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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-17-2020 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 17,2020 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: February 17, 2020 at the Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, Ann Wilkerson, Pat Garavaglia, Susie Enoch, and Jamezetta Bedford. GUEST: None. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Director; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager; Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager; and Micah Guindon, Business Officer. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, called the meeting to order at 4:04 pm. II. Board Comments Tamara Dempsey-Tanner asked whether there were any issues with flooding during the heavy rains. Lindsey Shewmaker responded that water levels rose but there was no impact to property. III. Public Comments None. IV. Agenda Changes Pat Garavaglia asked for an update on the Food Bank food. V. Action Items On a motion by Pat Garavaglia, the Board approved the minutes of January 2020 with corrections. Jamezetta Bedford seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Budget Presentation Nancy Coston presented the proposed budget for FY2020-2021. There is a county increase of $495,000 from FY2019-2020. Most of this increase is due to staff salary increases annualized. The majority of other increases were offset by increased revenues. There are two new positions in the budget. One was approved mid-year for Rapid Rehousing and we are asking that it be continued. The second position is another supervisor in the area of public assistance which will be responsible for Family and Children's Medicaid. There are other increases in administration including upgrading phones and archiving phone data. Lease costs for the Europa Center are included as well as costs for scanning child welfare records using interns. 1 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 17,2020 There are still issues with performance data. Some data are still invalid and other data elements are being reviewed for continued inclusion. The FY2020-2021 performance measures will likely include very few of the child welfare measures. Ann Wilkerson asked whether it was easy to place foster children in Orange County. Ms. Coston responded that some children are easy to place while others are more difficult due to behavioral challenges, mental health issues, or physical needs. There are funds included for guardianship by outside agencies via contract. This should help manage the workload for guardianship services without adding staff. There is also an increase for in-home aide services included in the budget. There are more funds available for the Community Alternatives Program (CAP) services staffing based on a new revenue model. There are also funds available to make small home improvements that allow clients to remain in their home. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner asked how things are going with the Exchange Club. Sharron Hinton responded that there was a program formerly paid for through Freedom House that is now utilizing the Exchange Club which seems to be working well. There was a freeze on using federal funds for child care for most of the year which caused the county to expend county funds and give back federal funds. There are $5.6 million available next year in federal funds for child care which is an increase of several hundred thousand dollars. Staff are working on some proposals to maximize federal dollars to serve more children. Some of the Maintenance of Effort funds the county pays are included in the DSS budget as revenue for clinical social work services and the Rapid Rehousing position. Ms. Hinton informed the Board that a conversation was held with Caitlin Fenhagen about transitioning management of the JCPC contracts to her department. The Outside Agency applications were sent to staff today and will be delivered to Board Members later this month. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner moved that the Social Services Board accept the proposed budget as submitted and forward it on to the County Manager and the Board of County Commissioners for review and approval. Pat Garavaglia seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. 2. Public Charge Nancy Coston informed the Board that the injunction has been lifted and the public charge rule is now in effect. DSS staff will have some information to hand out if clients have questions. 3. Food Bank Update Lindsey Shewmaker informed the Board that staff are still working to schedule a meeting with the Food Bank staff to gather information to determine next steps. 4. Directors Report The Disability Awareness Council is a nonprofit agency that has been located at the Skills Development Center. With the move from the Skills Development Center to Southern Human 2 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 17,2020 Services, staff have been relocated along with the Department of Commerce and visiting partners. The Orange County Housing Department moved to secured space co-located with DSS. Disability Awareness Council will use the space Housing vacated but there are some accommodations needed to remove the glass and change the door to allow access to individuals using scooters. On February 2511 from 5:30pm-7:00pm Boomerang will be holding an Open House at Orange Works. VII. Announcements Tamara Dempsey-Tanner moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:43 pm. Ann Wilkerson seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Submitted by: Nancy Coston, DSS Director Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, Chair 3