS ABSENT: Claire Millar and Earl McKee. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager; Tina Clark, Child Care Supervisor; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, called the meeting to order at 4:16 pm. II. Board Comments None. III. Public Comments None. IV. Agenda Changes The item Transportation and Food Needs will be postponed to the next meeting. V. Action Items On a motion by Pat Garavaglia, the Board approved the minutes of February 22, 2016. Ann Wilkerson seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Review of Holiday Program Sharron Hinton provided the Board with an overview of the agency’s holiday programs. She thanked Pat Garavaglia, Balloons and Tunes, and all the sponsors for assisting with the Share Your Holiday Program. Through this program, 227 children and 76 adults were sponsored this year. Ms. Garavaglia noted that many of the sponsors really enjoyed sponsoring seniors and would like to take on more of that next year. The Toy Chest served 2,841 Orange County children. During the weekend of the event 8,372 toys and 2,752 books were given away. An additional 1,398 stocking stuffers were given away so that most children received 3-4 items. The agency raised over $18,000 in funds to support the program and received an additional $7,000 from the Toys for Tots foundation. Approximately 176 volunteers assisted in running the holiday programs. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES March 21, 2016 2 Ms. Garavaglia asked whether there was anything to focus on for next year to enhance the program. Sharron Hinton noted that books are very popular. The Board suggested several other options for collecting books. 2. Child Care Phase 3 NC FAST Update Tina Clark informed the Board that the agency still does not have a waiting list for child care subsidy. Orange County is currently serving 730-740 children per month. Spending for child care has dropped statewide which has helped avoid a waiting list. The agency will go live in July of 2016 in NC FAST as a pilot. The state has decided to use a manual conversion process so staff will need to enter case information for 600+ families. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner asked whether child care will continue to show in the county’s budget. Ms. Clark responded that all child care except county dollars will be handled through NC FAST, including Smart Start Subsidy funds so that those will no longer show in the county’s budget. Nancy Coston added that the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) is sending out information to the providers. Ms. Dempsey-Tanner asked whether there was a back-up plan if something does not work correctly. Ms. Coston responded that staff addressed that issue with NC FAST staff last week during a meeting and are awaiting a response. Ms. Clark added that there is a statewide standard of 15 days of closure for which providers can be paid which will be a big change for Orange County providers who now get paid for up to 25. There will also be changes to enhancements due to system limitations. Ms. Coston added the agency is currently working on preparing the paperwork to apply to continue administering Smart Start subsidy. 3. Transportation and Food Needs This item was postponed to the April meeting. 4. Director’s Report The agency is working to complete the installation of the furniture and other items to open the employment center and café. There is a job fair scheduled on April 6, 2016 from 10am-2pm that will be held next door. There will be an employer breakfast starting at 8:30am. The agency hosted a United States Food and Drug Administration (USDA) site visit for the Food and Nutrition Services Employment and Training Program. Nancy Coston will be going to California to the national meeting related to this effort next week. VII. Announcements The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 18, 2016 at the Hillsborough Commons, 113 Mayo Street, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 4:00pm. Pat Garavaglia moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:36pm. Ann Wilkerson seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES March 21, 2016 3 Submitted by: Nancy Coston Director Tamara Dempsey-Tanner Chair