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24 <br /> MOTION PASSES <br /> 6. Regular Agenda <br /> a. End of Food and Nutrition Pandemic Emergency Allocations and Unwinding of the <br /> Public Health Emergency Declaration and Approval of Budget Amendment#6-A <br /> The Board received an update regarding the impacts of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) <br /> unwinding and reduction of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits due to the end of <br /> emergency allocations, and approved time-limited staff positions and funds to assist recipients <br /> affected by this change through Budget Amendment#6-A. <br /> BACKGROUND: The PHE declaration will officially end on May 11, 2023. This will have several <br /> impacts on clients and the workload of the Department of Social Services (DSS). <br /> Effective March 1, 2023, the emergency allocations provided through Food and Nutrition Services <br /> (FNS) will end. Households that have been receiving extra FNS benefits (called "emergency <br /> allotments") each month since March 2020 or after will see a reduction in benefits because of a <br /> federal change that ends emergency allotments for all states. <br /> As part of the COVID-19 public health emergency, families enrolled in the FNS program in North <br /> Carolina have been receiving at least$95 extra per month since March 2020 through emergency <br /> allotments. With the end of emergency allotments, the average FNS benefit per person per day <br /> will decrease from $8.12 to $5.45. <br /> These emergency allotments have been critical in helping families compensate for financial and <br /> economic hardships due to COVID-19. <br /> Since March 2020, an average of 6,000 Orange County households received FNS emergency <br /> allotments, giving more families access to nutritious meals that support healthy and productive <br /> lives, and bringing approximately $1.3 million federal dollars each month into the local economy. <br /> Effective March 2023, FNS benefits will go back to regular monthly benefit amounts issued prior <br /> to the pandemic. Beneficiaries will continue to receive regular monthly benefit amounts in March <br /> 2023 based on a person's or household's current eligibility, income, household size and other <br /> federal eligibility requirements. <br /> The Department of Social Services anticipates some recipients will not initially understand this <br /> change and may need assistance during the transition. Staff has developed plans for outreach to <br /> the current recipients and to local human service and food providers in the community. Many <br /> families are still struggling to pay for basic needs and the community will need to help with this <br /> change. <br /> The Department proposes to utilize $125,000 of funds from the Social Justice Reserve Fund to <br /> provide emergency food at agency sites and to increase the support to food pantries in the <br /> County. A balance of$12,696 would remain in the Social Justice Reserve Fund with approval of <br /> this allocation. <br /> In addition to the FNS allotment changes, all pre-pandemic rules for eligibility in all program areas <br /> will be reinstated over the next twelve to eighteen months. This includes Medicaid, which will <br /> require the evaluation of approximately 22,000 cases over the next year and a half. The volume <br /> of work for staff will increase significantly as these changes occur. <br />