B030907
• New Hanover County
Board of Social Services
Retreat Minutes
Government Center
9:00a.m. - 2:00p.m.
The New Hanover County Board of Social Services met in open session on Friday,
March 9, 2007 at 9:00 in Meeting Room B of the New Hanover County Government
Center.
ATTENDING: Frankie Roberts, Chairman; Bill Caster, Vice-Chairman; John Craig; F.
Wayne Morris; Ann Pitts
ALSO ATTENDING: LaVaughn Nesmith, Secretary to the Board; Stephanie Monteath,
Assistant to the Director
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Mrs. Pitts moved for approval of
the agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Morris and passed unanimously.
Mrs. Pitts led the invocation. John Craig led the pledge of allegiance.
CONSENT AGENDA
Wayne Morris moved for approval of the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Caster and passed unanimously.
INFORMATION AGENDA
LaVaughn Nesmith introduced Carole Thiel as the new Human Service Agency Business
Manager. The eleven new employees will be introduced at the next meeting as they are
in training.
SSDI
There were no questions or comments about SSDI
County Budget Expenditures
There were no questions or comments about expenditures.
STRATEGIC ACTION AGENDA
LaVaughn Nesmith read his state of the agency letter addressing the proposed budget for
Fiscal Year 2007-2008 highlighting upcoming program expenses, potential avenues of
• income and retention measures.
Chris McNamee reviewed the Leading by Results process. Ms. McNamee explained
Managing for Results, using LBR for the Guiding Principles in Developing the Budget,
Page 2 of 6
• the Steps in the Budget Process and the Results (successes) of LBR. Lastly Ms.
McNamee gave a brief overview of the proposed FY07-08 Budget to include new
positions the agency will be requesting.
LaVaughn Nesmith discussed the NHCDSS Estimated Revenues and Costs for the FY
2007-2008 by reviewing various pie charts. He noted that the cost for computer
equipment will most likely be backed out as DSS is hoping to purchase computers in FY
2006-2007.
The Board adjourned for a ten minute break at 10:11a.m.
The Board reconvened at 10:27a.m.
Administrative Support
Stephanie Monteath shared the vision for Administrative Support.
Chris McNamee discussed utilizing State and Federal dollars to reimburse the County for
all allowable costs. Ms. McNamee also discussed customer satisfaction surveys used to
gage agency customer service.
Stephanie Monteath discussed turnover. The North Carolina Association of County
• Directors suggested including retiring employees in the overall turnover percentage. As a
result, our turnover percentage is higher than in previous years. DSS will be reevaluating
attainable percentage goals for FY 2007-2008. Ms. Monteath shared some strategies for
retention.
Julia Talbutt addressed the need for an additional staff attorney to meet the ever
increasing demand for legal services in the area of child welfare - to speed permanence
for children in care and the burgeoning adult services and guardianship case load. The
department has utilized IV-E waiver funds which will run out within two years to ease
the accumulated back log in termination of parental rights cases.
Prevention Services
Ann Barkley discussed the Prevention Services vision. Ms. Barkley talked about the
Work First program, challenges with that program and the grant obtained by DSS to
employ a Job Coach-Job Locator Social Worker to assist with difficult to place clients.
Jerome Fennell from County Property Management has hired two of our Work First
participants. Employment Security is now willing to enter into a performance based
contract. All contracts enter by New Hanover County must be performance based.
Wanda Marino discussed financial data for Emergency Financial Assistance. Ms. Marino
indicated the Department is not requesting any additional monies.
•
Page 3 of 6
® Adult Services
Wanda Marino gave an update on Jasmine Cove; there have been several more
allegations made against the facility. DSS staff and the Health Inspector visited the
facility and discovered mold. There has been follow-up since the initial visit. The Health
Department and Division of Facility Services are responsible for follow up measures as
DSS substantiated allegations.
Ann Barkley shared the vision for Adult Services: NHC elderly and disabled will live
safely and independently. Ms. Barkley discussed that DSS is not meeting their targets for
Adult Services as there have been many substantiated cases of maltreatment and repeat
maltreatment. Ms. Barkley and Ms. Marino shared some stories of elderly/disabled
adults in New Hanover County. Ms. Barkley noted that the very large case loads Adult
Services Social Workers carry make it difficult to monitor the safety and well being of
this vulnerable population. Ms. Barkley noted that this population will dramatically
increase due to aging baby boomers and mental health reform. DSS will be requesting
one Adult Protective Services Social Worker and one Adult Home Specialist Social
Worker - to monitor clients in family and adult care homes.
Child Protective Services
Wanda Marino shared the vision for Child Protective Services: Every family in New
Hanover County will be respected for their strengths, competence and their ability to
change and they will be responsible for the safety and well-being of their children.
Pat Jessup reviewed targets for Child Protective Services, noting that percentages of
children who are repeat victims of maltreatment are slightly higher in the first 6 months
of FY2006-2007. The percentages of children found "In need of Services" have gone
down slightly. Ms. Jessup is asking for two Child Protective Services Social Workers to
reduce case loads for her staff and align with state standards. Ms. Jessup shared that 48%
of substantiated abuse cases involved children ages 0-6, 32% involved children ages 7-12
and 20% involved children ages 13 and above. Ms. Jessup noted the majority of these
cases involve the youngest most vulnerable population. The majority of Social Work
turnover occurred in Child Protective Services due to very high stress and large case
loads.
Ms. Marino gave the date of the Child Abuse Prevention Forum - April 16, 2007 from
7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The topic is "Too Young to Die" as the number of fatalities in
this County is very high.
Children's Services
Wanda Marino shared the vision for Children's Services: Each child in New Hanover
County shall achieve a permanent sense of belonging to a family that gives security, good
• health, adequate nutrition, a safe environment, a quality education and hope for the
future.
