Ashe County DSS seeks foster parents, outlines energy-assistance outreach and recovery events

Tracy, director of the Ashe County Department of Social Services, told the Board of Commissioners on July 21 that the department is emphasizing foster-parent recruitment, cross-training staff for income-maintenance hearings and finalizing an energy-outreach plan the board approved so the county can apply for seasonal energy-assistance funds.

Tracy said the department needs more foster homes, especially for adolescents, to allow young people to remain in their schools and communities. "A lot of our adolescents are really well behaved kids," she said, and the department is using a recruitment and retention action plan led by Tory Logle and a dedicated training program for foster parents.

Why it matters: foster placements affect children's school stability and community continuity; shortage of adolescent foster homes was cited as a priority by department leadership.

Key DSS updates

- Foster care recruitment and retention: The department is actively recruiting foster and adoptive parents, with particular emphasis on families willing to take adolescents. Tracy noted staff efforts including a training program, appreciation events for foster parents and community outreach at recent festivals.

- Hearings officers and internal training: A long-serving hearings officer is preparing to retire; DSS trained new hearing officers and held a mock hearing to transfer institutional knowledge and maintain continuity in income-maintenance appeals.

- Energy outreach plan: The board approved the outreach protocol the department will submit to the state. Tracy said the plan lists the county's advertising and notification steps for the crisis-intervention program and LIHEAP/SIP-related outreach and must be submitted by July 30.

- Disaster energy assistance spending: Tracy said the county received a disaster energy assistance award that totaled $447,000 in two allocations: an initial $147,000 and a later $300,000 supplement after the county demonstrated need. The department spent nearly all of those funds before the program's June 30 end date, leaving approximately $9,000 unspent when the program closed.

- Ongoing federal-funding uncertainty: Tracy warned that future LIHEAP and SIP allocations are controlled at the federal level and that the county's baseline energy-assistance funding in prior years has been about $100,000 each for SIP and LIHEAP; current amounts for the coming season were not yet known.

- Fiscal audit: Tracy presented the county's fiscal-year audit to the board and reported the county passed the audit; no action was required.

Long-term recovery anniversary event

Tracy and volunteers with the Long Term Recovery Group and Ash County Recovery and Restoration are planning a Sept. 27 family-oriented recovery event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to mark the one-year anniversary of the hurricane that hit parts of the county. The event, described as a "celebration of resiliency," will include resource tables for recovery services, children's activities, food and local entertainment. Tracy said organizers are coordinating with community partners in Lansing, which is planning its own anniversary activities earlier in the day.

Potential venues include the county's new Ag Center and Jefferson United Methodist Church; Tracy said the county's insurance would cover events held at the Ag Center if the county sponsors the event there. Dr. Calhoun and Amy Walker were cited as partners who have tentatively approved use of the facility; Britney Duncan was cited as a Lansing contact coordinating the town's activities.

What board approved: The board approved the energy outreach plan by voice vote, authorizing DSS to submit the required materials to the state and to carry out the outreach protocols outlined in its packet.