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County receives final CCR review of consolidated human services; report recommends operational changes and advisory board
Summary
CCR Consulting presented a final assessment of the consolidated Human Services/Department of Social Services that recommends procedural changes, staff reclassification, quarterly community meetings and creation of a Human Services advisory board; commissioners were asked to consider an implementation plan and periodic reports.
The Person County Board of Commissioners received a final assessment from CCR Consulting on the county’s consolidated human services operations, with consultant Sherry Brasher outlining process-level recommendations and “early wins” the county can implement without large added resources.
CCR’s report, based on 35 group and individual interviews with 81 community partners and a month-long client survey, emphasized improving service access, coordination with community partners, and intra-agency operational teams. “We were not looking at cases individually,” Brasher said. “We were looking at processes, relationships, and the carrying out of the duties and responsibilities.”
The report urged changes that county staff and the Human Services director have already begun, including restructuring to have a human services evaluator report directly to the human services director and hosting “Huddle Up with Human Services” quarterly meetings to increase partner and public awareness of program processes and eligibility.
Why it matters: Commissioners now serve as the county’s Human Services Board. CCR framed many recommendations as process and organizational changes that can improve timeliness and access while aligning with best practices discussed by other counties.
Key recommendations and details included: - Early, low-cost improvements and “quick wins” staff can implement without action by the board. - Increased community engagement and representation on community boards; the report recommended co-locating county services at community partner sites such as hospitals or senior centers to improve access. - Expanded leadership and program-manager training and broader use of intra-agency functional teams to leverage consolidated expertise in HR, IT and fiscal functions. - Facility/layout adjustments to improve internal communications; the consultant noted the current building is at capacity and can limit access. - Creation of a Human Services Advisory Board to provide discipline-specific expertise (housing, juvenile justice, health, etc.) and to perform background work before recommending items to the commissioners. - A staff reclassification recommendation affecting positions in income maintenance. Brasher said programs such as Medicaid typically reimburse direct program work at about 75% while administrative roles historically have lower reimbursement rates (roughly mid-40s percent), and that reclassifying certain positions to program roles could increase reimbursement. County staff said three positions were targeted for reclassification and that paperwork has been submitted to HR.
During the presentation, commissioners asked about the budgetary impacts of the proposed reclassification and about how early wins are being tracked. County staff said they have instituted a biweekly meeting among program leads, the human services director and staff to review implementation steps and to chart recommendations for community reporting. The county has already held two of the quarterly “huddle” meetings and plans to rotate locations to improve accessibility.
The report’s recommended next step for the board was to ask the human services director to prepare an implementation plan for whichever recommendations the board wishes to pursue and to receive periodic implementation reports.
Commissioners did not vote on specific policy changes at the meeting; the board discussed whether to form an advisory board in the future and heard staff describe steps already taken to address several of the consultant’s “early wins.”
The board will determine whether to direct staff to produce a formal implementation plan and a reporting schedule back to the Human Services Board (the commissioners).
Ending: Commissioners thanked the CCR team for the work and were told the report and addenda are part of the meeting packet. No binding policy changes were adopted at the meeting; staff will continue implementing identified early wins and report back on progress.
