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31 <br /> 1 Commissioner Richards said that the farm bill has cause for concern because they could <br /> 2 separate SNAP and those services from the farm bill. She asked if Nancy Coston has insight into <br /> 3 that. <br /> 4 Nancy Coston said they expect Congress to enforce work requirements again. She said <br /> 5 employment waivers will end. She said some people have had wages go up, but it has been an <br /> 6 uneven recovery. She said the concern with changing rules is who gets left out, or who does not <br /> 7 understand the rules. <br /> 8 Commissioner Richards asked if there are efforts to analyze all of the benefits and how <br /> 9 the community might approach this. <br /> 10 Nancy Coston said the supplemental funds during the pandemic also exposed a lot of the <br /> 11 problems that already existed. She said there are a lot of questions, but they do not know the <br /> 12 answer. She said it is a $1.3 million a month loss just in food and nutrition. She said there was <br /> 13 emergency help for water payments, and electricity. She said all of those things are going away. <br /> 14 She said that if Medicaid expansion happens, some who will lose benefits will be in that group, <br /> 15 and they might get the help through this. <br /> 16 Commissioner Hamilton asked about the eligibility impacts. She asked if there are any <br /> 17 estimates of how many people in Orange County were getting benefits based on those waivers. <br /> 18 Lindsey Shewmaker said pre-pandemic, they were at 4,800 cases and over 1,000 <br /> 19 households. <br /> 20 Commissioner Hamilton asked about the breakdown of the waivers to consider the <br /> 21 programs that other institutions might have to support that individual. <br /> 22 Lindsey Shewmaker said she would look into it for the Board. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 A motion was made by Commissioner Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Hamilton, to <br /> 25 approve Budget Amendment#6-A: <br /> 26 1) authorizing three additional time-limited positions in DSS through June 30, 2024; <br /> 27 2) extending two existing time-limited positions in DSS through June 30, 2024; and <br /> 28 3) transferring $125,000 from the Social Justice Reserve Fund to the Department of <br /> 29 Social Services to provide food to Food and Nutrition Services recipients during the <br /> 30 transition from pandemic emergency allocations. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 33 <br /> 34 Commissioner Greene said she thought this was an appropriate use of social justice <br /> 35 funds. <br /> 36 Nancy Coston said that as they get data they will bring it back to the Board. <br /> 37 Vice-Chair McKee asked the County Manager if the Board can replenish funds in the social <br /> 38 justice fund in future budgets. <br /> 39 Bonnie Hammersley said yes, it is a base budget amount each year. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 b. Approval of Police and Mental Health Collaborations for Diversion Programs Grant Staff <br /> 42 Positions and Budget Amendment#6-13 <br /> 43 The Board approved two new staff positions funded by the Police and Mental Health <br /> 44 Collaborations for Diversion Programs Grant, and approve Budget Amendment#6-B. <br /> 45 <br /> 46 BACKGROUND: The Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department (CJRD) was <br /> 47 awarded a grant in the amount of$1,193,745 on November 28, 2022 by the N.C. Department of <br /> 48 Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance <br /> 49 Abuse Services. The contract for the grant, entitled Police and Mental Health Collaborations for <br /> 50 Diversion Programs, was fully executed on February 2, 2023. The grant runs from January 2023 <br /> 51 to September 30, 2025. <br />