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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_0187IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK FIRST FAMILY ASSISTANCE UPDATE AND BRIEFING MINUTES JULY 11 2000 The Iredell County Board ofCommissioners met fora Work First Family Assistance Update and Briefing Session on Tuesday, July 11, 2000, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Iredell Countv Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC 28677. Present Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Steve D. Johnson Tommy E. Bowles Alice T. Fortner Alice M. Stewart Staff Present: Acting County Manager Susan Blumenstein, DSS Director Don Wall, Income Maintenance Administrator Lynn Deal, Social Work Supervisor Linda Bledsoe, DSS Human Services Planner Rick Felts, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. Jackie Burns, with Goodwill Industries, also attended the meeting. (Note: County Manager Joel Mashburn was out of state on vacation and had previously been excused from the meeting.) CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice. Work First Update Wall said Medicaid and Day Care were the safety nets for the Work First program. Ile said that at the present, no two-parent families were receiving Work First assistance. Commissioner Johnson asked the status of the Maintenance of Effort. Wall said the county was underspent by $79,615, or five percent. fie said the state officials had previously advised that this money would be taken from underspent counties and given to the overspent counties. Deal shared a statewide Work First Progress Report issued as of May 2000. She said there had been a 21.1% reduction in Iredell's caseload from July 1999 through May. Statewide, the reduction was 13.4% for the same period. In reference to staying off welfare and going to work, she said the report indicated that Iredell had achieved a 98% rating. This compares to a stateti ide average of 93%. Pertaining to Work First Child Support collections, Iredell increased its collections by 88% compared to the statewide average of 94%. Iredell, however, achieved a 97 %o of goal for child support orders issued, compared to the statewide percentage of 891 Bledsoe said that since September of 1999, the county had used a 150% of poverty level guideline for the Work First recipients. She said the primary focus of the program was to help individuals maintain, or retain, employment. Bledsoe said a child under the age of 18 had to reside in the home and there had to be an "episode of need." The assistance, provided for the recipients, is varied and ranges from car repairs, tutoring for the children, purchasing vehicles - - "whatever it takes to help the client." Bledsoe pointed out there was no exchange of money between social services and the client - - it was always between the vendor and social services. Johnson praised the staff for trying to keep the families together. He said that if the county was forced to spend more money that he would encourage for it to be spent in this effort and program, rather than the others. "Wheels to Work Program" and Goodwill Industries: Felts described this program that will, hopefully, help meet the county's Maintenance ofEffort for 2000-01. He said the DSS clients could own a vehicle by reimbursing to Goodwill the initial cost of liability insurance, repairs, taxes, licenses, and title fees. Goodwill will obtain donated vehicles, and clients will own them after one year.