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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 08-19-2008 - 4iORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 19, 2008 Action Agenda , Item No. - ~ SUBJECT: County Work First Designation and Establishment of Plannin Committee DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Proposed Planning Committee Members Nancy Coston, 245-2802 Yvette Smith, 245-2885 PURPOSE: To approve plans to continue operating a standard Work First program in Orange County and to appoint a committee to update the Work First Plan for 2009-2011. BACKGROUND: Work First is North Carolina's cash assistance and support program for low- income families and is funded by the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, state, and county funds. North Carolina General Statue 108A-27 requires county commissioners to decide whether a county wants to be standard or electing county designation and to appoint local leaders to assist in the development of the county Work First Plan. In 1997, counties developed the first biennial Work First Block Grant plans. On October 21, 1997, the Orange County Board of Commissioners voted for a standard Work First designation and has continued as a standard county since that time. In December 1997, Orange County's first Work First Block Grant Plan was submitted to the NC Division of Social Services outlining the County's strategies for the implementation of Work First. The plan has been updated every two years since that time. The new Work First Plan ~is for October 2009 through September 2011. Electing counties are able to set all of their own Work First policies, including eligibility criteria and benefit levels. In addition, those counties must have the technological support to carry out the changes implemented. Standard counties follow a uniform set of Work First policies set by the legislature and have maximum flexibility in designing services. Under the standard county designation, the State is responsible for the payment of cash assistance to all eligible families, regardless of growth in the number. of families needing assistance. Under the electing county designation, the county receives an allocation for cash payments. The experiences of electing counties have not generally been different in terms of outcomes for families. This fall, all counties must indicate their decision to operate either a standard or electing county plan for the next two years. The county designation must be approved by the County Commissioners and reported to the NC Division of Social Services by September 26, 2008. 2 Each county will then develop a Work First Block Grant Plan to be adopted by the County Commissioners. The plan must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners and be submitted to the Division of Social Services by October 31, 2008. The Social Services Board voted on July 21, 2008 to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that Orange County request a standard designation. The Social Services Board believes that there is sufficient flexibility as a standard county to design services and innovative strategies for transitioning families from welfare to work. A list of recommended appointees for the planning committee is attached. Representation on the committee includes individuals from several disciplines within the community, as well as Work First participants. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The County would receive the Work First County Block Grant under either designation. There would be no financial impact of continuing as a standard county. The County receives approximately $1.5 million in federal and state funds annually to support the Work First program. This is the base grant and is separate from the $500,000 received each year for the Work First demonstration grant. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the Standard program designation status for Work First for the County and appoint the members to the planning committee to develop Work First plan for October 2009 through September 2011. ~~~ Orange County Work First Planning Committee Membership List First Name Last Name Agency Address City Zip Code Althea Austin Holmes Child Care PO Box 1168 Carrboro, NC 27510 Delores Bailey Empowerment Inc. 109 N. Graham St., Suite 200 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Bradly Broadwell Economic Development Commission 110 E. King Street Hillsborough NC 27278 Kathryn Bryan Orange Enterprises 348 Elizabeth Brady Rd. Hillsborough NC 27278 Carla Calix Citizen 1208 MLK Jr. Blvd Lt. 336 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Margaret Cannell Hillsborough Chamber of Comm. 121 West Margaret St. Hillsborough NC 27278 Mildred Council Employer 110 Emily Rd. Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Cleon Currie Regional Partnership Workforce Development Board 8607 High Rock Road Efland, NC 27243 Kelly Davis Orange County Literacy Council 503 W. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Robert Dowling Orange Community Housing & Land Trust 104 Jones Ferry Rd., Suite C Carrboro, NC 27510 Natasha Evans Citizen 323 Lakeshore Drive Hillsborough NC 27278 Tara Fikes Orange County Housing PO Box 8181 Hillsborough NC 27278 Valerie Foushee Orange County Commissioner 106 Claris Court Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Rev. Sharon Freeland OCIM 300 Millstone Dr. Hillsborough NC 27278 Jennifer Galassi Commission for Women 501 West Franklin St. Suite 104 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Pat Garavaglia Board of Social Services 7 Ellen Place Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Ann Gerhardt Dir. of Women's Center PO Box 1057 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Victor Glover Citizen 604 Nunn Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Gwen Harvey Asst. County Manager 200 S. Cameron Street Hillsborough NC 27278 Cynthia Height Case Manager- Community Care Central Carolina Orange County Health Dept. P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough NC 27278 Frances Henderson Orange County Dispute Settlement Center 302 West Weaver St. Carrboro, NC 27510 Tara Howard Citizen 6809 St. Mary's Rd. Hillsborough NC 27278 Anita Hill Case Manager- Community Care Central Carolina P.O. Box 3568 Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Sarah Kenny EI Centro Latino 101 Lloyd Street Carrboro, NC 27510 Norman Klase Dir. Of Human Resource Services- UNC Health Care 101 Manning Dr. Rm. 6017 EW Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Susan Levy Habitat for Humanity 1829 E. Franklin Street Suite 12006 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Dina Logan Durham Tech Orange County Campus 1637 Lawson Street Durham NC 27703 Cheryl Lownes Citizen 120 Fraizer Rd. Lot 12 Mebane, NC 27302 (`tl First Name Last Name Agency Address City Zip Code Malinda Marsh Orange County JobLink 503 W. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Robin Meritt Citizen 649 Council Lane Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Chris Moran Inter-Faith Council 110 W. Main Street Carrboro, NC 27510 Aaron Nelson Chapel Hill Chamber 1045 Estes Dr. Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Neil Pedersen Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools 750 S. Merritt Mill Rd. Chapel Hill, NC 27510 Eric Peterson Town of Hillsborough PO Box 429 Hillsborough NC 27278 Harvey Reid HR Consulting 109 N. Graham St., Suite 202 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Connie Renz Horizons Dept. OBGYN CB 7579 UNC Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Patrick Rhodes Orange County Schools 200 E. King Street Hillsborough NC 27278 Pamela Rich Manager of ESC 601 Valley Forge Rd. Hillsborough NC 27278 Wandra Richardson Cedar Grove Day Care PO Box 36 Cedar Grove, NC 27231 Margaret Samuels OC Partnership for Young Children 1829 E. Franklin Street, Suite 12000 Chapel Hill, NC 27501 Joe Robbins DSS Board Member 2136 N. Lakeshore Dr. . Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Karen Rose Town of Chapel Hill 838 Airport Road Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Sue Russell Child Care Services Association PO Box 664 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Sandra Sanchez JOCCA PO Box 27 Pittsboro, NC 27312 Arthrell Sanders Board of Social Services 9419 Theresa Lane Rougemont, NC 27572 Sheila Sholes-Ross Communities in Schools PO Box 9454 Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Shoshannah Smith Dir. Of Human Rights & Relations 501 West Franklin St. Suite 104 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Janet Sparks Child Support Enforcement PO Box 8181 Hillsborough NC 27278 Rosemary Summers Orange County Health Department 300 W. Tryon St. Hillsborough NC 27278 Sharon Tate Little Treasures 554 North Nash Street Hillsborough NC 27278 AI Terry Orange County Transportation 300 W. Tryon St. Hillsborough NC 27278 Judy Truitt OPC 100 Europa Drive Suite 490 Chapel Hill, NC 27517 Tina Vaughn Chapel Hill Dept. of Housing 317 Caldwell St. Ext. Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Ingrid Weber NC Vocational Rehabilitation 548 Smith Level Road Carrboro, NC 27510 Albert Williams Board of Social Services 5515 Old Greensboro Rd. Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Kenneth Wilson Dir. Of Family Violence Prevention Center PO Box 187 Cha el Hill, NC 27514