Rutherford County DSS reports staff hires, budget shifts and dwindling disaster-rental funds

The Rutherford County Department of Social Services (DSS) reviewed personnel additions, budget changes and program updates at a department meeting where staff warned that some emergency and rental relief funds are nearly exhausted.

The session included introductions of new staff, a financial report showing lines both under and over budget, discussion of foster-care placements and a service update that covered adult protective services and changes to Medicaid and summer food certification periods.

Miss Price, presenting the financial report, said the department’s “contribution from general fund for [administrative] expenses is at 71.74%,” and that overall the total budget was “at 73.78%, which is 9.55% under budget.” She told the board that a budget amendment had shifted funds into foster care so the department would not finish the year over budget.

The report singled out a one-time professional services invoice for the department’s single audit that pushed that line over budget; Miss Price described it as “a little over $30,000.” She also flagged temporary salaries and contract worker costs as drivers of another overrun, saying the temporary salaries line was over because staff paid emergency and out-of-office services had not been budgeted.

Miss Eppley, who presented on economic services, outlined changes to Medicaid certification periods and the summer food program. She said children ages 0 through 6 will receive certification periods through their sixth birthday and that ages 6–18 will move from one-year to two-year certification periods. She described the summer food benefit (Sunbucks) as a one-time $120 payment for the three-month summer period and said it will be issued on a new Sunbucks card.

Eppley also described federal funding delays that temporarily held up some state disbursements: work-first payments were released on May 10 and special assistance on May 9 after a delay tied to federal processing, and several clients reported bank overdrafts while the funds were delayed.

On emergency placement and foster-care lines, the finance report showed state foster-care, kinship foster-care and related lines at or near expected percentages after Paula added funds to those lines. The packet also noted the foster-care emergency placement line is used when staff must pay for outside placements; that line is “100% reimbursed,” according to the report.

Staff described growing pressure on contract workers used to sit with children in a recently opened DSS visitation/placement house. A staff member said the house will have “two people in the house… always 2. Eyes on 24 7” when children are present and that contract workers are difficult to recruit because many hold other full-time jobs.

The department also reported on disaster and rental-assistance funds. Eppley said the energy assistance allocation to the county totaled $950,529 and that rental assistance had about $116,000 originally, with roughly $20,000 remaining in rental aid at the time of the meeting. She said disaster funds had $20,008.77 left and that rental funds were likely to be exhausted by the next monthly report.

Staff recounted community partnerships that will support the visitation house and families: the Western North Carolina Partnership has “adopted the house” and will allow the department to draw supplies from a regional warehouse, reducing the need to purchase basic goods for the house. A board member noted that Lands' End donated approximately $70,000 in new clothing distributed via United Way and the county schools.

On services, staff described adult protective services’ substantiation standard: a report must meet the definition of abuse, neglect or exploitation to be substantiated, and substantiated adults are offered services that can range from in-home supports to assistance getting medical care or benefits. Staff said, where necessary, protective-services orders can be taken to court to appoint guardianship.

In closing, Director Hunt said she and other county leaders plan to travel to Raleigh to press legislators for continued support of programs under threat, specifically citing Medicaid expansion and foster-home recruitment as topics the delegation will raise.

The meeting included routine procedural motions to adopt the agenda and minutes and to adjourn; each motion was approved by voice vote.