Page 4 of 6
• Ms. Sanders discussed targets for Children's Services. The first target is to have children
in licensed care have two or fewer placements during their length of stay. The State's
definition for measuring this target differs from our definition. The second target is less
than 1% of children in licensed care facilities become victims of abuse and neglect. Ms.
Sanders discussed strategies for meeting these targets; contracting with Methodist Home
for Children for reunification services and licensing more Foster Homes to help with over
crowding and burnout. New Hanover County has more licensed Foster Homes than all
but one county in North Carolina.
Ms. Sanders next discussed the target of achieving permanent placement for children in
less than 12 months after removal and the target of 25% of the children adopted are
adopted within 24 months of the Department assuming custody. There have been lots of
successes with adoption.
The second vision for Children's Services: New Hanover County youth will be
productive, law abiding and substance abuse free at home, school, the work place and in
the community. Ms. Sanders shared that we are failing this population (which grew up in
our Foster Care system), as they are not getting their high school diplomas, in stable
housing etc. The state mandated that DSS follow up with these youth. Through the
LINKS program, these youth over age 16 may come back into custody if they are
enrolled in school or vocational training. Young adults over 18 years old may become
eligible for services with the same stipulations. Ms. Sanders asked for one additional
employee to work as a LINKS Social Worker.
The Board adjourned for lunch at 12:00 noon.
The Board re-convened at 12:27 p.m.
Child Support Enforcement
Sam Lane shared the vision for Child Support Enforcement to ensure that non-custodial
parents acknowledge and accept responsibility for the care and well being of their
children through the payment of child support payments on a regular and consistent basis.
Mr. Lane noted that there is a spike in child support collection this time of year due to tax
refunds.
Carla West noted a 6% increase in child support collection from the previous fiscal year.
Ms. West shared several initiatives used for child support enforcement such as electronic
monitoring of and job readiness programs for non-custodial parents. Sam Lane noted that
collection of child support aids in reducing Medicaid costs.
Carla West discussed the Fatherhood Conference May 6, 2007 which will address efforts
to reach fathers in New Hanover County to assist them in becoming better/more
responsible fathers as well as providing outreach to teenage young men to help them
• avoid becoming young fathers.
Page 5 of 6
• Food Assistance
The vision for Food Assistance is to supplement the food purchasing power of low-
income families by promptly, courteously and accurately providing food assistance
benefits and educating and/or connecting them to other available resources.
Mary John Brantley discussed the target for Food Assistance to increase participation of
eligible citizens in New Hanover County. Ms. Brantley discussed outreach efforts to
include partnering with and training staff at the Food Bank and other Food Assistance
agencies as well as working with the Senior Citizens Center and various ministries.
Mr. Lane discussed the potential automation updates allowing staff to visit outside
agencies and have access to the Food Assistance data base.
Medicaid and Health Choice
Sam Lane shared the vision for Medicaid and Health Choice: To assist eligible low
income individuals, families and children in obtaining access to medical services by
quickly and accurately determining their eligibility for Medicaid/Health Choice and
providing information to citizens to help them obtain medical coverage.
Kathi Heslin explained the process of determining Medicaid eligibility for adults and
. children. In FY05-06 DSS was able to reach 67% of Medicaid eligible adults/children.
The goal is to increase participation of eligible citizens to 70%. One big challenge for
this program are new mandates to verify citizenship in eligibility determination.
Sam Lane discussed the need for health care/medical care for individuals that do not meet
criteria for Medicaid and who are not insured through their employer. Mr. Nesmith and
Mr. Lane are working with a group to create patient navigators that will aid this
population in finding medical providers at low cost or no cost. Mr. Lane also discussed
unfunded mandates such as the fishing license waiver and voter registration that requires
staff time but no additional monies.
Child Care Subsidy
Mr. Lane shared the vision for Child Care Subsidy ensuring safe, quality, accessible and
affordable child care for children in New Hanover County, supporting the independence
of families by enabling responsible adults to secure and maintain employment and meet
the basic needs of their children.
Ms. Heslin discussed that 88.83% of children receiving child care were in 3 star or above
child care facilities which surpassed the set benchmark.
In February 2007, the child care waiting list was cleared after reaching nearly 400
children. It is expected that the agency will exceed the benchmark for this target this
fiscal year partially through use of TANF/MOE and the Work First Demonstration grant
funds. Ms. Heslin provided a breakdown of who receives child care subsidy. Mr. Lane
Page 6of6
gave the financial breakdown for the program and explained the potential for additional
funds from the State through the Governor's budget.
Mrs. Pitts motioned to recommend an increase of Adult Services staff from 2 to 4
additional Adult Services Staff. The motioned was seconded by Mr. Craig and passed
unanimously. Mr. Craig motioned to approve the budget with the afore noted
amendment. The motion was seconded by Mr. Morris and passed unanimously.
Next Meeting Objectives
The Annual Report, Program Integrity and the Child Abuse Prevention Month
Proclamation will be on the April 2007 Board Meeting Agenda.
SELF EVALUATIONS
The Board completed self evaluations.
The Board adjourned from open session 1:13p.m.
Ms. Pitts moved to enter closed session as provided in G. S. 143-318.11, to consider
information that is confidential pursuant to G.S. 108A-80 and/or G.S. 154A-98. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Craig and passed unanimously. The Board entered closed
session at 1:13 p.m.
The Board returned to open session at 1:26 p.m. There being no further business the
Board by consensus adjourned.
Respectfully s I itte
Y
LaVaughn Nesmith
Secretary to the Board
t
Frankie Ro erts
Chairman
Date approved:
LN: scm
B030907