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Columbia County approves multiple social‑services hires, behavioral‑health positions and caregiver forum partnerships
Summary
On March 17 the county approved a slate of personnel actions across social services and human services, extended several contracts and authorized a $7,000 survey funded from settlement dollars to study youth vaping and addiction attitudes; the Office for the Aging also won approvals to host a caregiver forum with partner organizations.
The Columbia County Public Safety Committee on March 17 approved a series of personnel authorizations, service contracts and event partnerships intended to shore up staffing and expand behavioral‑health and caregiver supports.
Commissioner Gibson moved and the committee carried multiple human‑services personnel requests, including authorizations to fill social welfare examiner and income‑maintenance/caseworker positions and a senior caseworker role. The committee also approved creating and filling a services staff development manager position and an assistant social‑services attorney role. Motions were seconded and recorded as carried with at least one opposing vote on several items.
The committee approved a contract with Patricia O'Neal to provide mental‑health consultations for department employees and authorized a separate contract with Kids Enchanted Speech Language Therapy. Members also voted to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Columbia Green Addiction Coalition to use $7,000 of settlement funds for a Sienna Research Institute survey measuring attitudes and behaviors related to addiction, vaping and nicotine; committee members discussed complementary uses of dual‑settlement funding for provider training and continuing medical education credits.
Director Alasi presented several human‑services actions that the board carried: expansion of the Community Services Board (naming Amanda Piro to the chair position), renewal of a contract with psychiatrist Dr. Khan for another year and approval to increase a nurse‑practitioner position from 14 to 21 hours to meet prescriber demand. Alasi also sought approval to create a new senior behavioral‑healthcare coordinator specialist (a Medicaid‑funded position she said generates roughly $1.2 million in annual revenue and is budget‑neutral). The committee approved the personnel action and discussed the internal backfill and promotion chain the change will trigger.
Office for the Aging Director Benud won approval to contract with Columbia Green Community College to host a caregiver forum in partnership with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and Green County. The committee also approved agreements with three local respite providers to supply on‑site respite during the event and other supportive services. Benud announced a transition to hot grab‑and‑go meals beginning April 1, expansion of a respite pilot to weekly service at one location, and plans for Older Americans Month and Senior Day events.
Votes at a glance (selected items approved): fill social welfare examiner (motion carried); fill income maintenance/caseworker positions (carried); contract with Patricia O'Neal for employee mental‑health consultations (carried); MLU with Columbia Green Addiction Coalition for a $7,000 survey (carried); appointment of Amanda Piro to chair Community Services Board (carried); renewal of contract with Dr. Khan (carried); increase NP hours from 14 to 21 (carried); creation of senior behavioral‑healthcare coordinator specialist (carried); caregiver forum contracts and respite partnerships for Office for the Aging (carried).
What happens next: staff will proceed with hiring and contract execution, and Alasi said the department will follow a promotion/backfill process for the newly created specialist role. Office for the Aging will finalize event logistics and publish outreach materials to promote the caregiver forum and new grab‑and‑go hot meals.
