Allegany County Department of Social Services Annual Report 2015 Vicki L. Grant, MSW Commissioner
These last five years of my appointment have been fraught with changes and challenges, and 2015 was no different. Medicaid “take-over” and change has been a series of “hurry-ups and waits,” making planning difficult for administration, staff, and clientele alike. With challenges and change, comes the opportunity for growth, however; and the opportunity to streamline, learn, and participate in new ventures such as Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP), Balancing Incentive Program( BIP), and Naturally Occurring Care Networks (NOCN). These ventures may enable the department to share in the Medicaid savings generated by these reform changes. Managed long term care (MLTC) reforms may have the potential to increase the workload of those persons involved with Health Homes, emergency services or in-home personal care services. We were able to decrease staff by two persons with some of these changes in the last year. The Department has continued with our trauma-informed care initiatives, incorporating agency wide trainings and also including our partner agencies in this endeavor. An addition to this initiative was the educational neglect task force which included schools, prevention agencies and probation in our solution-focused processes. We have also instituted an ACEs assessment with homeless individuals which helps us to determine if trauma has played a part in what has happened to our presenting homeless individuals. We are at the forefront of such initiatives State-wide. Sustaining the KEYS model of supervision throughout the year has also been a concentration area and we have moved some of these concepts to supervisors agency-wide, such as providing outside coaching to those supervisors who request it and/or need it as a support for their newly acquired positions. Utilizing probationary tools for new employees has also assisted in ensuring good supervision throughout the agency. There is one more year of my participation on this State-wide committee to sustain this model and spread it to other counties. 2015 also was a year in which we either led or were involved in other important initiatives. We began a Family Group Decision Making (FGDM), a family meeting concept, conversation and training with Hillside Family of Agencies and embarked on plans to initiate a One Family Program to start in January of 2016. We have also had meetings with churches in various capacities that have led to innovative involvements for us and our community. One includes a mentoring program for youth at risk, one involves extra help for those fostering our county children, and one includes a group interested in education on child abuse prevention to congregations county-wide. Among the many audits the Department goes through on an annual basis, this last year saw us with an audit from the Office of the Inspector General regarding personal response system (lifeline) cases, the
Federal Title IV-E audit (we were one of the counties chosen for this audit),and the New York State audit of our Adult Protective Services cases. We passed these audits with little to no concerns. We continue to engage the community in as many aspects of our operations as is possible, as we all know that it takes a community to move our county along in needed improvements and services to our citizens. Participation on many community events, committee memberships, and county-wide efforts is key to our success on a macro basis. Involving staff in these efforts only helps to cement the needed relationships to get the job done. Kudos goes to the staff dedicated to these efforts, such as the WIC Fair, Child Support awareness month, pill drops, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Child Abuse prevention month, Leadership Allegany, the Senior Forum, High School Equivalency Graduation, PPAC (Partners for Prevention in Allegany County), and various other committees, events and collaborations. Despite the busy-ness of our day to day responsibilities, we remain dedicated to performing at a high level and have been successful in, once again, remaining under budget, not needing approximately 3 million in requested local share. Please take the time to thank these dedicated employees for their hard work. It is truly a pleasure to serve the people of Allegany County.
-Vicki Grant, MSW, Commissioner
Administration and Child Support Don Horan Director of Administrative Services The administration unit is made up by the following units in the Department of Social Services: Finance Unit: Administration Accounting Third Party Health Insurance Benefits Issuance Control System (BICS) Financial Management Accounting/Payroll Data Entry Child Support Enforcement: Investigation Collection DNA Enforcement Paternity Establishment All of the above work is completed by a staff of 24 persons who are very specialized in multiple fields to complete the work at hand. This ranges from Support Investigators who can do DNA collections, investigation, enforcement, and testify as an expert in court for the violation of a noncustodial parent who is delinquent, or has skipped the system for possible jail time; Investigators who write court petitions to establish paternity; Financial Staff that can fill in at a moment’s notice to operate the BICS system, and reconcile rent, institutional, and daycare payments. Other staff multi-task to handle money in the Financial Management program and complete many other tasks on time with in set deadlines. We are also tasked with the creation of the Department of Social Services Budget which averages anywhere from 31 to 33 million dollars and an expected revenue of 17 to 18 million dollars. We write all of the finance plans, such as Flexible Funds for Family Services (FFFS 3.2 million), and represent the department in many financial audits performed by EFPR Group, OTDA, and OCFS. We complete the monthly reporting to the Federal Government and State Government for reimbursement on a monthly base though state claiming schedules. All of the work that is completed in this unit has an effect on county finances and impacts the resulting local share for tax payers. The Administrative unit is truly the keeper of the money in the Department of Social Services with a budgeted local share of 13 to 14 million dollars.
Some of the most important things that we do in the finance department are to track program costs throughout the year to maintain local share. Some of the major programs are as follows. Child Welfare is paid under multiple funding streams as determined by eligibility when a child is brought into care with those being one of the following: Title XX (XX), Emergency Assistance to Families for Foster Care (EAF-FC), Title IV-E (CW), and others. Title XX had the same average case load from calendar year 2014 to 2015, but had an average cost increase of 18%. Title XX has multiple funding streams within itself such as preventive, protective, regular XX, and 200% of poverty level XX for reimbursement of expenditures. The best reimbursement that can be obtained here is from the FFFS transfer at 100% Federal funding, and 62% open-ended funding which increased by 49% in expenditures. The following charts show that we continue to maintain reimbursement in this program and cases loads mirror one another from 2014 to 2015.
Title XX Case Counts by Month 60 50 40 2014
30
2015
20 10 0 JAN
FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Title XX Cost per Month $180,000 $160,000 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000
2014
$80,000
2015
$60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Caseloads for EAF-FC had an increase of 54.31% from 2014 to 2015 with increased costs of 39.3%, but the average cost per case maintained or decreased from 2014 to 2015. There are only 2 funding streams for this program, FFFS, and 62% open-end funding. The 62% category accounts for the majority of the increase of spending in this program. The majority of children that are placed in this program go to a Relative Foster Home placement at approximate cost of $763 per month versus a child who goes into an institution at a cost of $11,170 per month.
EAF Foster Care Person Count 100 90 80
70 60 50
Cases by Mon
40
Adult Count/Mon
30
Child Count/mon
20 10
2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015
0
JANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUG SEPTOCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUG SEPTOCTNOVDEC
$250,000
EAF Foster Care Cost Per Mon
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
Cost Per Mon
$50,000
2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015
$-
JANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC
EAF Foster Care Avg Case Cost $8,000 $7,000 $6,000 $5,000 $4,000 Avg Case Cost
$3,000 $2,000 $1,000
2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015
$-
JANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMAY JUNE JULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC
IV-E child welfare remains constant in cost at less than a 1% change from 2014 to 2015, and the caseload and child count decreased by 4%. Funding is from 2 funding streams, one from the State and the other from the Federal government. This is one of the larger expenditure categories in the Social Services Budget.
Child Welfare Case and Child Count By Month 200 150
100
Monthly Case Count
50
Monthly Child Count
2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015
0
JANFEBMAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOVDECJANFEBMAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOVDEC
Child Welfare Monthly Cost
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
$400,000 $350,000 $300,000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 $-
JAN FEBMARAPRMAYJUNEJULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDECJAN FEBMARAPRMAYJUNEJULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC
Avg Cost of Child Welfare Case
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
$5,000 $4,000 $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $-
JAN FEBMARAPRMAYJUNEJULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC JAN FEBMARAPRMAYJUNEJULYAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC
Day Care 100% for working families and 75% for those who are looking for work and receive services is a smaller expenditure in the budget. This will be a category that we will have to watch closely due to Federal and State mandated changes that will open up eligibility to more families. For 2014 to 2015 the cost and caseloads remained constant.
100% Day Care Cases by Month 100 80
60
2014
40
2015
20 0 JAN
FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
100% Day Care Cost by Month $40,000 $30,000 2014
$20,000
2015
$10,000 $JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
75% Day Care Cost by Month $10,000 $8,000 $6,000
2014
$4,000
2015
$2,000
$JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
The program with the highest mandated percentage local share is Safety Net with a whopping 71% local share for Federal Non-Participating (FNP) expenditures that we have to administer in the department. This program increased in expenditures by 2.47% from calendar year 2014 to 2015, but caseloads fell by 5% to 6%. This program only has one funding stream. This program continues to remain stable for the last several years, and we continue to monitor it closely on a monthly base.
Safety Net Cost by Month Gross $160,000
$140,000 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 2014
$60,000
2015
$40,000 $20,000 $JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Safety Net Cases and Avg Cost by Month 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
2014 cases by Month 2015 cases by Month 2014 avg case cost 2015 avg case cost
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) has a decreasing case load of 5.87% with a 1.07% increase in cost of the program and is 100% Federally Funded. This program will continue to decrease as persons are aged out by the Federal 60 month limit law for persons who receive services.
TANF Cost by Month Gross $160,000 $140,000 $120,000
$100,000 $80,000 2014
$60,000
2015
$40,000 $20,000
$JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
TANF Cases by Month 250 240 230 220 210
2014
200
2015
190 180 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV
DEC
The largest part of local share in Social Services is Medicaid at 85.74% of the requested local share. Social Services only budgets this for local share and not the gross cost of the program which is $77,168,745. With the continuation of the Medicaid Cap legislation and enhanced funding from FMAP, Medicaid Cost continues to decrease the required local share of Social Services.
MEDICAID CAP $10,200,000.00 $10,000,000.00 $9,800,000.00
$9,600,000.00 MEDICAID CAP
$9,400,000.00 $9,200,000.00 $9,000,000.00
2012
2013
2014
2015
Other systems that have helped in the Medicaid area are EmedNy. This system has taken over the payments for medical transportation, and the State’s call center is now fully administering the program. Social Services have minimal duties with transportation. The other advances are the HIPP/MIPP system that has local administration running the program but all payments are made by the State. These two advancements have minimized Allegany County money leaving for months on end, and waiting for the reimbursement of the expenditures. In 2016 there will be no payments for Transportation or HIPP/MIPP by Allegany County, this will all become part of the Medicaid Cap reconciliation process.
$300,000.00 $200,000.00 TRANSPORATION
$100,000.00
COST EFFECT INSURANCE
$2012
2013
2014
2015
Not only does the Finance Unit track expenditures for program cost, we also track them for administrative cost over multiple contracts, payroll, administrative programs, and day to day operating expenses. These costs are more predictable as they are not driven by who walks through the door on any given day that will qualify for program benefits. These cost for 2015 are $7,087,447. All in all the Department of Social Services had total expenditures of $28,686,834; which does not include federal and state share of the Medicaid program, or benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) at $8,930,688. Expenditures are only one half of the job of the Finance Unit, the other is to maximize revenues for those expenditures in order to minimize local share though federal and state reimbursement. There are many funding streams for program and administration that must be worked through complex formulas, federal and state mandates, grants that must be written to recoup the maximum amount of dollars to lower our local share need. This creates a complete new budget for the finance department to estimate, and track to mitigate the cost of local share for tax payers, but still taking care of Allegany’s most needy. A snap shot of the yearend financial picture of the Department of Social Services ending 2015 is on the next page. Social Services did not require the requested local share under what was budgeted for 2015. A lot of this was due to a settlement of revenue of $2,054,844 that hit in 2015, from state 62% open-ended funding. We would like to recognize the staff for their great efforts in constantly stepping up to new tasks and dealing with ever changing New York State mandates in their quest to maximize reimbursement while minimizing local share need.
** all data backup for charts, are from the payment statistical report as supplied by NYS OTDA
The other half of the Administrative Unit is Child Support Collection Unit. This unit is tasked with establishing and enforcing child support orders as written by Family Court. Child Support Collections for 2015 were $5,989,849. This amount includes the following collections per category: Current Assistance Reimbursement Former Assistance Reimbursement Never Assistance Reimbursement -
$332,575 $3,869,524 $1,787,751
Paternity establishments for 2015 were as follows: In Hospital Acknowledgements Paternity Established by Child Support Petitions to Court
34 55
Our office went into January of 2015 with three positions vacant due to retirement of very experienced staff members. We recommended that a vacant account clerk typist position be upgraded to a support investigator which caused much turmoil from within relating to the shifting & training of employees as they promoted to new positions. We also had to hire two new account clerk typists to fill the entry level positions that were vacated by promotion. By late summer we finally had all our positions filled with ongoing training being provided by current staff. In May of 2015 the Allegany County Child Support Unit, in combination with the Allegany County One Stop Employment and Training Office, wrote a Noncustodial Parent Employment Program for Allegany County and made application for a NYS grant. We were successful in our endeavor and were notified in August 2015 that Allegany County was one of 8 NYS counties chosen to receive the funding to administer our program. Both offices felt this program was important to be involved in from the ground up. We wanted to assist noncustodial parents, living in Allegany County, in receiving needed employment & case management services to provide them with the opportunities to develop successful financial and emotional relationships with their children. Under the program the noncustodial parents are directed through court action to apply for the following pre-employment services through the Allegany County Employment and Training One-Stop Center: 1) an in-depth assessment relating to work history, skills assessment, education, secondary/vocational training; 2) identification & evaluation of barriers to obtaining/retaining employment including basic needs, transportation, physical/mental limitations, legal issues, substance abuse, & disabilities; 3) referrals to partner agencies and community resources to assist in barrier mitigation; 4) initiate an assisted job search, and 5) begin resume preparation. We included in our grant proposal to utilize both on-the-job training components and post-employment supportive services as well. The Department of Social Services was designated as the agency that would provide case management services for the non- custodial parents under the program.
August was National Child Support Awareness Month. On each Thursday during the month of August 2016, from 11:00am-3:00pm, the Allegany County Child Support Office manned a table at the Farmer’s Market in Belmont. Our Support Investigators used this time to interact with the public to provide information about our program and to answer general questions.
Additionally, in August 2015, our office notified the NYS Center for Child Well-Being that the Allegany County Child Support Office was interested in participating in a statewide arrears pilot program. The program was offered out to the local districts to create opportunities for noncustodial parents with permanently assigned arears to engage or reengage with the child support program. This pilot program was discussed, and decided to become part of the Allegany Child Support program. Letters of explanation were sent out to 49 eligible noncustodial parents in Allegany County at the beginning of October 2015. Interest had to be expressed to our office by December 31, 2015, for participation and we had 12 noncustodial parents respond (total of 13 cases). Our office will be working with the noncustodial parents and the NYS Center for Child Well-Being through January of 2017 on this pilot program. We ended the 2015 year losing three of our most senior staff members. Two employees retired and one employee moved to another department for a promotional opportunity. Our office continued to struggle throughout 2015 to maintain strong collection efforts, in part due to the changes that occurred at the beginning of 2015. The loss of three more employees at the end of the year created more changes that will continue to disrupt our collection efforts in 2016. Even though our annual collections decreased by .79% from December of 2014 to December of 2015, our petition count did increase from 806 petitions filed in 2014 to 832 petitions filed in 2015.
Petitions Filed 100 80 60 40
2014
20
2015
0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
A separate goal for 2015 was to increase our support establishment percentages from 87.71% in 2014 to a figure above 90%. We were able to increase our support establishment percentage to 91.86% in 2015.
Support Establishment 92.00% 90.00% 88.00%
2015
2015
JANFEBMAR APRMAYJUNE JULYAUGSEPT
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
AVERAGE UPSTATE COUNTIES
2015
84.00%
2015
ALLEGANY COUNTY
2015
86.00%
OCT NOV DEC
All things considered for 2015, the Allegany County Child Support Office was able to continue to provide consistent services to the population that we serve. We would like to recognize the great efforts that have been made by the staff in the Child Support Office in adapting to the loss of staff and their help in training new staff members. The staff conducted themselves in a professional manner in their acceptance of new responsibilities that were instituted in 2015 based on receiving the grant for the Non-custodial Parent Employment Program and on our voluntary participation in the pilot Arrears Initiative to Improve Child Support Compliance Program.
Respectfully submitted by: Donald Horan-Director of Administrative Services Sharon Wallace- Child Support Enforcement Coordinator 2015 Christina Burrows-Child Support Enforcement Coordinator 2016
Temporary Assistance Jeanette Kaiser, Director
Kim Scutt Christine Todd Principal Social Welfare Examiners
Temporary Assistance 2015 Temporary Assistance encompasses three main areas--Public Assistance, SNAP/Food Stamps, and Medicaid. Within these are several specialties which include Chronic Care/Nursing Homes, HEAP, Homeless Housing, Managed Care, Disabled/SSI, Emergency/Immediate Needs, Employment/JobTrak, Fraud/ Recovery, and Child Care. Each program and subspecialty imposes specific processes and training to meet Federal and State requirements. In addition, employees are often faced with new or changed criteria and processes. This necessitates training on an ongoing basis to retain knowledgeable employees. Public Assistance provides cash benefits under Family Assistance or Safety Net programs. Both require work experience activities for able bodied adults. We continue to work closely with the Employment and Training Center to develop more effective approaches for assisting these customers. Our search for ways to develop and improve the process of moving individuals toward self-sufficiency is ongoing. The process could include training for employment, work experience (JobTrak), assistance in applying for SSI/Disability, or meeting other needs that would lead to self-support such as work supports (transportation and child care), housing, budgeting, and compliance with physical therapy or other treatment programs. The number of Safety Net recipients has continued to slightly decrease. In 2015 the average monthly case count was 215 active cases with a total of 301 individuals. This is down from 220 active cases with 307 individuals in 2014. Substantial cost savings have been achieved as the result of the homeless apartment, which has kept housing costs for this population down, and the EAC class requirements, which have helped prevent the number of new Safety Net cases from significantly increasing. Family Assistance cases also decreased in 2015. There was an average of 216 cases per month consisting of approximately 512 recipients compared to a monthly average in 2014 of 240 cases with 595 individuals. Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health assessments were given to 500 individuals in 2015. These assessments resulted in the following treatment referrals: 124 outpatient, 23 inpatient, 15 residential placements, 33 mental health, 28 mental health plus drug outpatient, 24 mandated to treatment, and 253 not referred. These assessments include all homeless applicants for emergency housing. SNAP Benefits (Food Stamps) In 2015 the agency received and processed 2,370 SNAP applications. This is an average of 198 applications per month. Throughout the year there were approximately 3,237 households consisting of 5,990 individuals in receipt of SNAP benefits each month. The number of individuals and families applying on-line via the web (myBenefits) continues to increase. When applying
on-line the client is interviewed by phone while the worker enters information into the computer page by page. As a result, interviews take longer and benefit processing is delayed. The myBenefits/myWorkspace system includes SNAP recertifications and HEAP applications. Public assistance case processing functionality is being piloted for future statewide use. Slow processing/response time continues to be an issue with this system. Medicaid In 2015 there was an average of 5,122 active cases each month. These cases included 7,723 people in receipt of Medicaid. Approximately 1,528 of these individuals received their Medicaid through MA-SSI. Allegany County is a mandatory Managed Care enrollment county. As of 12/31/15 there were 5,274 Managed Care enrollees. Mandatory Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) went into effect in July 2015. In 2015 there was an average of 225 active and 15 pending Chronic Care (Nursing home and Long Term Care) cases. New York State’s Medicaid Enrollment Center continues to recertify a number of Medicaid cases. These cases are currently open on Medicaid at the local DSS where any undercare changes and other case processing activities are completed. The Enrollment Center does simple renewals that are not SSIrelated and are not chronic care. While some cases continue to be returned to the local DSS for recertification the process has improved. The enrollment center does not extend the coverage for as long and as frequently without regard to eligibility. Applicants and recipients have continued to contact the local DSS with urgent and emergency needs, when having problems contacting the Enrollment Center, and while their cases are waiting to be processed at the Enrollment Center. Our experience with the Health Benefit Exchange so far has been similar to working with the Enrollment Center. There continues to be some confusion, unexpected delays, and unanswered questions. We do not have a liaison at the Exchange nor do we have access to information on the Exchange. When we receive requests or concerns from anyone about Exchange cases we cannot do anything to help except to advise them to use the contact number on the back of their card. A fair amount of uncertainty remained regarding the State takeover of ongoing Medicaid cases and other segments of the Medicaid population while target dates were delayed. We now have seven employees trained as Certified Applications Counselors (CAC) to assist the public with applying through the Health Care Exchange System. The CAC’s recently completed their second update training to stay current as required by the State. Burials: The agency paid a total of $56,920.81 for 37 burials in 2015.
