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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSS Board Minutes 022414MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 24, 2014 1 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: February 24, 2014 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Garavaglia, Chair; Claire Millar; Tamara Dempsey-Tanner; and Earl McKee GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBER ABSENT: Arthrell Sanders. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager; and Joyce Lee, Business Officer. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Pat Garavaglia, called the meeting to order at 4:02 pm. II. Board Comments Earl McKee expressed his appreciation at the opportunity to serve on the Social Services Board. Pat Garavaglia thanked Commissioner McKee and Tamara Dempsey-Tanner for agreeing to serve on the Board. III. Public Comments None. IV. Agenda Changes Pat Garavaglia asked Sharron Hinton to provide information on the Holiday Program. V. Action Items On a motion by Claire Millar the Board approved the Minutes of January 21, 2014. Tamara Dempsey- Tanner seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Holiday Program Sharron Hinton gave a brief presentation on the 2013 Toy Chest. The Toy Chest ran for three days in December and over 3,400 Orange County children received toys. The first family arrived at the agency on Friday night waiting for the Toy Chest to open on Saturday morning. Others came as early as 1:00am to wait in line to receive toys. This year a local church and the Orange County Animal Services Department gave out hot chocolate and treats in the parking lot to families who were waiting. There were also other agencies that handed out information at the event. The agency received thousands of toy donations from individuals and businesses across the county. The UNC athletic department partnered with the agency to collect toys at a basketball game, resulting in the collection of several thousand toys at the UNC vs. Kentucky men’s basketball game. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 24, 2014 2 The agency also runs the Share Your Holiday Program to provide a more complete holiday for children in the agency’s most intensive treatment programs. The program served over 350 children and more than 40 elderly or disabled adults. The programs are successful due largely to the business and volunteer support including the NCCU Alumni Association, PHE, Balloons and Tunes, churches, and other community groups. Pat Garavaglia commented that there were more families at the agency on the last day of the Toy Chest than usual which made it difficult to serve everyone. Ms. Hinton added that several last minute donations really helped meet the needs. Claire Millar added that the staff effort in the holiday program is really amazing. Ms. Garavaglia added that staff at Social Services always go above and beyond to help and support the community. Ms. Garavaglia noted that FRIENDS of DSS is planning to work with local churches to do a Christmas in July toy collection this year. She informed the Board that FRIENDS of DSS is a 501C- 3 organization that helps social workers and other agency staff meet needs for which there is no traditional funding source. 2. Board Member Changes Pat Garavaglia made a motion to appoint Tamara Dempsey-Tanner to the Social Services Board. Arthrell Sanders seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner took the oath of office to serve as an Orange County Social Services Board Member. Ms. Garavaglia added that Social Services Board will need two new Board members in June as she and Arthrell Sanders cycle off. She asked that anyone with a potential nominee please let her know. 3. Outside Agency Funding Sharron Hinton reminded the Board that all funding applications to the county for area nonprofits are given to agencies to read and provide feedback to the County Manager. Pat Garavaglia asked whether the agencies have changed since last year. Ms. Hinton replied that there is a mix of new and previous applicants. Ear McKee asked whether these outside agency requests were different than the ones the Board of County Commissioners approves. Nancy Coston replied that this is part of the larger outside agency process that goes to the Commissioners for approval. Ms. Garavaglia asked whether the score card had changed from last year. Ms. Hinton responded that the score card had changed a little. 4. FY2014-15 Budget Nancy Coston presented the Social Services proposed budget for FY2014-15. Ms. Coston shared the state estimates which also include information about state-funded agency programs. The budget as presented contains a $300,000 county increase. There are several significant changes about where the money comes from and where it is going. The eight social work positions in the Orange County Schools are not in the budget. The funding MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 24, 2014 3 source used for those positions has ended. All the expenses and revenue have been removed from the budget. There was a supervisor over those eight staff whose position is still in the budget. Earl McKee asked whether these positions are funded above and beyond the funding percentage for schools. Ms. Coston responded that her understanding is that the costs are shared by Medicaid reimbursement and funds from the schools out of their percent allocation set by the Commissioners. The Medicaid funding source that is used for approximately fifty percent of the positions is no longer available. If the school system wanted to keep the school social workers, the schools would have to go from paying half the cost to paying the full cost. The schools may have difficulty coming