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B050907 New Hanover County Board of Social Services Minutes Multipurpose Room A 9:00a.m. -10:00a.m. The New Hanover County Board of Social Services met in open session on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 9:00 in Multipurpose Room A of the New Hanover County Department of Social Services. ATTENDING: Frankie Roberts, 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 9:02 a.m. Mr. Morris moved for approval of the agenda. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Pitts and passed unanimously. Mrs. Pitts led the invocation. Mr. Morris led the pledge of allegiance. CONSENT AGENDA Mrs. Pitts moved for approval of the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Craig and passed unanimously. INFORMATION AGENDA New Hires Susan Ross, John Chendorain, Cecelia Williamson, Jette' Ferrell and Jenny Webb were introduced as new hires. Service Awards Dave Smith was recognized for 15 years of service to New Hanover County. Promotions Julia Davis was promoted from Economic Service Caseworkers Zone 2 in Family and Children's Medicaid to Economic Services Caseworker Zone 3 in Adult Medicaid. SSDI Adjusted spreadsheets for SSDI were given to the board. There were no questions from the board. Mr. Nesmith noted that for 2 months in a row the number of children in DSS custody is below 500. Mr. Nesmith shared information about IV-E Waiver money with the board. Currently the • State of North Carolina is not cost-neutral with IV-E Waiver funds and the State is considering suspension of IV-E Waiver all together. A decision should be made within the next week. County Budget Expenditures Carol Thiel reviewed areas of high spending. New Hanover County is expected to exceed the Medicaid cap but it is unclear how much money will be left in the Medicaid Relief fund. Sam Lane explained that Special Assistance funds are used to enable adults to live with assistance either in their home or an assisted living facility. These are adults who currently do not need the level of care a skilled nursing home provides. STRATEGIC ACTION AGENDA Foster Care Appreciation Month Proclamation Julie Steinbeck read the Foster Care Appreciation Month Proclamation. Mr. Morris moved to endorse the proclamation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Craig and passed unanimously. Work First Demonstration Grant • Ann Barkley reviewed the Work First Demonstration Grant. Originally the grant was slated to last three years but must now be re-applied for annually. Ms. Barkley shared some successes of the program and some strategies that will be implemented should the second year grant be awarded to New Hanover County DSS. Those strategies include hiring a clinical psychologist to assist clients with mental health issues, a "pay for performance" strategy with check issuance occurring after work activities are demonstrated and an expectation that mothers of new babies look for work after the child reaches three months of ages-age as opposed to six months in age. Mrs. Pitts moved to support reapplying for the grant. The motion was seconded by John Craig and passed unanimously. Communication and Outreach Efforts Mark Boyer presented a compilation video of various public service announcements (PSA) produced by the County and aired on cable television. Mr. Boyer also noted that the County maintains an electronic community bulletin board. Chris McNamee noted DSS staff is regularly interviewed by area media on subjects varying from child abuse to Food Assistance. As a result, DSS has developed a "speaker bureau" compiled of agency staff. Ms. McNamee discussed outreach efforts the agency uses to include developing power point presentations on all LBR indicators, brochures discussing available services and a newly purchased Expo Board for use at community events. Mr. Nesmith noted that a lot of information about our agency is available on line though the county web site as • well as through the agency intranet. ® Next Meeting Objectives Community Partnerships Reception for Frankie Roberts Board Meeting Schedule for 2007-2008 Board Self Evaluation The Board completed self evaluations. Additional Items Mrs. Pitts moved to hold the 2007-2008 Board Meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month beginning July 2007. The motion was seconded by Mr. Craig and passed with a three to one vote. As there were no items to discuss in closed session as provided in G.S. 143-318.11 pursuant to G.S. 108A-80 and/or G.C. 154A-98, the meeting was adjourned at 9:57 a.m. Respect s fitted;-~ U LaVaughn Nesmith Secretary to the Board Frankie Roberts Chairman Date approved: