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County social services reports falling placements, discusses AI pilot and homelessness response
Summary
The Department of Social Services reported lower homelessness placements, diversion savings and service volumes, described challenges with fair hearings and staff turnover, and said it is exploring an AI phone‑triage pilot possibly 60–63% reimbursable by the state.
Department of Social Services staff gave a detailed operations update covering temporary assistance caseloads, homelessness placements, code‑blue hotel usage, service volumes, fair hearings and technology pilots.
DSS reported January average temporary assistance applications of 31 per week and a timeliness trend at 100%. The presenter said 'diversions' — cases the department resolved without shelter placement — totaled 56 for the month, producing estimated savings (presenter cited $134,400) from avoided monthly shelter placements. The presenter said 2025 placements and point‑in‑time data earlier put the county as third per capita in the state in a prior year; staff cautioned the point‑in‑time methodology has limits and noted the county’s reported numbers incorporate shelter placements, Code Blue hotel placements and shelter data from neighboring counties and providers.
DSS staff provided usage figures for 2025 (5,454 lobby visits and about 3,300 phone calls monthly) and acknowledged the transcript does not show whether those are unique individuals. The department said it placed 189 cases in 2025 and described reductions in costs over prior years but said exact unduplicated counts require further analysis.
On technology, DSS said it is exploring an AI‑based phone and outreach system (referred to by staff as EVA) that other New York counties use to automate routine phone responses and callbacks; staff estimated an annual cost near $75,000 and said state reimbursement could cover roughly 60–63% of the cost. Supervisors asked for peer contacts, demonstrations and safeguards to ensure accuracy and avoid frustrating callers.
Committee members discussed potential reuse of underused county facilities for placements and shared services with neighboring counties and emphasized succession planning given an aging workforce and several employees near retirement.
DSS flagged fair hearings performance — the presenter said the county wins about 49% of fair hearings in 2025 — and said staff want to review practices to improve that outcome. Staff promised to provide unredacted versions of the handout and follow up on unduplicated counts and other data requests.
A brief on Kendra’s Law / Assisted Outpatient Treatment funding prompted a separate motion to bring a finance resolution back to the committee; members approved forwarding that discussion to finance for further review. The committee accepted an invitation for a short walk‑through of front‑line operations immediately following the meeting.
No final budget adjustments or contract approvals were made during the update; staff will return with additional data and vendor/pilot details as requested.