Population vs. Benefits Received 1.71%
16.27%
12.62%
Total Population 47,462 PA Individuals 813 SNAP Individuals 5,990 MA Individuals* 12,103
*Most recent data as of 8/2015
Employment Unit The Employment Unit assessed 831 individuals for employability. Two (2) JOBTRAK crews are helping to train individuals in basic skills and to become more employable. There were 86 individuals on the mobile work crew in 2015 and 30 at other sites. Forty-seven (47) individuals gained employment due, wholly or in part, to the JOBTRAK program. For 2015 this Unit set as their goal to reach out to existing as well as new “not for profit” agencies within Allegany Co. to secure additional JOBTRAK worksites. As of today’s date this agency has a total of 127 contracts with “not for profit” worksites this includes 29 that were either new to us or renewed in 2015. Our goal for 2016 is to continue our success by securing more contracts with worksites, help our clients to engage in full time employment, training and or schooling. The Employment Unit continues to assign Safety Net applicants to attend a 10 day, 2 hours per day, class to assess their knowledge of basic skills to become employed and teach basics of applying for jobs, resume writing, how to be successful when employment is obtained etc. This program was implemented 1/14/13 and has become an effective tool in cost avoidance of Safety Net local share. There were 293 Safety Net applicants assigned to classes and of that number 188 were denied due to not attending class. Of those denied, 34 reapplied. By the close of 2015 we had 88 applicants complete the classes.
County share of the cost avoidance for these classes was $ 486,168.00 minus $1,702.85 in mileage costs to attend for a net savings of $ 484,465.15.
Per cost avoidance figures set by the OTDA, potential cost savings for the year: TA - $ 684,696.00 minus the 29% for county share. SNAP - $ 306,816.00 MA - $ 1,027,608.00
Temporary Housing Assistance (THA) for the homeless overall is on a slight overall increase. In 2015, Allegany County provided rooms for 75 homeless applicants, up from 66 in 2014. In 2015 THA for families stayed the same with 5 families, however the adult/children count was up (8 adults and 11 children this year). In 2014 we housed 5 families consisting of 6 adults and 8 children. THA increased from 52 to 56 for single individuals in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Of the 56 individuals we housed in 2015, 11 were parolees (3 of which were level 2 or 3 sex offenders) and 2 individuals were on probation. The Homeless Apartment continues to be a cost savings venture. In 2015 the apartment provided 403 bed days to homeless individuals. The average stay for someone in Temporary Housing is 15.71 days. The cost of the apartment for 2015 was $12,000.00 ($1000/mo. for 12 months). The cost of the 403 bed days at the motel would have been $21,762 (403 bed days x $54/night). Additionally, there were 4 persons presenting homeless to the agency that refused the apartment. The total cost savings for 2015 due to the homeless apartment was $13,155.36. 403 bed days at motel 12 months apartment rent Savings
$21,762.00 12,000.00 $ 9,762.00
Additional Savings (4 refusals at $54/night X 4 individuals X 15.71 avg. stay) $3,393.36 Savings (from above) 9,762.00 TOTAL SAVINGS $13,155.36
Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) households receive benefits from DSS by direct application to the Department, by application to Office for the Aging or ACCORD and by on-line application through the myBenefits website. The number of applications received for HEAP continues to increase. In 2015 we had 4,158 regular HEAP applications, up from the 2,541 received in 2014. This number includes TA/SNAP benefits as well as HEAP only cases. Emergency HEAP applications also increased with 455 requests in 2014 and 630 in 2015. We continue to see a marked increase in applicants that have never applied for services before. Daycare workers began making payments through the CCTA (Child Care and Attendance) system in June 2011. This system was designed to enable child care providers to submit their bills online. At this time we have 103 active child care providers that serve Allegany County. Approximately 13.6% of these providers are using the CCTA system to bill the agency. This continues to increase as only 11% of our providers used CCTA for billing in 2014. We continue to encourage providers to utilize the system. We currently have 72 families (121 children) open on Low-Income Day Care services. This is an decrease from last year’s 90 enrolled participants. These families primarily need day care while they are working. Many of them need child care for non-traditional hours and there are no licensed day care providers providing care for these hours in Allegany County. Most families must have legally exempt relatives provide this care. The majority of our providers offer school age child care services for after school and snow days. In 2015 this agency paid out $343,261.86 in Day Care benefits. Child Care cases are chosen by the state at random on a quarterly basis for review. The reports on those reviews are sent to the state. Recovery efforts in 2015 from overpaid Temporary Assistance, SNAP, HEAP, Medicaid and Child Care benefits brought in $154,941.07. As a means to make collection of monies due Allegany County more efficient, Allegany County is currently using CAMS (Cash Management System) for billing statements and they are being mailed quarterly. SSI Interim Repayments resulted in a reimbursement of Public Assistance benefits in the amount of $89,964.44. Estate Liens recovered $30,785.92 of monies paid for medical assistance. Concerted efforts in collections in all areas resulted in a total of $649,996.15. There were 135 regular investigation referrals and 248 Front End Detection investigations done before any assistance was granted for a cost avoidance of $209,250.00. Twenty cases were referred for criminal action; all were found guilty. Of these 20 cases, the guilty verdict resulted in Public Assistance, Snap or Child Care disqualification and/or avoidance of $32,988. Total new over grants founded due to the results of an investigation, both criminal and inadvertent household error was $144,068.53. Collections:
$649,996.15
FEDS Cost Avoidance TA - $87,642 MA - $87,408 SNAP - $27,996 CC - $6,204
$209,250.00
Disqualification Avoidance (see attached)
$32,988.00
Reference Sheet for Cost Avoidance Figures Abbreviations: FEDS – Front End Detection System SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SN – Safety Net FA – Family Assistance MA – Medical Assistance TA – Temporary Assistance CC – Child Care Monthly Cost Avoidance values set by OTDA Due to Feds denial: SNAP/FA - $243 SNAP/SN - $272 SN - $607 FA - $631 SN/MA - $911 FA/MA - $765
Due to Intentional Program violation denial: SNAP - $141 CC - $1034 SN - $361 FA - $276 SN/MA - $1,430 FA/MA - $925
4 SNAP disqualifications - $141/mo. X 4 cases X 12 mo. = $6,768 2 SNAP disqualifications - $141/mo. X 2 cases X 24 mo. = $6,768 1 CC disqualification - $1034/mo. X 1 case X 6 mo. = $6,204 3 FA 6 month disqualifications - $276 X 3 cases X 6 mo. = $4,968 1 FA 12 month disqualification - $276 X 1 case X 12 mo. = $3,312 1 FA 18 month disqualification - $276 X 1 case X 18 mo. = $4,968 Total Cost Avoidance due to IPV for 2015 = $32,988
Staff Development
Rose Scott, Coordinator
Staff Development continues to plan and coordinate trainings for our new and experienced staff. New worker orientation is completed for all new staff hires. In addition, the education component of the training contract provides limited tuition assistance for qualified staff whom are interested in pursuing higher education. Currently, we have two of our management team who are working towards their Master’s Degree. At this time they are surpassed the halfway mark toward finishing their degree. We are very proud of our employees’ commitment to furthering their education.
