Agenda - 10-20-2009 - 4p - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 20, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. ~ - p SUBJECT: Acceptance of Funds for Work First Subsidized Employment DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: N/A Nancy Coston, 245-2800 PURPOSE: To accept federal funds to support short term employment for Work First recipients and to approve use of temporary positions for the employees. BACKGROUND: As part of the recovery efforts by the federal government, emergency TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds have been made available to states. The North Carolina Division of Social Services recently asked counties who were interested to submit proposals for use of these funds. Orange County submitted a request for $450,000 in federal funds and has recently been informed that this grant will probably be received in the next few weeks. The program requires 20% in local match. The proposal was for employees to work in government or non-profit agencies. The Orange County proposal includes ten temporary employees working at Social Services with a supervisor whose salary will provide the match for these employees. Ten additional positions were requested and those match funds could be provided by county temporary staff funds, through other County provided match, or through funds identified by other agencies and non- profits. The jobs must end on or before September 30, 2010. The participants must be custodians of minor children and must have an income below 200% of poverty. The Department of Social Services (DSS) anticipates that many of the positions will be utilized in clerical, custodian or related areas but will depend on the needs of the employing agencies and the skills of the Work First clients. Social Services has operated subsidized employment as well as community work experience programs for many years and has staff available to assess the skills of potential participants and match them with appropriate worksites. Since the applicants must meet financial and other eligibility factors, it is requested that all recruitment and selection activities occur at DSS. Priority for employment will be given to the graduates of the current Work First training program since these individuals have already been assessed and meet all of the grant criteria. Efforts to identify other County agencies and non-profit organizations that would like to participate as employers will begin immediately.