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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-21-2023 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES August 21,2023 THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MET ON MONDAY: August 21, 2023 at Hillsborough Commons. BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Oscar Fleming, Jane Garrett, Pat Garavaglia, Ann Wilkerson, and Jamezetta Bedford. GUEST: Chris Barnes, Ken Morgan, and Denise Ferrada BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES MEMBERS ABSENT: none STAFF PRESENT: Nancy Coston, Social Services Director; Sharron Hinton, Human Services Manager; Crystal Mitchell, Human Services Manager; and Rebekah Rapoza, Budget Officer. I. Call to Order and Introductions DSS Chair, Pat Garavaglia, called the meeting to order at 4:03 pm. II. Board Comments Chair Garavaglia shared our three guests today are interested in becoming Board members. III. Public Comments The guests introduced themselves. Chris Barnes shared he is an attorney operating an immigration law practice in Orange County. Ken Morgan shared a career in non-profit management and Denise Ferrada stated she works at El Centro Hispano. All shared they are Orange County residents. They are observing today to learn more about the Board. Director, Nancy Coston, provided an overview of Orange County DSS and how the agency is organized. She shared we have approximately 190 employees, multiple office locations, and operate with a five member Board. IV. Agenda Changes None. V. Action Items On a motion by Jamezetta Bedford, the Board approved the minutes of July 31, 2023. Ann Wilkerson seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. VI. Items for Discussion and/or Decision 1. Election of Board Chair/Vice Chair Pat Garavaglia reminded the Board it is time for elections of Chair and Vice Chair. Oscar Fleming volunteered to serve as Vice Chair. Jane Garett was nominated as Chair and accepted the nomination. All board members approved and there was no dissent. 2. Community Engagement 1 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES August 21,2023 Sharron Hinton, Human Services Program Manager, provided an overview of her Division. She shared the agency has been involved in several community events. Staff participated in the National Night Out event in Hillsborough on 8/1/23. Another community highlight included DSS co- sponsoring a Back to School event in the Gateway housing community. Ms. Hinton shared backpacks were provided for children, facepainting, snow cones, popcorn, books, car seat checks, free and reduced lunch applications, and other safety demonstrations. Other partners included the Orange County Library, Orange County Health Department, Orange County Schools, Alliance Health, Hillsborough Police Department, and SafeKids. Ms. Hinton stated OCDSS and OCHD are currently working closely to create an intake/assessment tool for the neighborhood and ultimately the desire is to replicate the work in other areas of the County. Oscar Fleming shared he would be interested in speaking with Ms. Hinton further about ways UNC-CH students could assist with this effort. The next event at Gateway will be a Trunk or Treat in October. Ms. Hinton also shared Orange Works is supporting unhoused couples and individuals who have unmet hygiene needs. The agency has established a procedure to provide hygiene items and clothing; these items are donated by Friends of DSS. Staff will complete an assessment and connect individuals to resources. In the Veteran's Program, Ms. Hinton announced a social worker has been hired. His name is Jeff McNeill and a community reception is being planned to introduce him to the community. Ann Wilkerson asked where he will be located. Ms. Hinton stated he will have hours at DSS in Hillsborough, the local senior centers, and Europa in Chapel Hill. In regards to employment and career programs, Ms. Hinton shared a hiring event was held last week at Orange Works. She stated these types of events will be held on an ongoing basis. Durham Tech Community College is back onsite providing GED and HRD courses in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. Oscar Fleming asked if childcare vouchers get promoted at hiring events; Ms. Hinton confirmed they do. Ms. Hinton summarized the annual backpack program supported by Friends of DSS. She shared there were 173 backpack requests made by OCDSS social workers. In addition, backpacks were given out at the Gateway back to school event. Hillsborough Police Department collected school supplies and those were used to stuff the Gateway backpacks. 3. Youth Coordinator Sharon Hinton explained this is an existing position we repurposed to meet a need. This position will be a coordinator in regards to youth services in the county. The person in this position will conduct a needs assessment for youth services and identify gaps. She shared the position will be responsible for collaboration with non-profits, schools, and other government agencies. Additionally, it was shared this position will be the DSS representative for Racial Equity work in the county, administrative responsibilities of JCPC, and coordination of a potential tutoring program. Ms. Hinton expects the position to be posted in the next week or soon thereafter. Oscar Fleming asked about the qualifications for the position. Ms. Hinton shared a bachelor's degree with at least five years of progressive experience. Anne Wilkerson and Jane Garrett questioned how a potential tutoring program would work and the location of those services. Ms. Hinton explained the potential tutoring program needs further planning and exploration but the vision is for it to be offered at Orange Works and other areas in the community to eliminate transportation barriers. 4. Other Updates 2 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES August 21,2023 Jane Garrett shared she attended the DSS Institute held in Hickory earlier this month. She shared that she learned a lot about Medicaid updates and enjoyed the workshops offered for Board members. 5. Director's Report Nancy Coston shared the next Board meeting will be her evaluation. She will send the materials to Board members. Ms. Coston shared staff went through Narcan training offered by Orange County Emergency Management Services (EMS). There are plans to have EMS train staff on CPR. Ms. Coston provided an update on Medicaid Expansion. She explained until a State Budget is passed there will be no expansion. She also shared we are continuing to work on data for childcare subsidy outreach by identifying all four-year-olds receiving Medicaid but not childcare subsidy. Oscar Fleming shared during a recent Orange County Partnership for Youth Children meeting they had a good discussion about promotion of the benefits of early childhood care. Ms. Coston thanked our guests for attending. Pat Garavaglia asked if they had any questions. Chris Barnes asked how many board seats are open. Chair Garavaglia shared one seat is open. Denise Ferrada asked about engagement with the Hispanic community in DSS programming. Ms. Coston explained we have a large number of individuals in the Latinx community we work with and we partner with the Health Department too in engaging the Hispanic community. Jamezetta Bedford stated Orange County has over 65 languages spoken and the County tries to recruit bilingual staff in addition to offering software to assist with interpretation. Oscar Fleming asked if we have any sense of how well the Hispanic community is being served in the County. Nancy Coston shared the closest assessment of this would be the Community Health Assessment led by the Health Department. Jamezetta shared Justice United has been very active in the County, Freedom House now has a bilingual therapist, and the Refugee Center does a lot of work with the Burmese population. Jamezetta thanked the guests for applying for the open board position. VII. Announcements Ann Wilkerson moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:13 pm. Oscar Fleming seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Submitted by: Nancy Coston, DSS Director Pat Garavaglia, Chair 3