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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSS Board minutes 041618MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES April 16, 2018 1 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: April 16, 2018 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, Ann Wilkerson, Pat Garavaglia, and Earl McKee. GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS ABSENT: Susie Enochts. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager; Crystal Mitchell, Human Services Manager; and Duston Lowell, Child Welfare Program Manager. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, called the meeting to order at 4:08pm. II. Board Comments Pat Garavaglia commented that the Job Fair looked really well organized and was well-attended by employers and job seekers. III. Public Comments None. IV. Agenda Changes None. V. Action Items On a motion by Pat Garavaglia, the Board approved the minutes of March 5, 2018. Ann Wilkerson seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. NC FAST Child Welfare Nancy Coston gave the Board an update on the Child Welfare rollout of NC FAST. She introduced Crystal Mitchell as the Project 4 lead for Orange County. Ms. Mitchell informed the Board that soft - launch occurred on March 26th and the bulk of the work has been with new cases coming into the agency. The next milestone will occur on April 30, 2018, when foster care cases will convert into the system. The areas of focus for staff have been business processes, licensure, financials, and reporting. Thus far, business processes have been largely unaffected by the rollout and there has been no negative impact on service delivery. There have been some issues relating to licensure data that converted into the system and staff are working around those issues. There were significant challenges with financial data in NC FAST with the five original pilot counties. So far, Orange County has seen some glitches but has not experienced the same level of problems the MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES April 16, 2018 2 original pilots experienced. There are issues with some of the data and reports being generated by NC FAST and staff are working with the state to resolve those issues. Earl McKee asked whether data errors are caused by incorrectly inputting data or bad data mapping. Ms. Mitchell responded that the issues seem to be caused by incorrect mapping. Commissioner McKee asked whether there were any updates about the other child welfare proposals and regionalization. Ms. Coston responded that the work group has finished phase one of their work, which deals with state supervision, and are about to start on the second phase regarding how county departments should be altered. 2. Community Child Protection Team Report Duston Lowell presented the 2017 Community Child Protection Team Report. This report will be going to the Board of County Commissioners shortly as well. In Orange County the Community Child Protection Team and the Child Fatality Prevention Team meet jointly and generate a single annual report. In 2017 the team reviewed 11 fatalities and identified two primary system issues, undiagnosed mental health conditions, and poorly controlled medical conditions in young athletes. The team also reviewed 7 families actively involved with Child Protective Services and identified several issues including substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. Identified barriers include accessing comprehensive mental health services, maintaining treatment for substance abuse, and limited resources for domestic violence perpetrators. The team made the following two recommendations: 1. Work to improve access to mental health services 2. Enhance communication between community partners to identify and close service gaps 3. Emergency Assistance Nancy Coston gave the Board an update on changes the County is proposing to Emergency Assistance. These changes would include contracting with Inter-Faith Council and Orange Congregations in Mission to assist with emergency assistance payments for rent and water. Earl McKee asked to be kept updated on this as budget discussions progress. 4. Director’s Report Nancy Coston reminded the Board she will be at the Director’s Association’s Annual Meeting most of next week. Lindsey Shewmaker and Tamara Dempsey-Tanner will be attending the work session next week with the Board of County Commissioners. Staff continue to work on bringing non-profit organizations together to facilitate collaboration. VII. Announcements Ann Wilkerson moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:07pm. Earl McKee seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Submitted by: MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES April 16, 2018 3 Nancy Coston DSS Director Tamara Dempsey-Tanner Chair