B12182012 New Hanover County
Board of Social Services
• Meeting Minutes
Multi Purpose Rooms B&C
10:00a.m.— 11:00 a.m.
The New Hanover County Board of Social Services met in open session on
Tuesday. December 18. 2012 at 10:00 in Multi Purpose Rooms B&C of the New
Hanover County Department of Social Services.
ATTENDING: Patrick Riley. Chairman: Diana Woolley: Jonathan Barfield and
Frankie Roberts
ALSO ATTENDING: LaVaughn Nesmith. Secretary to the Board: Stephanie
Monteath. Assistant to the Director
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. Mr. Riley asked for a
motion to approve the agenda. Ms. Woolley moved for approval of the agenda.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Barfield passed unanimously.
Mr. Barfield led the invocation. Mr. Roberts led the pledge of allegiance.
CONSENT AGENDA
• Mr. Riley asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Mr. Roberts moved
to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Riley and passed
unanimously.
INFORMATION AGENDA
Ms. Woolley noted there continues to be a huge waiting list for child care subsidy.
Director Nesmith noted the agency is currently at 100% of the spending
coefficient for the program. Mr. Riley asked what happened with the after school
program. Christine McNamee clarified that children 11 and 12 years of age with
no disabilities were listed as a first category in the Board-approved Wait List
Policy for cutting due to funding limits. Also of note, adult guardianship numbers
continued to increase.
The Board reviewed budget expenditures. Karen Graham reviewed all
highlighted areas. Ms. Woolley asked why the agency pays the Sheriff s
department to serve summons instead of that cost falling on the courts. Ms.
Graham explained that 66% of the cost is reimbursable. Commissioner Barfield
noted the State has asked that all license plates for County vehicles be replaced as
a revenue generator for the State. Director Nesmith noted an additional allocation
is expected from the State for the Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) fbr energy
assistance.
The Board reviewed the Executive Directors report.
No action was taken by the Board.
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STRATEGIC ACTION AGENDA
Maltreatment and Binge Drinking in Adolescents
Dr. Kate Nooner has been working on child maltreatment and neural-imaging
research studies for the past 10 years. Alcohol typically is the first substance that
children are likely to abuse. Children in abusive and maltreatment situations are
much more likely to experiment with binge drinking. There are changes in the
entire brain when using alcohol which can be seen in EEGs. Ms. Nooner has
applied for a grant to link alcohol abuse and neural-imaging together to show how
neural pathways are affected. Ms. Nooner has asked to partner with NHCDSS in
working with teens that have been victims of maltreatment in a confidential
setting. The children and parents would both be paid for participating. The EEG
is for research purposes only. The entire test takes 25 minutes and follows all
IRB and HIPPA regulations. The project hopes to link brain changes in
maltreated youth to hinge drinking to improve prevention and intervention for
maltreated youth. with decreased alcoholism, driving under the influence and fetal
alcohol syndrome. Chairman Riley asked how the project would help the agency'
and its staff. Ms. Woolley shared that participation would open doors for other
research projects with perhaps funding for prevention services. Ms. Woolley
moved to support the project. The motion was seconded by Mr. Roberts and
passed unanimously.
Medical Transportation Policy
Director Nesmith and Ms. Marino shared the results of the Title XIX audit. The
policy changes the State asked the agency to implement for Title XIX Medical
Transportation as a result of the audit are the addition of and five (5) days prior
for out of county transportation'' under number 3 and "Critical needs recipients.
i.e. dialysis or chemotherapy patients cannot be denied transportation to critical
services. no matter how many transportation appointments they miss-. There was
a motion to approve the revised policy by Mr. Roberts. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Barfield and passed unanimously.
Choose January Date for Board Budget Retreat
The Board chose January 29. 2013 from 9:30 —3:00 at the Government Center for
the Board Budget Retreat.
Work Support Strategies
Mr. Nesmith and Christine McNamee shared a work support strategy video
pertaining to different ways of doing business that deal with process review and
customer service which go hand and hand with the implementation of NCFAST.
The agency will be able to pick and chose which strategies will work best. Ms.
S Woolley asked if there is a way to link this to the Casey Foundation initiative.
Director Nesmith and Ms. McNamee noted it will overlap in some areas of
customer service and strategic planning. The agency will be looking at all
process, procedures. technology and community partners in order to develop the
best business practices to improve efficiency and customer service.
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Next Meeting Objectives
• Board Budget Retreat
Board Comments
Ms. Woolley complimented NHCDSS by acknowledging Adelaide Brooks and
Allison Davis who attended the Good Friends Luncheon and really did an
excellent job representing the agency in their service to clients.
Additional Items
A request for proposal (RFP) will be going out in January for child support
enforcement operators to determine if our current provider (Young Williams) is
still the best option for providing child support services in New Hanover County.
As there was no further additional information 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 Board by consensus adjourned at 1 l :20AM.
Respectfully submitted.
LaVaughn Nesmith.
Secretary to the Board
Patrick Riley.
Chainnan
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