2015 Staff Highlights
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100% of staff completed their mandatory annual confidentiality training
•
100% of staff completed their mandatory workplace violence training
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100% of Services Supervisors/Child Protective Staff completed their mandatory Training requirement
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Poverty training was provided to all DSS staff in 2015. Denise Schaller, the owner of Schaller Speaks, completed her Bridges out of Poverty program for staff. This training provided staff with the knowledge of understanding the culture of poverty. Our department works with people from poverty, therefore it is important to understand these individuals challenges and strengths.
•
Our annual staff training was held in November of 2015. This year’s event included a guest speaker who talked about working relationships and how to foster positive rather than negative relationships in the work place. ADA training was done by Commissioner Grant. In addition, everyone was exposed to information regarding all of DSS programs via a rousing game of Jeopardy.
Services Julie Tomasi, LCSW-R, ACSW Deputy Commission
Relationship building is the key to successful outcomes. We have continued to be committed to this concept as our foundation as can be seen in a variety of areas. We have continued our focus on developing our leadership to further enhance our supervision practices and infrastructure. Allegany Department of Social Services participated in the Keys to Excellence in Your Supervision (KEYS) project throughout 2014 and continued into 2015. This allowed all of the supervisors to focus on the supervision that is taking place and to identify our needs and build on our strengths. Within KEYS, a Local Implementation team (LIT) was identified. The LIT team is comprised of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Supervisors, two caseworkers from each team, and OCFS regional office staff. During LIT meetings a work plan was developed with a combination of short-term, intermediate and long-term goals. Committees were formed to address the identified plan and included some on-going committees. The LIT team identified the short-term, intermediate and long-term work groups. The groups continued to make progress or reach their goals in 2015. An example of an on-going group is the SF-360 (Solution Focused Trauma Informed Care) Committee. The purpose of this committee is to offer solution focused, trauma informed case reviews to assist workers with difficult cases. A significant focus on solution-focused trauma informed care continued into 2015. One way that we have sustained the focus on this model within DSS is with our “SF-360” team. SF-360 symbolizes a 360 degree “global” assessment with a solution focused trauma informed perspective. The SF-360 team worked to develop a case review process which integrates a Family Assessment Response (FAR) case review model with solution focused trauma informed service planning. Throughout 2014 and 2015, supervisors have led the case review process. In 2015 we moved from bi-monthly case reviews to monthly case reviews. The Caseworkers who have participated in the case review reported feeling that they were extremely supported and that they were able to see the case with an increased view of the impact of traumas on the family system in addition to expanding their view of solutions. At times, some of the solutions were difficult to explore but they felt supported and validated with their work. An outcome that was unanticipated was that staff realized that they had partnered extremely well with the other professionals involved in the case. The staff presenting recognized they exhibited high communication and an increased support with each other while working with challenging situations. In 2014, the temporary assistance and financial teams were trained in the SF-TIC model. On a case by case basis we have invited other employees of DSS, voluntary agency staff, other county employees, and/or school personnel to attend. We are exploring the possibility of inviting family members to attend in 2016. In March 2015, the beginning of a crucial and transformational work group began regarding Family Group Decision Making and Kinship Care. This work group was comprised of the DSS Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Foster care Supervisor, DSS foster care staff, and Hillside administration, supervisors and line staff. As a result of the work within this committee a “One Family” pilot was developed. The plan included the Foster care and Hillside teams to complete a “Family Meetings” tool kit with the assistance of CDHS. This provided the entire team a common framework and knowledge base for the pilot. An unexpected result that occurred with this endeavor was the interest from the CPS
and Preventive Supervisors to participate in the tool kit. Each team identified two (2) champions along with (2) supervisors to participate in the family meetings tool kit as a way to begin to explore developing this within their teams. The tool kit began in October 2015 and was completed in December 2015. Overall, each of the teams with their strong leadership has achieved many accomplishments. Unit accomplishments follow under their respective headings, followed by an annual statistical spreadsheet at the end of the report. In conclusion, as we keep our focus on the development of leaders within each of our staff and supporting our supervisors in providing optimal supervision, we will have better outcomes in reaching common goals of reducing risk, increasing safety and keeping families together! We will be most successful in achieving this outcome when we work in partnership with families and with our community partners! We have found success working from a TEAM approach: Together Everyone Achieves More. Child and Family Services CPS ❖ Allegany County had our 6th successful year of FAR (Family Assessment Response) which is a differential response within Child Protection Services (CPS). This program offers families an alternative to the traditional CPS investigative process. Families are offered the ability to work through the allegations that were made in cooperation and through partnering with the FAR caseworker. At the close of a FAR case, it is not necessary to make a determination of indicated or unfounded by the Department. However, it is important to recognize that there are certain cases, by statute that will never be able to be considered for this differential response program such as sexual abuse or severe physical abuse. The FAR program is supervised by Angela Tinder who works in conjunction with the CPS investigative unit supervised by Gina Kocsis. ❖ We had the opportunity to have two FAR Coaching sessions in February and September in 2015. These sessions coincided at crucial times when we had changes within the FAR staff composition. This allowed each person as well as the overall team to have the dedicated time to develop the skills that they needed. ❖ Forensic Interviewing: changes occurred within the area of Forensic Interviewing and many CPS caseworkers attended. The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, CPS Supervisor, County Attorney, and ADA all attended an overview/informational meeting regarding these changes. ❖ The CONNECTIONS upgrades were discussed and the impacts on CPS work. Areas such as person merges, program choices and adding people to the case were discussed. The sex trafficking screen that became available at the end of 2015 has been embraced by the FAR team. These questions are to assess if someone is or may be likely to be a victim of sexual abuse. They viewed this “tab” as an opportunity to have crucial conversations with families on the dynamics of “grooming” and to correct outdated ideas like “stranger danger”. This allows them to model appropriate conversations for parents around difficult topics like sexual abuse.
❖ A 360 SF-Trauma Informed Care case review was held to focus on School Truancy. CPS participated, Probation, PINS Reform team, School counselors, Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and supervisors were in attendance. ❖ “Dysfunction of a Team” was presented by a CPS Caseworker who was attending the Leadership Allegany program to their CPS team. ❖ The joint FAR and KEYS (cabinet) Supervisory meeting that was held in Albany in October was attended by the CPS Supervisor and a CPS caseworker to represent Allegany County. ❖ All staff participated in an Agency wide training of “Bridges out of Poverty”
Community Outreach has continued in a variety of settings Child Abuse prevention occurs within and throughout the community and our partnerships are a huge key to prevention. Working in partnership with other community agencies and within DSS teams has continued to be a priority throughout 2015 which supports maintaining positive relationships. The following are some examples: ❖ Continued work with law enforcement on our MDT has occurred. The CPS team has continued to recognize the importance of coordinating on cases and has found a variety of ways to show law enforcement that their services are not only essential to accomplishing our mission of keeping children safe, but crucial to our ability to do so. Law Enforcement has requested assistance of CPS workers to complete Forensic interviews on law enforcement investigations. Monthly meetings are held for our MDT Case Review. The following representatives attend the meeting: District Attorney (DA), DA Victims Advocate, CAC Director, CAC Counselor, Law Enforcement, CPS Caseworkers, and the CPS Supervisor. The CPS Supervisor participated on a panel for the CAC orientation. The DA’s office awarded one of our CPS caseworkers for her outstanding work in CPS during the year. ❖ October 2015 the MDT and Allegany County participated in the 4th Educational Summit held in the community. Due to the success of the project, we continued to participate in the summit. This occurred in conjunction with our Child Advocacy Center (CAC). ❖ There has continued to be growth and development in our working relationship with our Domestic Violence Collaboration with the ACCORD Corporation. A DV work group which involves the CPS/DV collaboration team meets on a quarterly basis. This year OCFS participated in one of these meetings to review OCFS standards. The CPS supervisor has continued to maintain on-going contact with ACCORD as needed to address issues or topics pertaining to both DSS and ACCORD.
❖ We have continued to build on community opportunities and outreach. One of the areas we have done this was to provide mandated reporter training to the ACCORD corporation. In addition, we have also had some requests through some of the school districts to provide training to their staff. We successfully continued this training throughout 2015. We will continue to be as we always have been available to our community agencies and partners as needed for in-services or for additional inquiries. ❖ Quarterly attendance to the Child Health and Safety team has continued to occur. The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, CPS Supervisor and County Attorney all attend these meetings. We continued this collaboration for another year with Cattaraugus County. ❖ Youth with Problematic Sexual Behaviors work group was developed and headed by the local CAC. Allegany County DSS participated in the work group along with Law Enforcement, DA’s office, Probation Department, County Attorney’s office, Cattaraugus County DSS, and local school representatives. Data Trends The total number of Child Abuse/Maltreatment reports decreased from our record high of 800 in 2012 to 681 in 2013 and 657 in 2014 to 658 in 2015. During 2015, 38% of the reports were indicated and 62% were unfounded. Of the 658 calls received from the SCR; 72% (476) have been traditional investigations and 28% (182) have been tracked into the Family Assessment Response (FAR). The trend of approximately 75% to the traditional CPS track and 25% to the FAR track has continued.
2015 Child Protective ServicesTotal Hot Line Calls 658 28% 72%
Family Assessment Response Investigative Response
Given the number of reports that were received throughout the year; only two of the CPS staff had more than 15 Investigations on their caseload at the end of the month in April and October. The percentage of overdue investigations averaged six (6%). The percentage of timely safety assessments was seventy-six (76%) throughout the year. Given the number of calls that occurred in 2015 and the number of staff available; the average cases/worker was approximately 75 for the year. This varies given our sporadic staffing pattern throughout the year. The number of Drug and Alcohol allegations continued to increase by 23 cases this past year representing 26% of our cases. The majority of cases that warrant a removal due to imminent danger or the filing of a petition to family court has drug and alcohol allegations.
