By Erin Smith
The Bladen County Board of Commissioners met on Monday night and learned about some changes that are coming to the Department of Social Services (DSS) beginning in July. The changes are the result of the passing of North Carolina House Bill 630 in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Bladen County DSS Director Vickie Smith addressed the board to explain what the changes are and what they potentially mean for Bladen County. Smith began by stating Medicaid in not currently included in the changes. Smith as a result of the new law, all of the counties in North Carolina are required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
As a result of the memorandum of understanding, each county DSS in North Carolina will be subject to achieving certain performance measurements. Smith said that for the six months of the memorandum of understanding, there will be no corrective actions taken, but the countries will be informed of how DSS is performing. Smith said in addition to performance standards for DSS staff, there will also be staffing standards that will also be implemented.
“What is the accountability piece?” asked Commissioner Charles Ray Peterson.
Smith said that if a county fails to meet the standards for three consecutive months, a corrective plan is put into place and if they still fail to meet the standards, the State could come in and take over the operation of that DSS and/or there could be penalties and fines assessed.
“One of my concerns is the standards are very high,” said Smith.
She explained, for example, when Child Welfare staff are investigating an allegation of child abuse, there are many outside factors that can come into play such as inability to locate the family. She said sometimes it can take a case worker several days to make contact with a family. Smith said this can affect the proposed performance standard.
Commissioner Peterson also asked how much the penalties would be for a county failing to meet the standards. Smith said she did not have any figures with her. Smith also said some counties have refused to sign the memorandum.
The board took no action on the information. You can read NC House Bill 630 in its entirety here.
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