Minutes 11-10-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROVED 12/7/2015 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION November 10, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair McKee and Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark Dorosin, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Assistant County Manager Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 1. Eligibility Changes for Food and Nutrition Benefit Recipients Nancy Coston, Orange County Department of Social Services (DSS) Director, said they are here to give the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) an update on the changes to the Food Nutrition Benefit Eligibility. Nancy Coston reviewed the following information: The Food and Nutrition Services program has included certain work registration requirements. The most restrictive work requirements apply to the Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD). Since 2008 and after the economic downturn, North Carolina has been operating under a federal ABAWD waiver of the work requirements. Because the unemployment rate has improved, some counties, including Orange, will no longer be able to operate under the waiver effective January 1, 2016. The people who are subject to these work requirements are between 18 and 49 years old, do not live in a households with minors and have not been determined to be disabled. There are also some temporary exceptions such as medical hardship. For those who are subject to the work requirements, these individuals must be employed or in approved employment and training activities for an average of at least 20 hours per week to be eligible to receive benefits for the month. Individuals are allowed to receive benefits for only 3 months during 36 months without meeting the work requirements. Initial data indicate over 1,500 individuals in Orange County who receive FNS benefits are subject to the ABAWD requirement. It appears that about half have some earned income, but the current records do not reflect the participants' hours worked or hours attending qualifying employment activities. There are many tasks that must be completed by the Department of Social Services (DSS) staff related to these new requirements. The first is to assess the 1,500 clients and to identify those not already meeting these requirements. Other tasks involve developing procedures for tracking all of these activities and training staff on the new NCFAST processes related to the new eligibility requirements. Not only will this require considerable effort between now and January, but the tracking will also be needed each month for all of the impacted clients.