2015 Child Protective ServicesTotal Hot Line Calls 658 Average cases/worker/year
75
98
Reports citing Sexual Abuse 50 147
Reports citing Drug/Alcohol Reports citing Domestic Violence
We had a slight increase in the areas of Lack of medical care and excessive corporal punishment, burns, scalding. During 2015, of the 28% of cases that went the FAR track, eight (8) of the cases or four (4%) percent of the cases needed to move to the traditional CPS track for investigation. This can be attributed to more fully using our criteria for FAR cases for lacerations, bruises, welts, excessive corporal punishment and parents drug and alcohol allegations. These safety assessments are very carefully assessed in order to ensure that they would be cases eligible for FAR. We also had an increase in cases with parent arrests. Group supervision is used to discuss these cases in more detail. The request for 1034 investigations remained about the same from the previous year. During 2014, twenty-seven (27) were requested and in 2015, twenty-six (26) were requested through Allegany County Family Court during the year. This number represents four (4%) percent of the reports that we receive. When a 1034 comes in during an active FAR case, it needs to be closed in order for a traditional investigation to occur.
FAR Reports by Allegations 2015 3%
1%
Inadequate Guardianship (46%)
3% Educational Neglect (11%) 13% Lack of Supervision (10%) 46% 10%
Inadequate food, clothing, shelter (10%) Lack of Medical Attention (13%)
10% Lacerations, bruises, welts (3%) 11% Excessive Corporal Punishment (3%)
Foster Care/Adoption/Home-Finding/PINS (Person in need of Supervision) Given the increase over time in relative foster placements; the Foster Care Retention and Recruitment team and foster care caseworkers have discussed ways to provide support to our relative foster parents in order to sustain the relative placements. The teams have been assessing the needs that the relatives have. We began discussions with the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), Center for Development of Human Services (CDHS) and Hillside Children’s home, a voluntary agency on beginning to use Family Meetings to address this need. In March 2015, the beginning of a crucial and transformational work group began regarding Family Group Decision Making and Kinship Care. This work group was comprised of the DSS Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Foster care Supervisor, DSS foster care staff, and Hillside administration, supervisors and line staff. As the process continued we had a joint training with Hillside Children’s Home provided by Dr. Joe Crumbly regarding Kinship care. This training was to provide an opportunity to further explore the unique needs of kinship families as well as provide an opportunity to develop our “One Family” pilot. At the conclusion of this training “One Family” was adopted as the name of the project. The name reinforces that the children who are coming into care are part of “one family” with a vast number of members who need to work together for the children’s best interest. The Foster care team and the Hillside team completed a “Family Meetings” tool kit with the assistance of CDHS. This provided the entire team a common framework and knowledge base for the pilot. An unexpected result that occurred with this endeavor was the interest from the CPS and Preventive Supervisors to participate in the tool kit. Each team identified two (2) champions along with (2) supervisors to participate in the family meetings tool kit as a way to begin to explore developing this within their teams. The details of the pilot were worked out between the two agencies and a start date of January 1, 2016 was agreed upon. Prior to January, we had two opportunities to have a “trial run” with the family group decision making model with both a foster care case and a preventive services case. Both of these opportunities allowed for some “lessons learned” to occur and to incorporate these into the pilot. We look forward to other growth within this area in 2016! Towards the end of 2015 we had an unprecedented explosion of communication and involvement with some local churches. We spent the fall preparing for follow-up meetings from 2012 with the Houghton Wesleyan Church. During the first presentation to the church in 2012, they were looking to support the foster parents that they had within the congregation and we were looking to increase the number of DSS foster parents. A significant amount of communication occurred between DSS and the Outreach committee of the Wesleyan Church in preparation for a second meeting to occur in January 2016. A united outreach effort was developed to be presented that would include a variety of ways to support current foster parents as well as to build on the supports that would be available to kinship foster homes, youth in residential placements, financial support as well as emotional and immediate supports. They were also looking to develop on-going support for the Royal Family Kids camp for youth who attended the camp. Another exciting endeavor that occurred was with the Youth for Christ church and their opportunity to join a national mentoring effort. The head of the Youth for Christ attended a conference on this national mentoring effort and recognized how well it could work within Allegany County. The Youth for
Christ Church set up meetings in order to collaborate and explore this program. Allegany County Department of Social Services identified the use of this mentoring program within both our foster care and preventive services teams. We identified a foster care caseworker to work in partnership within this new pilot mentoring program. The end of 2015 marked the beginning of a new relationship with our local churches and a new opportunity. Another way that our faith community joined with DSS occurred with our foster care Christmas party. This is an extremely unique and successful annual event. This is typically held the first week of December and includes DSS staff, Voluntary Agencies, families, foster parents and youth who are in foster care. The event includes a dinner and a variety of opportunities for everyone to have fun before Santa arrives with gifts. Music is playing; there is a robot to say hello to and a snowman to dance with; as well as a picture booth. An enormous bounce house stands in the center of the room and is closed down when Santa arrives and is always a huge hit with everyone. This year the dinner was catered by the Riverside Assembly of God Church. They prepared delicious family and child friendly food and they served it too. This freed staff to visit with the families and ensure that their needs were being addressed. The planning for this highly structured and well-planned event begins during the summer. It involves getting donations for Santa’s presents from staff and community members. We have had attorney offices that have donated year after year. Legislator Pullen’s law office has donated for many years. Two years in a row we were privileged to have the Chairperson of the Human Services committee, Legislator LaForge, attend our event. He was extremely impressed with the entire event. This event not only serves as a Christmas visit for families; it provides an opportunity of “healing” for both families and staff. Youth who were removed by a CPS worker are “catching up with them” and telling them how well they are doing. Parents are talking about their accomplishments and at times a “thank you” is spoken for helping their family. It is an event that certainly reminds us what the spirit of Christmas is all about!
Allegany County has continued participation in both CAFFA and the CAFFA Southern Tier group for a number of years as part of a regional effort for recruitment and retention of foster parents. We have also availed ourselves of help with recruitment and retention efforts through the use of State-sponsored contract staff. This year one of our home finders serves on the Executive CAFFA team. We view this involvement as part of our plan for recruitment/retention. In the past, word of mouth has been paramount in our quest for more foster parents. Getting information out to the public via store front windows, flyers, participation in fairs or other events, or group projects has all been part of this initiative. We continue to build upon our current strategies, taking into account an increased need for training and support for our current and new foster parents. There is a “foster parent crisis” across the state. The number of people becoming foster parents is at an all-time low. CAFFA is working within our region to expand resources and address this challenge. Allegany County participated with Friendly’s Restaurant by setting up an informational table. During this time CAFFA received a portion of the total amounts of each order. We also participated in the annual CAFFA race held in October. Allegany County foster care team and staff were excited to participate in the first annual recognition event that was held at Darien Lake. This was a tremendously successful
event that Allegany county foster homes, home finders, and Deputy Commissioner attended with over 500 in attendance. This event was one of the biggest recognition events in CAFFA history! An area that we are committed to exploring and developing alternatives is the way that foster parents are certified. We committed to cross-training our foster care team and had two (2) caseworkers trained as MAPP leaders and another two (2) caseworkers trained in Deciding Together. This allows us to use our staff resources to more quickly work with people interested in exploring becoming foster parents. The Coached Family Time Model continues to be a successful partnership between the County and voluntary agencies. The coached family time visitation model is a family engagement strategy in which the “coach” assists parents in developing a plan for their time with their children who are in foster care; in which activities and strategies are designed to meet each individual child’s developmental, safety and permanency needs. Through this process, parents are more likely to either make the necessary changes that will help unite families in a quicker time frame or recognize more quickly that changes will not be made and that decisions for termination lead to permanency. Across all three voluntary agencies, their management has been extremely supportive and encourages participation in the CDHS Tool kit and attendance to related workshops and training sessions. There are a number of positive outcomes that have occurred while using the Coached Family Time model. Nearly all families seem to benefit from the increased awareness of what is expected of them in regard to their parenting skills. They are empowered and encouraged to have fun and enjoy their time with their children. Coaches (or visit supervisors) express a higher level of involvement and accomplishment even with the slightest gains. As the family time increases, parents are able to show that they don’t need reminders and follow through on their own, move to unsupervised visits, parents initiate tasks on their own, and parents are able to build on their existing strengths. All team members have expressed enthusiasm and a willingness to support the Coached Family Time initiative. Another positive outcome has been that the agencies involved in the Coached family time have also participated in our Solution-focused trauma informed care (SF-360) monthly case review. This case review provides an opportunity to review cases using both a trauma and solution focused lens. The results of these reviews have been positive in continuing our partnerships with our local agencies as well as in developing next steps and supporting the intense and challenging work that occurs within child welfare. The SF-360 case review is a way to sustain the commitment to Solution-focused trauma informed care. The focus on solution focused trauma informed care (SFTIC) has continued into 2015. This continues to be a priority area. We are committed to ensuring that on-going trainings occur and skills that have been developed are sustained and enhanced. SF-TIC continues to be the foundation of the work that we are doing within foster care and across all of Child Welfare in Allegany County. On-going trainings will ensure sustainability. These trainings have provided a baseline to build from in creating a culture that provides a common language and to advance the framework of our work with families. In May 2015, a foster parent recognition dinner was held. Foster parents were recognized for their commitment to working with foster care youth and for making a difference in children and families’ lives. The foster parents who attend look forward to a themed dinner and being recognized with deep appreciation. The theme this year was “A Red Carpet Event”. The foster parents walked the “red carpet” and had the caseworker paparazzi taking pictures. They also left with their choice of baskets. The Department encourages caseworkers from all service areas to attend. This is a highlight of the year
for both foster parents and caseworkers. During this time, foster parents are recognized for their length of time being foster parents. They are asked to share their insights and words of encouragement with other foster parents. There was a mutual sense of respect and appreciation for the partnership that exists with foster parents and the Department. This was the first year that two kinship foster parents attended the event. This enhanced the sharing and appreciation of the foster families.
