10-18-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES October 18, 2021 2 Families with children in diapers will be given a pack of diapers. Pat Garavaglia asked if we will utilize volunteers this year. Ms. Hinton explained while we may have a few volunteers, there will be a reduction in the number of volunteers. Any volunteers will require advanced planning as the County policy in regards to vaccination/testing will need to be followed. Jane Garrett asked what about the teens ages 13-18; Ms. Coston explained we are not doing anything for teens this year. Oscar Fleming asked how many children are served through this program. Ms. Hinton stated 2600- 2800 children. 2. Divisional Updates Community Outreach and Education Division Sharron Hinton shared the Employment Services unit hosted several hiring events during the summer that did not yield the results they hoped for. These events consistently had more employers than employees. Ms. Hinton anticipates an increase in number of participants as social programs such as unemployment end. There will be a Job Fair on Wednesday at University Place with 30 employers. Child and Family Services Division Crystal Mitchell provided an update to the Board of the one-time Consolidated Appropriations Act money provided to young adults who spent time in foster care at age 14 or later. A total of $237,500 in one-time payments were sent to young adults. The money served 29 youth ages 18-20 and 33 youth ages 21-26. Crystal Mitchell and Brittany Mann provided an overview of workload increase for CPS social workers during the month of September. The number of intakes received were the highest number for the month of September in five years. The number of CPS assessments open on the last day of September was nearly double the amount from August. In Home and Permanency Planning numbers have remained consistent but these areas typically see an increase following increases on the front end of the service delivery system. Oscar Fleming asked if there are months where we see increases in numbers. Ms. Mann explained we typically see an increase of reports in the fall when school starts and also in the spring months. Adult Services/Child Care Nancy Coston, Director, shared Adult Services has seen an increase in number of cases. She explained during the pandemic, there was a decrease as many individuals did not want people in their home. Ms. Coston shared during the pandemic, the demand for childcare has been down. There is money still available and parent fees will continue to be covered through January 2022. 3. Community Child Protection Team Member Brittany Mann informed the Board the CCPT is in need of a DSS Board member to sit on this team. This role was filled by prior Board Chair Tamara Dempsey Tanner who has completed her term. Ms. Mann provided an overview of CCPT purpose to the Board; detailing the members of team, types of cases discussed, and actions taken by the Team. The meetings are held quarterly on a Tuesday from 8:30-11:00 a.m. The team seeks to make recommendations in regards to systems level work that will strength child safety in our community. The next meeting will be 2/8/2021. After discussion, Oscar Fleming volunteered to be the Board Member for the CCPT.