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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES January 21,2025 present a balanced budget to the BOCC. The Budget Office has shared their parameters for budget development and the expectations remain unchanged from last year. If a department is requesting an expansion or something new, it is expected they will either reduce expenses in other areas and/or bring in additional revenue. Child care is already on the BOCC radar and is part of the larger considerations for the Budget Office and County Manager. The Outside Agency (OA) review process has been changed this year and will no longer be divided up and reviewed by advisory boards, but will instead be reviewed by a set panel consisting of staff from the County Manager's office and department directors as appropriate; we haven't seen any additional information about the new process this year. Director Shewmaker suggested the board consider moving the February meeting from the 171h to the 24th because the state estimates will not be released until the 14th. Oscar Fleming moved to change the February meeting from the 17th to the 24th. Chris Barnes seconded the motion. The motion was carried without dissent. Oscar Fleming asked for more information about why the OA funding process was changed. Director Shewmaker explained that the County has a new strategic plan, and they are trying to align funding with the plan. One of the members of the new panel is the county's strategic planning manager. During last year's budget process, the BOCC had questions and concerns about how the applications were weighted across the board, not necessarily within each area. The department heads do get to weigh in and the County is also trying to better align with the towns. 3. Child Care Subsidy Update The BOCC gave us significant funding ($726,000) to prevent a child care waiting list in Orange County. The caveat was that we end paying parent fees and the savings from that, combined with the additional funds should eliminate a waiting list. Since it has been several years since we had a waitlist, we had forgotten how long it takes to move from a waiting list to enrollment, and at this point it looks like we are not going to spend all the funds. The Budget Office has asked for an enhanced monthly report, particularly on the background, to explain why the cost has increased so much but the number of children being served has declined. We are seeing a huge increase in the cost of care per child as compared to pre-Covid. We should be able to serve all the children without a wait list and right now we are able to serve everyone who walks through the door. Our estimate right now is that we will get through the end of the fiscal year without a wait list and without spending all the additional funds. By next month we will need to have a more solid estimate for budget office. 4. Annual Staff Meeting DSS annual all-staff meeting is this Friday, January 24, and begins at 10am. The meeting will include about an hour of agenda items and will then transition to the fun and end with lunch. Board members should have received an email from Serena McPherson asking about a lunch order if you will be attending. 5. The Drakeford Library Complex Opening Sharron Hinton provided an update on the status of the Drakeford Complex. After several months of construction issues, staff have officially moved out of Europa. The library, guardian ad litem office, and Skills Development/NCWorks center are now in and getting kinks worked out. Soft opening is February 3rd and grand opening is February 21 st. In the interim, we are still serving job seekers and clients virtually and by appointment until they can access the new facility on February 3rd. As we receive details about the grand opening they will be shared with the board. 2