Data Trends At the close of 2015, Allegany County had 99 children in foster care; 17 children or 17%, of which were in county foster homes. Thirty-four children, or 34%, were in therapeutic foster care and 15 children, or 15%, were in higher level care, including group homes and residential placements. The number of youth in therapeutic foster homes and the number of youth in a higher level of care remained about the same. Currently, there are thirteen (13) children freed for adoption. Of the thirteen (13) freed youth; one (1) of the youth are over 14 and refusing to be adopted. Of the other twelve (12) youth freed, all are in pre-adoptive placements. The majority of Allegany County’s children are Caucasian; we infrequently have children of other ethnicities placed into care. Throughout 2015, we had 93% of youth were Caucasian, eight percent (8%) who are identified as unknown. Overall, we do not usually have a disproportionate racial inequality for the children in care, based upon Allegany County’s population. The breakdown of our foster care population is as follows: 96% of the youth in foster care placement are due to abuse/neglect; one child is in an OCFS placement, and 1 is a JD placement. The majority of the children placed in foster care are under five (5) years old. According to Data Warehouse Admissions Summary Report, 41 admissions occurred into foster care during 2015. Refer to the chart below for the age ranges. Most of our homes house children under the age of 12; this is an increase from the last plan which was under the age of 9. This increase seems to be due in part to the foster homes taking in siblings that are older than 9 years old along with the younger children in the family. This has allowed us to have siblings placed together. Frequently, children older than this are often placed into a therapeutic or higher level of care; especially if they are teens or have behavioral issues. This sometimes creates an issue for two or more children from one family being placed at the appropriate level. One younger child may be more appropriately placed at the DSS level, but the older sibling may have to be placed at the therapeutic level, so, in order to place them together, DSS ends up paying therapeutic level for both, unless the voluntary agency agrees to a lesser amount. We have had a couple of these situations arise in the past and we were able to work details out with the voluntary agencies to manage the children’s needs appropriately. If we were to appropriately train and put in supports for a DSS home to take on both of these children in the above scenario, then both children may be more appropriately served. Given our current foster parent demographics during the last plan we were not able to identify a family that would be able to be trained and
supported to specialize in working with specialized needs in a sibling group of two or more. We have continued to identify this as an important goal and will maintain our focus to identify and support a future foster parent in this role.
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Age of Youth in Foster Care 14 2015 Admissions 9
7
4
6 1
0-2 years3-5 years6-9 years 10-13 years
14-17 years
18+ years
Thirty-six percent (36%) of our youth reside with relatives in an Article 10 placement (15%), relative foster home (11%) or KinGAP arrangement (10%). This shows a trend in the involvement of relative placements as either certified foster homes or as Article 10 relative placement. Certified relative foster homes allows for KinGAP opportunities. We have continued to assess the different needs that exist within relative foster homes. Due to the increase in relative placements we have had a 50% increase in KinGAP cases. The number of Kinship Guardianship cases is dependent on how it meets the needs of each particular family. This information is shared as is appropriate for families, but may not be the best choice for certain families. During 2013 we had our first two (2) Kinship Guardianship cases. We had three (3) additional KINSHIP Guardianship cases in 2014 totaling five (5) cases altogether. In 2015, we had 10 KINSHIP Guardianship cases, which is a 50% increase from last year. We have assisted with a total of fifteen (15) kinship cases over the past three years.
Permanency for Youth 2015
Youth in KINGAP
Youth in a relative foster home
Youth in an Article 10
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Allegany County has forty-eight (48) certified foster homes, including those homes opened specifically for adoption and relative foster care placements. Of these 48 homes, 21 are relative foster care placements and of the remaining 27 county foster homes. At the start of 2015, 29 of the foster homes were relative placements and in December 2015; 11 homes were relative placements. The decrease in number was due to return home to parent or KinGAP. Fifteen (15%) of the 99 children in foster care are placed with a relative in an Article 10. Currently, the majority of the county foster homes are Caucasian; we have 1 foster home that is Hispanic. In 2015 only two (2) families completed deciding together and became active foster homes during the year. There are two (2) additional homes that are pending after completing deciding together. The home finders reviewed many relative inquiries and certifications of relative placements. Allegany County had thirteen (13) adoptions this year. The number of freed children tends to be cyclical and the possibility of adoption depends on each individual situation. We anticipated that our adoption numbers would increase in 2015 and they did by eight (8). Projections would be for an increase in 2016 based on the number of freed children in pre-adoptive homes.
Foster Care Placements 2015 County Foster Homes
17% 34%
Therapeutic Foster Homes Higher level of care 34% Relative Foster Homes
15%
Relative Foster Placements 100% 80% 60% 40% 20%
14%
28%
33%
34%
34%
0%
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
PINS (Person in Need of Supervision) Reform Team ❖ In 2015 the “PINS Reform Team” serviced twenty-three (23) cases. We have averaged 22 cases per year over the past five (5) years. Parent referrals represented thirteen (13) of the twentythree (23) cases or 57% of the referrals. The school made ten (10) of the twenty-three or 43% of the referrals. The PINS Reform Team is run in collaboration with the Department of Probation and DSS. The DSS caseworker and probation officer work as a team in delivering services to the child and their family. Bi-monthly team meetings consistently occur with the Probation officer, DSS caseworker and DSS Supervisor. The Deputy Commissioner, Department Head of Probation and County Attorney attend as needed. The Services staff has also attended the weekly Juvenile Screening Team (JUST) meetings to discuss potential intakes into the program. All of these enhancements to the program have increased the team’s cohesiveness, outcomes for the youth and their families and have set the stage for further improvements to occur in the future. Onehundred percent (100%) of the cases were successful and no cases were petitioned to court. ❖ Mentoring through New Directions Youth and Family Services is an integral part of the PINS Reform team. Any youth referred to the PINS Reform program is assigned a mentor, thus making mentoring a standard condition. Mentors establish goals with the youth, at least one of which targets the area of concern that brought the youth to probation. Mentors have been involved earlier within the cases and service plans by attending 90-day reviews and school meetings. ❖ Ninety (90) day reviews began to be utilized throughout 2013 within the PINS Reform Program and have become a standard way of operating. The 90-day reviews are linked to the service plan. These reviews provide the foundation for greater communication and better case coordination. They included the family, providers, school personnel and the PINS reform team. Given the success of the ninety (90) day review, they have continued to be used with every youth in the program. This review helps to identify goals within a specific time frame that helps to “motivate” and encourage the youth to accomplish their goals. ❖ Another successful service that is utilized in conjunction with the Probation Department is the Multi Systemic Therapy program (MST) provided through Catholic Charities. The Department of Social Services works in conjunction with the Probation Department within the PINS reform team to address the needs of the youth in need of these services and to make appropriate referrals to the MST program. The number of cases involved in MST increased from nineteen (19) to twenty-five (25). Refer to the chart for the outcomes.
MST 2015 Outcomes 102% 100% 98%
96% 94% 92%
90%
100%
100%
95%
93%
93%
93%
95% 92%
88%
Detention Service The use of detention dramatically decreased over the past year and this continues to be a trend. In 2013 we had 280 bed days within detention; in 2014 we had a total of 41 bed days; 23 secure detention and 18 non-secure detention placements and in 2015 we had 3 days of secure detention bed days and 0 non-secure bed days. This is a significant decrease in the use of detention services from previous years. These statistics are based on one (1) female youth. The youth was placed in secure detention for (3) days and then moved to an OCFS placement. The average length of stay was three (3) bed days; with a range of 0-3. In 2015, two (2) youth required respite detention one was male and the other female. There was a total of thirty-five (35) bed days used. This is a slight increase of 23 bed days from last year. The bed days used ranged from 14-21 days. Given the tenuous family situation and dynamics one of the youth required the full 21 days for respite, however she did not have to return to respite during the year or require a higher level of care. The DRAI continues to be used by Allegany County Probation Department. Only two (2) DRAIs were completed in 2015 and only 2 were completed in 2014. According to the Allegany County
Probation Director, both youth scored a zero (0) and did not require placement in a detention facility.
