Orange County NC Website
27 <br /> Clinical Coordinator and 2.0 FTE Peer Specialists. These positions are designed to serve <br /> individuals in the community who are experiencing homelessness and/or behavioral health <br /> issues. The program is intended to increase access to housing, provide consistent case <br /> management, address individual clinical needs, increase deflection from the criminal justice <br /> system, and facilitate the transition into housing and community-based treatment programs. <br /> This grant runs through June 30, 2022 and fills a long standing gap in the homeless service <br /> system. <br /> • The Department of Social Services received supplemental funding to support staffing needs <br /> in child and adult protective services. This $66,787 award adds 3.0 FTE for six months <br /> ending on December 31, 2020. <br /> • The Health Department has received a total of$298,647 to hire additional case <br /> investigators, COVID-19 testing technicians, and a temporary data analyst to monitor, <br /> analyze, and report on COVID-19 statistics and trends. <br /> County Economic Development Funds <br /> Finally, the County has consolidated and reallocated small business funds to create an <br /> Emergency Small Business Loan and Grant Program. This program has opened for two rounds <br /> of applications and has awarded a total of$135,000 in loans and $385,000 in grants to 78 small <br /> businesses located in Orange County. The program has a balance of$329,583. <br /> Budget Amendment#1 proposes to reallocate $50,000 of that balance to the Arts <br /> Commission to fund a supplemental grant program for arts organizations. The County and its <br /> community and municipal partners are also conducting an economic impact assessment and <br /> will use the results of that survey to recommend further distribution of funds consistent with the <br /> needs expressed in the survey. Survey results will be available in early September. <br /> Long Term Recovery Planning <br /> Although the response effort to COVID-19 is ongoing, the County and its municipal <br /> partners have allocated a total of$175,000 to retain a consultant to support long term recovery <br /> planning. As part of the effort, the County has organized over 150 community organizations and <br /> representatives to help create recommendations that will promote an expeditious and long term <br /> recovery and improve resiliency. These organizations are organized into seven Recovery <br /> Support Functions focused on the local economy, the health system, human services, housing, <br /> natural and cultural resources, community planning, and public information. With the assistance <br /> of the consulting group, these support functions are being asked to characterize and quantify <br /> the impact of the pandemic, create a framework for building recovery strategies and priorities <br /> using a social justice and racial equity perspective, and develop strategies for consideration by <br /> local governing boards for consideration and implementation. <br /> The Recovery Support Functions had an initial orientation and convening over the <br /> summer. These groups are now meeting individually. An economic impact assessment survey <br /> has been distributed to the business community. This survey is open until the end of August. A <br /> public values survey is currently under development and will be distributed in early September <br /> that will offer additional community context for the work of the Recovery Support Functions. The <br /> first work product, an initial COVID-19 Impact Assessment is due in the coming weeks. Final <br /> work products, including recommendations, will be presented to local governing boards in early <br /> 2021. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: <br /> The County has received a total of$6.4 million in COVID-19 related funding as of the end of <br /> August. <br /> Quintana Stewart, Orange County Health Director, reported the following information: <br />