DSS Board Minutes 032111 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES March 21, 2011 3 increases and decreases greater than $5,000. Ms. Garavaglia asked how Volunteers for Youth is associated with the agency. Ms. Coston replied that there is a grant for justice programs that funds several nonprofit organizations. The funds are in another account outside of the Social Services’ budget. Ms. Hinton added that Volunteers for Youth receives funds for juvenile crime prevention. Ms. Garavaglia asked whether the costs for IT support will decrease or stay the same. Lindsey Shewmaker replied that the costs will stay flat or increase at a slight rate over time. The contract provides ongoing system maintenance for IT software. Albert Williams asked whether the Adolescent Parenting Program deals with the whole family. Ms. Coston responded that the whole family is included, and that often the grandparents have an active role in the upbringing of the child. A major component of the program is the family environment. Claire Millar asked about the increase in the contract amount for the Family Violence Prevention Center. Ms. Shewmaker replied that this year the contract amount includes the total dollars available for family violence prevention even though the agency only pays the center for counseling services. This is really a result of the county’s request that the contract amounts equal the line item amount. Ms. Garavaglia asked for clarification on why the school social workers in Orange County are supervised by Social Services but not the ones located Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools. Ms. Foushee responded that Chapel Hill’s social workers are funded by the district tax. Ms. Coston added that since Orange County does not have a district tax, the social workers are funded via a special funding source through Medicaid. The school pays the difference between the Medicaid reimbursement rate and the cost of the program. Ms. Foushee added that there is a similar relationship with the Health Department to fund school nurses. Ms. Coston pointed to the workload measures in the performance summaries at the end of the budget for additional information about increases in caseloads. This is another indicator of the struggles staff are having keeping up with their workload while maintaining morale. She noted that a lot of staff and agency resources are used in child welfare and adult protective services. Even though those case numbers are small relative to public assistance, they are very time-intensive. The demands for agency administration have stayed fairly constant, but the staffing levels are lower after last year’s cuts, which has created some problems. The other program areas have had few changes since last year that will impact the budget. Ms. Coston added that the agency continues to look at ways to innovate. Ms. Foushee noted that the budget looks pretty lean. She added that there is minimal change in the net county costs. Ms. Coston stated that management is concerned that if anything goes wrong, there is little room in the budget to handle problems. Ms. Millar asked whether the current vacancies will have to remain vacant. Ms. Coston responded that they do not have to stay vacant, but various issues, including a six-month hiring freeze, have delayed filling several of them. Ms. Coston stated she hopes the county will not make any additional cuts. Ms. Foushee stated that the BOCC has serious interest in social safety net issues and will do what it can to protect these services. Ms. Garavaglia asked to add Social Services’ role in emergency preparedness to a future Board Meeting.