Comparision of Detention Use 2013-2015 300
280
250 227
200 150
2013 2014
100 50 0
2015
41 3 Total Detention bed days
53 23 18 4 3 1 0 Secure Non-Secure Number of Detention days Youth days
35 24 12 Respite Detention Bed days
Child Preventive In 2015, quarterly preventive meetings were held that included DSS preventive teams and the Berkshire Turnabout staff. These meetings provided an opportunity to discuss resources and ways to provide support to each other. During these quarterly meetings other service providers that families may also work with were invited to provide an in-service. The agencies that have provided the in-services in 2015 were: The Probation Department presented on Ready Set Work, Thinking 4C, and Barriers to Drug Treatment, Berkshire Farms presented their Sanctuary Model and the Health Department discussed services that are offered. Plans have been developed to continue this practice into 2016 and to hold future meetings at referral agencies. This will continue to build the network of supports for families and build relationships across teams for possible referrals. The Preventive team continues to work within the TST (Trauma Systems Therapy) approach. This is a collaborative treatment for traumatized children and teens. In 2006, this began as collaboration between the Department of Social Services, the Counseling Center and Community Services. At the end of 2013 discussion occurred in regard to re-evaluating the referral process and also bringing in other providers not only to refer but participate in the program i.e. the Probation Department and the Child Advocacy Center (CAC). New Directions Youth and Family Services, Inc. had two (2) staff that joined the TST team in the fall of 2014 and continue as TST members. In 2015 clinicians from Cattaraugus Community Action joined the team. The discussion also addressed identifying how to use the resources we currently have and the changes and/or challenges that have occurred within each of the partner agencies since the conceptualization of TST. The TST team explored solutions to manage some of the current challenges. At the end of 2015, the counseling center hired a Trauma Systems Therapy
Coordinator. This was to provide a point person for the TST team and to dedicate time to the approach that may not be available with other staff members and increase referrals and treatment. Another successful endeavor has been the preventive program’s involvement with the “Shop with a Cop” program. One of the preventive caseworkers has been the contact person for the Sheriff’s Department and although, not our program, we refer and support the initiative. “Shop with a Cop” is an annual event put on by the Allegany County Department of Social Services, the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce, Wellsville Kmart, multiple law enforcement agencies (including the New York State Police, the Allegany County Sheriff’s Department, and numerous village and town police departments from throughout the county) and a number of other agencies and volunteers give high risk children in Allegany County a positive experience with law enforcement while doing some Christmas shopping for their families. The Alfred Martial Arts program has participated in the event for many years. The target population is children who have been exposed to law enforcement situations in their home, as well as underprivileged children. At “Shop with a Cop”, the children arrived at Kmart at a scheduled time for a warm, complete breakfast and a chance to meet with Santa Claus, who gave them a Kmart gift card. The children were then paired with a police officer to go through the store with them so they could do Christmas shopping for their family members using that gift card. After check-out, the kids then had the presents they purchased wrapped for them by a volunteer. The children received a gift of their own at the conclusion of their Christmas shopping experience. This year’s 22nd annual “Shop with a Cop” event was held on the morning of Saturday, December 13th, at Kmart in Wellsville. Ninety-eight (98) children out of 104 children on open services cases participated in “Shop with a Cop”. Twenty (20) law enforcement officers participated, from agencies such as the New York State Police, the Allegany County Sheriff’s Department (including Sheriff Rick Whitney and Undersheriff Kevin Monroe), and the Alfred, Andover, Bolivar, and Wellsville Police Departments; seven (7) Department of Social Services staff and two (2) Kinship staff. Many volunteers assisted with wrapping gifts and preparations behind the scenes and wrapping presents the day of the event to make this event an annual success!
The on-going partnerships with the voluntary agencies as well as our continued participation on committees have assisted us in establishing positive working relationship with both providers and families. Partners for Prevention in Allegany County (PPAC) works to reduce risk factors associated with teenage alcohol and drug abuse, pregnancy, violence and school dropout. PPAC collaborates with community organizations to create a healthy environment for youth while encouraging positive change. PPAC’s Family Matters Task Force recognizes the important role of parents, grandparents, and other family members in the lives of Allegany County’s children. The Family Matters Task Force planned and participated in numerous successful community events throughout 2015. One of the events was the August 4th, WIC Breastfeeding Month Fair. This allowed for networking of staff to occur and for families to talk to Family Matters representatives about their families. They also provided face painting which is always a huge success. In July the Family Matters Task Force, along with the Wellsville Nitros invited the community to the 2nd Annual Family Night. The game featured Family Matters Stop, Drop and Talk Questions to inspire fun family conversations. In October, the Family Matters Task Force
provided face painting and craft activities at the YMCA Boo Bash (500 people through; 80 kids got their faces painted). It was another successful event. A Family Matters Free Movie night was scheduled in the Little League Field at Island Park in Wellsville. This was an outside movie and event. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather conditions it needed to be cancelled. However, an indoor Family Matters Movie Day was held December 29th at Belfast Central School. They showed the “How the Grinch stole Christmas” provided games, face painting and positive family information and concessions. This was a huge success and another movie night will be held in February 2016 at the Friendship Central School. Berkshire Farm’s Allegany Turnabout Program has continued to have many successes. The Turnabout Program has been running for six (6) years in the Genesee Valley Central School District and for five (5) years in the Bolivar-Richburg School. This program aims at assisting middle-school at risk youth who are displaying PINS type behaviors either at school or at home. The goal is to keep these children from becoming part of the PINS/Probation system in the future. This program has been a benefit in both school systems. The program has averaged providing services for 30 families throughout the year. They have continued to establish linkages with numerous community outreach resources. The program has worked to bring youth into the programs that are identified at the end of the school year for the summer programming. This allows the youth and family to acclimate to the program and build relationships and be ready to begin the school year without losing time in the program start-up. Outcomes can be seen in the chart below:
Turnabout Outcomes 2015 100% 98% 96% 94% 92% 90% 88% 86% 84% 82% Increased Youth will Parental increase involvement Attendance & with school Academics
Youth will avoid out of home placement
Youth will avoid a PINS filing or court involvement
During 2015, no youth was placed outside of the home. The average length of service was 17 months.
Monthly case reviews continue to occur with the DSS preventive team and the Catholic Charities SHAPE program. All of the staff who participates in the review process has been trained in the SolutionFocused Trauma Informed Care Model (SFTIC). This provides the staff with a common language and ways to develop their skills within both the area of trauma and being solution focused. This provides staff an additional opportunity to review cases and have a group consultation. They are using a case review model that we obtained from our FAR coaching. The following are the performance outcomes for Allegany SHAPE 2015: 84% - Families have improved parenting skills. 84% - Families will demonstrate improved family relationships. 92% - Families will access community resources. 64% - Complete their required goals. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the families were discharged due to an adequate improvement from the program. Fifteen percent (15%) re-located and the service was discontinued. Eight percent (8%) were closed due to a lack of participation. Twenty-three (23%) were closed for other factors involving parental rights being surrendered and another family closed when children were placed with a grandmother under an Article 6 therefore causing services not to be needed. Another family that closed had both parents who were incarcerated. Overall, this program is assisting families to address their parenting skills. Within our preventive services team the following data trends for caregiver risk have been identified in 2015:
Preventive Services Caretaker Risk 2015 Sexual Abuse of Children
7
Substance Abuse
22
Domestic Violence
13
Mental Health 0
:
47 10
20
30
40
50
Adult and Family Services: Adult Protective/Adult Preventive The PSA (Protective Services for Adults) team has a focus on the following goals: • Impaired adults who self-neglect or who are abused, neglected, or exploited by others will be identified; have their living situation thoroughly investigated; and be protected. • To utilize multi-disciplinary community resources to improve assessments as well as develop service plans which reduce risk and protect adults. • To provide protective services in the least restrictive manner, respecting the adult’s right to selfdetermination in decision-making. This was a challenging year with major staff transitions for Allegany County Adult Protective Services (APS). A few months into the year, Allegany County’s most experienced APS investigator retired after a long career at DSS. As the county interviewed; hired; and trained a new caseworker, the reports did not stop and created a back log in documentation. At the conclusion of 2015, the two current APS caseworkers were both fully trained and back on track with the ASAP documentation system and timeliness. These challenges provided an opportunity to make a change in the APS office location. In the summer of 2015, the APS team moved offices to be co-located with the Department of Social Services (DSS) Long Term Care team; the Office for the Aging (OFA); and the Office of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). This move allows APS, DSS; OFA, and the VA to easily share expertise by consulting on common cases and to quickly facilitate referrals to community resources. Because of the move, APS caseworkers now regularly participate in OFA team meetings. To increase OFA’s knowledge about the role and services provided by APS, the APS supervisor provided an in-service training for the OFA staff. OFA staff learned about the values and authority of APS and the place of APS in the service delivery network. At the conclusion of the training, hypothetical cases were reviewed to give OFA staff an opportunity to think through APS assessments. In return, OFA provided a thorough training on OFA services for all APS staff. As a result of these two trainings, APS and OFA are better prepared to route cases to the appropriate service provider. In 2015, APS began to work closely with the DSS’s Public Health Nurse (PHN). The PHN has made home visits with APS to lend expertise to assessments of medical needs and cognitive impairment. In situations where APS clients have an immediate need for home care or are eligible for skilled nursing facility (SNF) level of care, the PHN is able to quickly refer and link APS clients with appropriate long term care services. With the recent retirement of three long standing APS employees, the new APS Supervisor and new caseworkers no longer have the benefit of years of APS practice knowledge. In individual and group supervision, the APS Supervisor identified two important areas where the team needed to increase their knowledge and skills crucial for thorough assessments. First, the team was challenged of how to assess the cognitive functioning of adults suffering from Alzheimer’s or other dementias. In 2016, the APS team will be trained to use the standardized Mini Mental Status Evaluation (MMSE) to quickly assess
