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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSS Board Minutes 011811MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES January 18, 2011 1 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON TUESDAY: January 18, 2011 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Valerie Foushee, Claire Millar, Arthrell Sanders, and Pat Garavaglia. GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBER ABSENT: Albert Williams. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Denise Shaffer, Assistant Director; Joyce Lee, Business Officer; Sharron Hinton, Community Services Manager; and Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Planner. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Pat Garavaglia, called the meeting to order at 4:06 P.M. II. Board Comments None. III. Public Comments None. IV. Agenda Changes Claire Millar added PORCH Food Distribution to the agenda. V. Action Items On a motion by Valerie Foushee, the Board approved the Minutes of December 20, 2010 as amended. Claire Millar seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Budget Update Nancy Coston updated the Board on the status of the Social Services budget for FY 2011-12. Staff are working on estimated revenues for next year, and are still awaiting official estimates from the state. Ms. Coston informed the Board that Assistant County Manager, Gwen Harvey, will be holding a meeting within the next few weeks to provide clarification on the outside agency review process. She asked whether the Board would like summaries of the applications or the full version. Pat Garavaglia and Claire Millar indicated that they would appreciate summaries of the applications for MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES January 18, 2011 2 review. Ms. Coston added that input on the applications will be due in late February. She also added that revenues will need to be turned in to the county before the Board meets again. The entire February Board meeting will likely be about the budget. Ms. Coston informed the Board that two positions coming over from the Department on Aging will be included in the FY2011-12 budget. Staff are still working on reorganizing the public assistance section of the agency. 2. Child Care Denise Shaffer reminded the Board that there is a budget shortage for child care subsidy for FY2010-11. Staff are currently reviewing all Child Protective Services and Work First cases to make certain that child care is still needed. Funds from foster care line items will be used to pay child care costs for children in foster care. By the next meeting, staff should be able to update the Board on the results of the review and plans for funding children in critical situations in need of child care. Nancy Coston informed the Board that she has heard from Smart Start about enhanced payments for children receiving subsidy. Smart Start has requested that Social Services administer the enhanced payments for the remainder of the year. The Smart Start Board has also notified the Department of Social Services that a letter will suffice if interested in administering Smart Start subsidy. Ms. Coston stated that this letter is due in February. The agency is planning on submitting a letter to administer the funds beginning in FY2011-12. The Smart Start Board is meeting next week at the Hillsborough Commons and more information may become available at that time. Valerie Foushee mentioned that she attended a breakfast at which the Governor stated that she felt that Smart Start should not be cut. Ms. Coston replied that the Directors favor some consolidation of child care subsidy. The Civitas Institute has spoken in favor of cutting all funds to Smart Start. Ms. Coston also added that the Smart Start Board has sent an MOU to the county outlining responsibilities. Ms. Coston noted that the Electronic Benefit Transfer program for child care is still expected to become operational this summer. At that point, all subsidy payments will be made directly to the providers. 3. Food Distribution Denise Shaffer informed the Board that FRIENDS of DSS has organized two food distributions, one on Monday in Hillsborough and one next Wednesday at Southern Human Services. The food is coming from the Food Bank. Pat Garavaglia noted that Dot Warren had called to ask for her assistance in securing the building in Hillsborough for a TFAP distribution. Ms. Garavaglia referred her back to Nancy Coston. Abundant Life used to provide the location for this food distribution, and is now unable to continue the program. Claire Millar asked how long the food would continue to come from the Food Bank since the previous food distribution program is now defunct. Ms. Coston responded that there are federal funds that provide certain types of food to counties and if nobody comes forward to distribute the food, it will remain at the food bank. Ms. Coston added that Ms. Warren requested use of the parking lot at Hillsborough Commons to distribute the food to low-income families. Ms. Shaffer informed the Board that FRIENDS has asked that workers notify families in their caseload. This is not possible due to the high caseload MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES January 18, 2011 3 numbers. Volunteers at the site assist families in getting the food. Ms. Coston added that while the agency would not like Orange County to lose the food, it will be difficult to develop an ongoing plan to get this food distributed. For the long-term distribution of large amounts of food, the county would need to find another location and a large number of volunteers. Pat Garavaglia noted that she was not involved with this project as a member of FRIENDS, and she would have approached it much differently. She added that FRIENDS is not aware of this plan. Ms. Coston asked what the Board would like staff to do about this issue. Valerie Foushee commented that staff have made accommodations for next week but after this instance, Ms. Warren should be referred back to FRIENDS. Ms. Coston also commented that if the Food Bank needs help distributing food, they should contact the Department of Social Services directly. Ms. Millar asked how many volunteers were needed for these two days. Ms. Foushee responded that staff will need as much help as possible. Ms. Garavaglia noted that she would call Ms. Warren and try to gather more information. 4. PORCH Program Claire Millar informed staff that PORCH could deliver thirty bags of groceries to the agency once per month. Nancy Coston responded that staff are currently referring clients to OCIM and IFC for food and would like to be able to provide other options. She added that the agency could accept this type of food immediately. 5. Director’s Report The Annual Staff Meeting will be held on January 28th at 11:00 AM at the Hillsborough Commons. Lunch will follow at 12:00 PM. The Joint Meeting with the Board of County Commissioners will be held on March 17th at Government Services Center. 6. Executive Session Valerie Foushee moved that the Board enter into Executive Session pursuant to GS § 143-318.11(a)(6). Claire Millar seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VII. Announcements The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 21, 2011 at the Hillsborough Commons, Mayo Street, Hillsborough, North Carolina. On a motion by Valerie Foushee and seconded by Claire Millar, the Board adjourned their regular meeting at 5:18 P.M. Submitted by Nancy Coston Director Pat Garavaglia Chair MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES January 18, 2011 4 NC/PG:brs __________________________ Approval Date