7-31-2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES July 31, 2023 2 increasing over the past four fiscal years. Additionally, we have not rebounded to our pre-COVID numbers of children receiving childcare subsidy. This is an area where we continue to prioritize outreach in the community. Pat Garavaglia noted the data was compact and meaningful; she complimented the data analytics team on a job well done. 2. Medicaid Update Lindsey Shewmaker shared North Carolina is expecting to go-live for Medicaid Expansion on October 1, 2023. The state budget has to be passed by September for an October roll-out. Ms. Shewmaker stated we have been able to recruit and hire staff for Medicaid Expansion. Specifically, we have hired three specialists and one tech position. We are still expecting over 6,000 new Medicaid enrollees. Ms. Shewmaker provided the Board with talking points released by the State for Medicaid Expansion. She recapped some of the highlights in regards to eligibility and services covered. Eventually the expectation is the Marketplace will accept applications which will take some workload burden off our staff. This will occur at the soonest, in early 2024. Ms. Shewmaker shared we are working hard to not terminate anyone from Medicaid enrollment due to procedural reasons. She explained ex-parte reviews can occur if we can validate income through databases we can access. Board Chair, Pat Garavaglia, asked, what happens if they don’t come up with a budget? Lindsey Shewmaker stated it would push the next go-live timeline to 12/1/23. Ms. Shewmaker shared the Social Services Institute is this week and some of our Medicaid staff are going to attend workshops and collaborate with State Medicaid Staff. 3. Single County Audit Rebekah Rapoza explained the County is in the midst of the Single County Audit. DSS programs are selected every two to three years for review. Ms. Rapoza shared the programs selected for audit this year include: the DSS Cross-Cutting 1571 report we submit to the State, Medicaid (looking at staff cost and client cases), and Food and Nutrition Services (staff costs). Foster Care and Adoption are two other program areas that will be pulled in if needed. Ms. Rapoza explained auditors were on site two weeks ago to meet with our staff to go through some cases. In August, they will return for their second sample. We had a finding last year in regards to Daysheet/Kronos reconciliation. This will be included to review how we are doing with the plan we implemented. 4. Director’s Report Lindsey Shewmaker stated the County has moved to Microsoft 365. Starting in September, our virtual platform will be Microsoft Teams instead of Zoom. Sharron Hinton shared Toy Chest will be December 7-9, 2023. Planning is starting earlier this year. Ms. Hinton also shared we have two upcoming hiring events. UPS will be on site on Wednesday, 8/2 at Hillsborough Orange Works and on Thursday, 8/3 at the Career Center in Chapel Hill. There will also be a temp agency hiring event on Friday, 8/4 in Chapel Hill. Jane Garrett asked about the Job Fair that was held in May 2023. Sharron Hinton reported a good turnout.