Agenda - 06-08-2004-5o - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 8, 2004 Action Agenda Item No. 5~n - SUBJECT: Contract Renewal with Morgan and Associates for Faith Community Coordinator for Work First Participants DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Coston, 245-2800 Contract with Morgan and Associates Gwen Price, 245-2800 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough Chapel Hill Durham Mebane 732-8181 968-4501 688-7331 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To approve the continuation of a contract with Morgan and Associates far the development of partnerships with various faith communities focusing on improved job retention for Work First participants. BACKGROUND: One constant in the debate on welfare reform has been that government alone cannot help families achieve economic self-sufficiency. The work of faith-based or religious groups are critical to program success, The contributions of the faith community in reaching out to vulnerable families and encouraging them to make the transition have been applauded on the federal, state, and local levels, Orange County has contracted with Morgan and Associates since July 1999. Based on recommendations from the Welfare Reform Task Force, Orange County contracted far a Faith Community Coordinator. The Department of Social Services currently contracts with Morgan and Associates to develop awareness and partnerships in the religious community that support Work First families as they move from welfare to work. This contract has been successful in engaging local faith organizations to support the individuals in the agency's work programs, Counties across the state have duplicated the model used in Orange County and same material was used by Project Jubilee to develop the Families First Program. Winnie Morgan, program coordinator, has developed 12 faith-based teams who are matched with families to provide moral support, assist in jab search activities, tutor children, and provide transportation. Through this initiative, the faith community has provided a coordinated response to 25 families this year, Ms. Morgan and the team remain in contact with families after they transition off welfare, providing an extremely important support system for these families, Ms, Morgan has developed a clothing closet for families needing job appropriate clothing; she recruits sponsors for summer camp annually, and she has identified individuals to donate cars to a Work First family.