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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSS Board Minutes 061614MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES June 16, 2014 1 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: June 16, 2014 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Garavaglia, Chair; Claire Millar; Tamara Dempsey-Tanner; Earl McKee; and Arthrell Sanders. GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBER ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Denise Shaffer, Assistant Director; Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager; Tina Clark, Social Work Supervisor; Katherine Thompson, Intern; and Joyce Lee, Business Officer. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Pat Garavaglia, called the meeting to order at 4:04 pm. II. Board Comments None. III. Public Comments Nancy Coston informed the Board that the Social Services Commission has not notified the agency of a replacement for Arthrell Sanders. The Board of County Commissioners has also not selected a replacement for Pat Garavaglia. Both members can continue to serve until these replacements are appointed. IV. Agenda Changes Pat Garavaglia asked for an update on the Huesner Fund at the next meeting. V. Action Items On a motion by Claire Millar the Board approved the Minutes of May 19, 2014. Arthrell Sanders seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Child Care Overview Nancy Coston reminded the Board that the agency had put in extra funds for assisting with the waiting list. The General Assembly has proposed changing the eligibility criteria for child care subsidy. The new guidelines are proposed to be at 133% of the federal poverty level instead of 75% of the median income which is close to 215% of the federal poverty level in Orange County. Both the House and Senate have supported this change. Claire Millar asked how the General Assembly was justifying the change. Ms. Coston responded that the General Assembly is generally not talking about the changes. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES June 16, 2014 2 The County Commissioners have decided not to drop children impacted by this change which will cost approximately $200,000. There is also a market rate increase going into effect. The end result even with the Commissioners’ support will still likely be fewer children served next year. The Commissioners did put extra money in the Social Justice Fund to help with actions taken by the General Assembly including child care subsidy. Tina Clark also noted that income earned by grandparents or other caretakers, which is not currently counted, will now be counted, making additional families ineligible. She also added that although the county was awarded the Smart Start grant to administer subsidy there was over $100,000 cut from that grant this year. The reasons behind that are unclear and a meeting is scheduled. Staff will be back in front of the Commissioners tomorrow night trying to explain all these changes in child care. There are real concerns about where all these children will be once subsidy is unavailable to these families. Ms. Coston added that TANF can pay for child care up to 200% of poverty. This might be a way to pay for part of the 125 children likely to be impacted by this. 2. Budget Update Nancy Coston mentioned the Board of County Commissioners is trying to fill some of the holes caused by the General Assembly. That will cause the tax rate to increase this year. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner asked for an update on the non-profit agencies requesting funds. Sharron Hinton informed the Board that three of the non-profit agencies reviewed by the Social Services Board received additional funding—OCIM, the Hillsborough Exchange Club, and Ligo Dojo of Budo Karate. The Board of County Commissioners allocated additional money to the Social Justice Fund and is waiting to see what happens with the General Assembly before allocating those funds. Earl McKee added the Commissioners also raised the living wage to $12.76 per hour. The county will not hire people below that rate. The General Assembly put additional funds into child welfare to replace some of the cuts over the last few years. There is a formula to determine how much each county will receive. 3. NC FAST Update Lindsey Shewmaker updated the Board on NC FAST. North Carolina has a large number of Medicaid cases that are overdue and the state is requiring each county to submit an Accelerated Medicaid Processing Plan. Orange County has been working on bringing down the number of overdue cases and will continue to address the backlog of overdue cases. 4. Director’s Report Nancy Coston’s evaluation will be put on the agenda for the July meeting. The agency is working with OWASA and other local agencies to help low-income families reduce water costs. OWASA is currently cutting water off for about 120 families per month and are looking for ways to reduce this number and decrease costs for these families. Pat Garavaglia expressed interest in working with Duke Energy in similar ways. She also asked whether there was money for MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES June 16, 2014 3 fans this summer. Joyce Lee responded she just ordered 200 fans. VII. Announcements The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 28, 2014 at the Hillsborough Commons, 113 Mayo Street, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 4:00 pm. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:22 pm. Arthrell Sanders seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Submitted by Nancy Coston Director Pat Garavaglia Chair