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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: June 3, 2008 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: Renewal of Contracts with In-Home Aide Providers to Provide In-Home Aide <br />Services to Eligible Adults <br />DEPARTMENT: Social Services and Aging PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Nancy Coston, 245-2800 <br />Joint Contract with Sample Attachments Denise Shaffer, 968-2000 <br />Jerry Passmore, 245-2009 <br />PURPOSE: To renew contracts with In-Home Aide Providers to Provide In-Home Aide Services <br />to Eligible Adults using a joint contract between the Department of Social Services and the <br />Department on Aging and the Contractors. <br />BACKGROUND: The Department of Social Services and Department on Aging provide In- <br />Home Aide Services to older and disabled adults. In-Home Aide involves the provision of <br />paraprofessional services that assist functionally impaired older or disabled adults and/or their <br />families with essential home management and personal care and/or supervision to enable the <br />adult to remain at home as long as possible. <br />In an effort to streamline the contracting and approval process, the Department of Social <br />Services and Department on Aging have developed a joint contract template to use with In- <br />Home Aide Providers. The Departments contract with six providers to perform In-Home Aide <br />Services for clients. Those providers are: Arcadia Health Services, Inc., Personalized Patient <br />Home Assistance, Inc., Southern Home Care Services, Inc., Touched by Angels Home <br />Healthcare II, Inc., Triangle Home Health Care, Inc., and Homewatch Caregivers of the Triangle, <br />Inc. <br />In 2007-08, the Board of County Commissioners inquired into the wages of aides employed by <br />In-Home Aide providers working on contract with the Department of Social Services and the <br />Department on Aging. Accordingly, the Department of Social Services began working with <br />providers to determine starting hourly wages and average wages for their employees. The <br />wage range for aides employed by these agencies is currently $7.50 - $10.50 per hour. Since <br />contractors are not currently covered under the County's living wage policy, Social Services' <br />staff have initiated conversations with all current contractors regarding this policy. For FY2008- <br />09, wording has been included in the contract document that encourages contractors to provide <br />their employees with a living wage. Should the County decide to mandate that contractors pay <br />employees a living wage, and based on current salaries and usage for Social Services and <br />