Agenda - 12-02-2013 - 4d - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 Low Income Energy Assistance: These funds provide one-time energy payments during the winter and crisis intervention payments throughout the year. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program ($524,890)provides one-time payments that are targeted to vulnerable adults during the first two months of the program and then to other low income families with any remaining funds. In FY2012-13, the program provided energy assistance to 1,018 families. Crisis Intervention Program funds are available to pay heating and cooling costs to prevent health issues related to the weather. Orange County's allocation is estimated at$349,879 this year. Last year 2,661 families received energy assistance through this program. These funds are subject to sequestering although prior year funds have helped the state to manage some of these cuts. Child Care Development Fund: Orange County receives $4.1 million for child care subsidies. These funds support more than 600 children monthly. Although several sources are used to provide this blended funding,it does appear that some if not all of these funds will be subject to sequester. DSS is unsure of the amount of subsidy that would be impacted. Given that there is already a significant waiting list for subsidy in Orange County, any loss of funds is difficult. These funds were also impacted by the shutdown since the state could not assure reimbursement of services being provided. Orange County suspended services to some Work First clients,but continued providing services to all other children. After the shutdown was over, all expenses were reimbursed. Flooding in Southern Orange County: On June 30,2013 flooding displaced families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Staff members from DSS were at the shelter each day until July 4"'when it was closed by the Red Cross. Many of the first issues involved immediate needs such as clothing, food and transportation. Social workers from DSS were also available at the Recovery Center at University Mall during the time it was operated by Red Cross and then later by the state Division of Emergency Management. When the State Division of Emergency Management approved the area for disaster assistance, Orange County DSS was asked to assist with providing state assistance for the impacted families. This was done because DSS had already starting assessing over 100 families. During the time since the flood,ninety-two families have received assistance from forty-five staff at DSS. Although most families have moved to other housing or returned to their former homes, this process has required a significant investment of staff time. Social Workers are still working with the State to provide rental assistance and household items for these families. Although the contract from the state will pay many of the direct costs for the families, some of the initial costs including the hotel stays will not be covered. The public donated funds to assist these families so DSS anticipates county costs of less than $20,000 to provide these services. Although this work placed a strain on child welfare, employment and adult services social workers, the services provided have helped to stabilize the housing for numerous families. In summary, there have been cuts to the DSS budget during this fiscal year,mostly in TANF, and also disruption to some services due to the federal shutdown. Some impacts of sequestering have been felt and if Congress does not agree on a budget,more cuts are anticipated,particularly in SSBG and Low Income Energy Assistance. Exactly how the cuts impact counties is influenced by a number of issues including carry-forward availability and state level cuts. There is also concern that another federal shutdown could disrupt critical services again. These cuts and threats to services have come at a time when the agency has experience high demand for services,including the impact of a natural disaster. Since DSS manages many mandated services with federal funds,it is impossible for the agency not to feel the impacts of federal cuts and shutdowns.