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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 6, 2010 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. - U <br /> SUBJECT: A Report on the costs and Benefits Associated with Bringing Social Services <br /> SU p <br /> and child Support Enforcement Legal Services In-house <br /> DEPARTMENT: County Attorney D ty y PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br /> ATTACHMENT (S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> (A) Memorandum <br /> (B) Statement of Budget Scenarios John Roberts, 245-2318 <br /> PURPOSE: To rovide the Board of County Commissioners with information regarding the <br /> p <br /> possibility replacing ossibili of re lacin the current legal services model for the Department of Social Services <br /> (DSS) and Child Support Enforcement. <br /> BACKGROUND: Orange County provides certain human services to its residents. Among <br /> these services are the Department of Social Services' child and adult protective services and <br /> p <br /> Child Support Enforcement's child support collection. Each of these services requires <br /> concurrent legal services. These are fairly specialized areas of law, particularly child and adult <br /> protective services. For a number of years, Orange county has provided these legal services <br /> through contractual relationships with various attorneys. Currently DSS legal services are <br /> provided b Northen Blue, LLP (carol Holcomb), a Chapel Hill law firm, and Child Support <br /> Enforcement legal services are provided by Coleman Gledhill Hargrave & Peek (Leigh Peek), a <br /> Hillsborough law firm. The two attorneys who primarily provide these services are highly <br /> experienced and well-regarded by the local legal community. There is strong support in the <br /> p judicial le g al and community to maintain the current system by which, and people by whom, <br /> these legal services are provided. Bringing these legal services in-house through hiring an <br /> attorney g and legal assistant to be housed in DSS would save Orange County tens of thousands of dollars, but could also result in a loss of effectiveness in providing the services. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: Between $29,000 and $45,000 could be saved annually with the <br /> creation of two new positions and bringing these legal services in-house. <br /> RECOMMENDATIONS): -The Manager recommends the Board receive this report. <br />