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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES August 18 , 2025 2 In Orange County , we approach guardianship as a partnership with the individual by advocating for their rights and wants and maintaining their living situation in their community. In 2024, Rethinking Guardianship concept came about and focused on how to make guardianship a last resort option, so people’s rights aren’t taken away. We encourage people to explore power of attorney , healthcare proxy, and advanced directives (medical and psychiatric) while they are of sound mind, so that these are already in place if the need ever arises. Currently, we have 45 clients under guardianship of person with an attorney managing their estates. Their housing arrangements range from living at home in a family setting to adult care homes and nursing homes. We have even had some clients choose homelessness. Their ages range from 30s to 80s with some being under guardianship for 30+ years. 2. Chantal Recovery Update Sharron Hinton, Assistant Director, provided an update on DSS efforts for Chantal recovery operations. Upon leaving the emergency shelter, hygiene and snack bags were given to all households along w ith $50 in gift cards. Additionally, we assisted Town of Chapel Hill housing residents staying at the Fairfield Inn with $50 in Target gift cards. We are currently paying for 20 hotels rooms for individuals adversely affected by the flood, down from 26 rooms at peak. The rooms are paid for by funding the Town of Chapel Hill gave to the us, up to a maximum of $100k. Around July 22, Alliance took over hoteling expenses for four households they are working with. It costs approximately $2,000 per night for the 20 hotel rooms, with around $73,000 spent to date. Thirteen clients have Housing Choice Vouchers, and we have identified housing for these individuals and anticipate they will be out of the hotel by August 22, which is when we estimate funding from the Town will run out. Although Housing has been able to identify housing, the timing for move-in has been an issue. Only two individuals want to return to Camelot and it’s because they are homeowners there, but they still meet the income criteria for hotel assistance. For those who want to relocate, Nova Apartments has been identified. They have apartments available and have approved m ost individuals, but there have been delays with inspections due to staffing shortages on their side. Last week , the County Manager gave permission to extend the hotels to August 29 for Housing Choice Vouchers. The other seven without vouchers have been working with DSS staff to try to identify housing. Finding housing is one piece of the puzzle, the other is setting them up with furnishings because they lost everything. We are working with community organizations and Friends of DSS to assist with this. Friends of DSS has also offered to provide financial assistance to extend hotel stays if needed. Meals on Wheels, Triangle Transit, Alliance, Freedom House, UNC Health, Animal Services, and Hillside Church have all been great partners. Several impacted individuals had been in need of health care that they hadn’t received previously – a couple were since diagnosed with skin cancer. 3. START Grant Update Crystal M. Wiese, Assistant Director, provided an overview and update on the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) program. It is a model implemented within child welfare that consists of a child welfare worker, peer support/family mentor, and service coordinator (clinical position that does assessments). We had been approached to apply a couple years ago and went back and forth for a while because the State wanted us to support two teams, but they have since come back and said we could do it with one team. We were awarded funding back in December, but the contract wasn’t in place until early April, and grant funding ends September 30, 2025. The State just received notification last week that the Federal government had approved an update to their plan to allow for this program to continue with the use of IV -E funding. Buncombe has fully implemented and has been a certified site for several years, everyone else is new and in the