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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES June 18, 2012 2 want to pass the bill. She also suggested that the Social Services Board be aware that the bill will give counties flexibility but the system in Orange County is working and needs to continue to work. She added that the Social Services Board and Health Board remove political pressures from the departments. Pat Garavaglia noted that she only heard back from Joe Hackney. Ms. Shaffer added that the Social Services budget did not change from the initial presentation although the Board of County Commissioners added $10,000 to the Youth Enhancement Fund for a total of $20,000. 3. Year-End Review Lindsey Shewmaker discussed the alignment pilot, Work Support Strategies grant, NC FAST, job classification changes, and work planning and performance evaluation changes in public assistance. Sharron Hinton discussed the Adolescent Parenting Program graduation. She shared pictures and other program information with the Board. Many of the program graduates are attending college in the fall. Pat Casper, one of the program coordinators, will be retiring in August and the agency will be having a celebration on August 3rd. Staff are attending training in conflict resolution and team building over the next two weeks run by the Orange County Dispute Settlement Center. Social Services will be administering the drug treatment court effective July 1, 2012. Unity Day for that program will be held June 29th at the Seymour Center from 2:30-4:00. The agency will be hosting focus groups in Orange County to determine what services should be continued for veterans. Pat Garavaglia asked whether there were any plans with UNC for the Toy Chest. Ms. Hinton replied that the UNC Athletic Director plans to partner with the agency during basketball season. Ms. Garavaglia stated that she would ask her contacts whether the new football coach might be interested in doing an event. Joyce Lee discussed the Single County Audit in which there were no findings. Staff are working to purge the file room at Whitted. There have also been several other monitoring visits in the last few months although results are not yet back. Some work will be done at Southern to enlarge the visitation area and create more space for an interview room. Carpet will also be replaced. Denise Shaffer discussed the transfer of guardianship from OPC to social services. There are some legal pieces that still need to be completed. Other changes are occurring in Adult Services but nothing is yet definite. Staff and management are working to improve access to mental health services for children and adults served by the agency. There is a meeting tomorrow with Judy Truitt to develop ways to improve access. The agency received a Smart Start grant to provide trauma- based services to children age 0-5. There is also a state-wide effort that is underway that provides similar services. Three foster youth are graduating from high school and plan to attend college. Four former foster youth are already attending college. Triangle United Way has a program to help children with financial planning. Five children in foster care are participating. A waiting list will begin soon for child care. Pat Garavaglia noted that the Foster Parent appreciation event was fantastic. Claire Millar asked whether foster parents have other opportunities to get together. Ms. Shaffer noted that there are some parents that get together to support each other but nothing formal at this point. Arthrell Sanders asked how many foster parents there are in Orange County. Ms. Shaffer responded that there are approximately 65. 4. Evaluation Process