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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES August 16, 2021 2 disruption for DSS clients. Tamara Dempsey-Tanner asked how many DSS clients are involved. Ms. Coston responded that there are several hundred but fewer who are at high-risk. Ms. Dempsey-Tanner also asked about the funds from Cardinal and the potential impact for this quicker transition. Ms. Coston responded that staff are working on that issue and that there is a potential to lose some of those funds. 3. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Programs Nancy Coston gave the Board an overview about the recovery funds and programs that are available in North Carolina. One of the big funding sources is HOPE which will pay rental costs for eligible families. Staff shared information on the HOPE Program with the Board. There is a water program also coming to North Carolina called LIWOP. As soon as the State submits their plan and implements the rules, the program will help pay past-due water bills. This program will likely roll out between October and December. The first priority group will be people whose water has been turned off or are at high-risk. The second group is people who are low- income but have managed to continue to pay. There is still a Low-Income Energy Assistance Program and the checks will be bigger than last year. The Crisis Intervention Program maximum amounts have increased from $600 to $1,000 this year. There will also be additional funds loaded for Work First families. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also updated the Thrifty Food Plan which relates to the amount of benefits available for families on Food and Nutrition Services. The average increase is around $38 per person and is not related to the pandemic. Oscar Fleming asked whether there was a way to track who received the different benefits. Ms. Coston responded that we will be able to track internally some of the programs, but things like HOPE will not be tracked at the County level. 4. Medicaid Audit Lindsey Shewmaker updated the Board on the Medicaid Audit. For the month of June there were four errors, all for the same issue of approving Family Planning Medicaid prior to the disposal of Adult Medicaid applications. 5. Virtual Meetings DSS Board Meetings will continue to be virtual for now. 6. Board Member Update Tamara Dempsey-Tanner shared the scores for DSS Board applicants and the Board discussed how to set up interviews. 7. Director’s Report The Government Alliance for Racial Equity is doing some community presentations. The DSS Board is invited to attend.