up with the difference without requesting additional funding from the county. There is a new Medicaid case management funding source but it does not appear it can be used for this purpose. Commissioner McKee noted that he understands there may be a funding request for additional money from Orange County Schools related to this which will trigger additional funding to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools under the current arrangement. Ms. Coston informed the Board that funding was reinstated for an unfunded child welfare position using the new Medicaid funds. This position will help with prevention. There is additional revenue related to NC FAST included in the budget. Reimbursement will increase for most Medicaid administration costs from 50% to 75%. There is also additional revenue in Food and Nutrition Services. The total revenue increase will be approximately $700,000 next year. The agency had to submit a plan to the state to use these additional funds to successfully manage cases. Orange County’s plan includes four time-limited positions through the end of next fiscal year, overtime funds, and funds to purchase additional equipment related to NC FAST. The state estimates included a $476,000 cut to child care subsidy. The agency put in a county request of $400,000 in additional dollars to support child care subsidy. Ms. Coston explained that the Manager’s Office may have some reservations about the additional child care subsidy dollars requested. Ms. Coston also gave the Board a packet containing data, information about programs, line items, and a list of proposed contracts. Pat Garavaglia asked for clarification about the percent of procedural denials. Lindsey Shewmaker responded that that is the percentage of cases that terminated for reasons other than eligibility. Staff continue to work on ways to keep families connected to services as part of Work Support Strategies but have not made large improvements at this point. Earl McKee asked what part transportation plays in families’ inability to stay connected to benefits. Ms. Coston responded that there are certainly transportation issues for some families. Ms. Coston talked briefly about NC FAST and issues that are occurring. Needs related to NC FAST are reflected in the budget. She noted there were some smaller reductions in block grants but most of those could be absorbed by the increased revenue. Earl McKee asked whether more space is needed at the Skills Development Center location. He had understood there might be some available space in that area. Sharron Hinton responded that the agency is interested in expanding some of the offerings at that location including adding an adult employment program if funds are received through WIA. Ms. Coston added that this is a competitive grant for which the agency is considering applying. Ms. Garavalgia shared kudos on the adolescent pregnancy prevention program and the good work that program is doing. Ms. Coston added that this program is in danger again of being unfunded. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 24, 2014 4 Commissioner McKee asked whether the safety net funds could be transferred into some of these other programs. Ms. Coston responded that there are some other programs funded in next years’ budget, including subsidized employment, wheels to work, and car repairs that could use funding and would really help the county’s antipoverty efforts. Commissioner McKee explained he did not want to see the money sitting there at the end of the year and these programs sound like a good fit for these funds. The money is there to fund needs that are not being met and can be used to fund programs that might prevent people from needing additional services at the agency. Sharron Hinton gave the Board an overview of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council programs funded through the agency’s budget. She also mentioned some of the other projects funded in the budget including the Building Futures Program, a youth employment program previously administered by JOCCA. Ms. Coston added that the Community Response Grant, funded in the budget, is a three-year grant for intensive in-home services. Commissioner McKee asked what the plan is at the end of the three-year period for a grant like this. Ms. Coston responded that she is looking for a new funding source for the program but if one is not found, the staff member in that position will be moved back into a permanent position as a vacancy comes up. Ms. Garavaglia asked Commissioner McKee whether the building lease could be renegotiated because it seems very high. Commissioner McKee responded that he was not on the Board when this discussion was held but he understood there was a market rate issue on the purchase. Claire Millar moved that the Board recommend the FY2014-15 Social Services budget to the County Manager as written. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. 5. Director’s Report The Joint DSS-BOCC Meeting is being moved to April 29, 2014 at 5:30 at Southern Human Services. Nancy Coston added she is planning to ask staff to highlight some of the agency’s antipoverty programs. Earl McKee responded that hearing that information would help the Commissioners in their discussions on poverty. Ms. Coston also noted that there is a work session on poverty that is scheduled in May. VII. Announcements The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 17, 2014 at the Hillsborough Commons, 113 Mayo Street, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 4:00 pm. Claire Millar moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:48 pm. Earl McKee seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Submitted by Nancy Coston Director Pat Garavaglia Chair