cognitive functioning. Secondly, the APS needed to increase their understanding of decision making capacity and how to assess capacity. In 2016, individual and group supervision will focus on learning and practicing interviewing skills to assess decision-making capacity. PSA workers collaborate with other providers to address the current safety concerns, identify the person’s needs and determine the best ways to decrease the current risks. During the course of an investigation, if it is determined that an adult in need of protection does not have decision making capacity, legal intervention would be assessed and pursued. One guardianship case was added in 2015. We have a total of two (2) guardianship cases. The APS Supervisor and the newest APS Caseworker attended the New Worker Institute for Adult Protective services. They learned the values that guide Adult protective services and the basics of adult protective service assessments. An area of particular interest during this training was assessing financial exploitation. The newest APS Caseworker also attended the “Adult Abuse Training Institute. The APS Supervisor attended the APS Supervisor training. Also in 2015, APS grew its relationship with ACCORD Corporation. ACCORD offers valuable information, referrals, and tangible resources for APS clients impacted by domestic violence, homelessness, and food insecurity. APS continues to use ACCORD’s housing and food resources to meet the needs of APS clients. These resources have been used to meet the immediate needs of APS clients and the relationship between the clients and ACCORD serves as a protective factor against future homelessness and food insecurity. There will be a focus in 2016 on further developing the relationship between APS and ACCORD Corporation’s Domestic Violence (DV) Program. In 2015, APS identified important gaps in services and advocated for ACCORD to fill the gaps. For example, ACCORD policy prevented DV Advocates from meeting with potential victims in their homes. APS successfully advocated for clients by showing how this policy effectively excluded homebound and physically disabled clients from accessing services. In 2015, ACCORD was able to meet APS requests for home and hospital visits on a case by case basis. Moving into 2016, more discussion is needed to define what types of clients are eligible for home-based domestic violence services. APS, along with the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department, and ACCORD Corporation, participate on the county’s Elder Abuse Prevention Committee. This Committee meets monthly to review data; discuss trends; and plan prevention activities. In 2015, the APS Supervisor and a Supervisor from ACCORD Corporation worked together to develop a standard reporting form agencies use to report data on Elder Abuse. Prior to the development of this form, community agencies were inconsistently reporting data because of confidentiality concerns. The new form collects enough data to be effective without disclosing information that could be used to identify individual clients. July marked the beginning of the decline of the County’s involvement in Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) and the end of a long and successful partnership between APS and the County’s Long Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHP). In the past, APS and LTHHP caseworkers were able to collaborate on cases to ensure the county’s vulnerable adults quickly received appropriate long term services in the least restrictive setting. Part of this coordination involved a “warm handoff” for clients transitioning from APS to the LTHHP. The LTHHP caseworker was able to assist APS by completing home visits; offering expertise; and making and following through on referrals to appropriate community based services. Since the beginning of mandatory enrollment, APS has seen an increase in vulnerable adults
waiting for home care services. APS will continue to assess the impact of MLTC on vulnerable adults in 2016. Trends in Adult Protective Services Allegany County Adult Protective Services saw a 54% increase in referrals in 2015: Trends in Adult Protective (2012-2015)* 20 18 16 14 12
2012
10 8
2013
6
2014
4
2015
2 0
*Based on intake reports recorded in Adult Services Automation Project (ASAP)
Average Monthly APS Intakes based on ASAP data Total Number of Intakes Recorded
Year
Average Intakes/Month
2012
36
3
2013
30
2.5
2014
7
0.6
2015
133
11.1
Average APS Reports based on Paper Record (2012-2015)* Total Number of Intakes
Year
% Increase in Referrals over Previous Year
Average #/Month
2012
40
3.3
2013
46
3.8
15%
2014
86
7.8
87%
2015
133
11.1
54%
2015 APS Client Intakes by Age 40 35 29
30 24
25
25
20 15
11
10 5
8
6
4
0 18-24
25-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
Client Age at Intake
2015 APS Client Intakes by Gender 100
Number of Clients
Number of Clients
35
80 60 40 20 0 Male
Female Gender
80-89
90+
To accommodate the large increase in referrals, APS has relied heavily on multi-disciplinary community partnerships to meet the needs of at-risk, vulnerable adults in the community. As the MLTC cases decreased the Caseworker was re-assigned to rep. payee cases to free up APS caseworkers to manage the Adult protective referrals. Historically, Allegany County APS has consistently valued, supported and promoted the selfdetermination of all adults with decision-making capacity. In 2015, we maintained our commitment supporting and promoting adults’ self-determination in day-to-day casework decisions. Successes in this category should include long descriptions of difficult situations where caseworkers worked to engage vulnerable adults in relationships based on trustworthiness and collaboration. As a result, we saw individuals struggling with mental illness eventually accept help; we linked disabled, homebound adults with medical care; and we moved rural, elderly adults out of substandard housing. Allegany County is a rural community with a large number of people who have lived on the same family land, in family-owned homes, for generations. Unfortunately, because these same families are often impacted by poverty, through the years these homes are often not adequately maintained and become significant risk factors for the adults that still live there. Not only are these adults at risk because of the condition of their homes, but they are often denied necessary long term supports and services as providers refuse to work in the deteriorating buildings. Because these people have strong emotional ties to the land and homes that were built by their parents and grandparents, they are often unwilling to consider leaving the property, but lack the funds to make necessary repairs. In 2015, APS greatly expanded its knowledge about local, state, and faith based home repair grants and resources that can be accessed to repair homes in Allegany County. In 2016, we will continue to research and explore funding opportunities through local and state community service organizations. In addition, APS will focus on building a coalition of local faith based community supports that are able to offer assistance with basic home repairs. There is a need for housing program for impaired adults, one that is cost, effective and least restrictive, in order to meet the needs of a growing population of vulnerable adults. Family Type Homes for Adults (FTHA) is such a program; however, the current number of FTHAs in the county is small. Changes in the regulations of FTHA had a negative impact in the recruitment of additional homes. We have one (1) family care home with one (1) slot available and two (2) slots are occupied. Allegany County provides financial management services for an average of 52 cases throughout the year. We continue to get requests to become a Rep. Payee for adults in need of this service.
Home Care A tremendous impact on the Home care staff and patients receiving services has been the impending takeover of long term home care services by the State. We are two (2) and half years into the anticipated take-over as the time frame has been delayed a number of times. DSS continued to provide services while working with unknown anticipated challenges looming. This created a stress for all on the team. They have persevered during this time while being supported by the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner and supervisor with regular team meetings to discuss any known changes in time frames or anticipated impact. In July 2015, the “shut the door” for DSS date occurred. This was the beginning of the end of our involvement in Managed Long-term Care services and the State’s involvement. Below is the average number of cases per month within our home care program: Consumer Directed Program = 38 Personal Care cases = 43 Long Term Home Health Care Program = 39 (prior to decline in cases) *December 2015 there were 14 open cases Private Duty Nursing = 3 Care at home cases =1 Total Senior Care (PACE) = 17 Allegany County has been effective in developing and maintaining a single point of entry for Medicaid health care services in establishing NY Connects. This has been a paramount achievement for Allegany County DSS and the Office of Aging for the residents of the county. We have continued to be committed to providing uninterrupted service to our Medicare and Medicaid clients and have continued our partnership with the Office of Aging for trainings. Allegany County continues to be involved in the process of establishing contracts with managed care providers in order to continue to provide the assessment services and address barriers to services. The Total Senior Care program positioned itself to expand its service in 2016 into Allegany County but is still not a viable option to all adults given the age restrictions and geographic availability. A program expansion will create additional opportunities and resources to some of the adults in Allegany County. This program is slated to expand in March 2016. The Venture Forth program provides services for people with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and has been able to provide some intensive and necessary services to people. For cases where the Venture Forth program has been involved, the APS team and the service have worked closely to assess which services are needed and what is the least restrictive environment for the person.
STAFF RECOGNITION: KUDOS
Jerry Dickinson, Sue Fontaine, Karen Strahan, Lori Childs, and Donna Dean on covering the Jobtrak crews while a crew supervisor was recovering from an injury. Melody Robinson , Krissy Michienzi and the Senior Typists for all the work involved in processing the CAMS billings. Kathy VanEtten on her graduation from Leadership Allegany. Everyone involved with making the Non-custodial Parent Program a huge success. The Child Support Unit for their recognition of Child Support Awareness month by manning a table at the Belmont Farmer’s Market. Kim Demick on receiving a glowing letter of praise from a client for a job well done. For all staff in covering all the shortages resulting from the large number of retirements and promotions this year. The Supervisors and staff who participated in the KEYS project on the Local Implementation Team (LIT): Marcia Moore, Gina Kocsis, Angela Tinder, Vicki Grant, Julie Tomasi, Sherri Bailey, Michelle Clark, Tom Power, Kay Heaney (retired), Jennifer Bigelow and Lynnae Loring. Thank you for your dedication and perseverance! Jennifer Bigelow and Belinda Schafler worked at the CAFFA Adoption Walk/Run in Lackawanna in October. They also participated in the CAFFA Family Fest. Jennifer Bigelow is serving on the Executive CAFFA team. From the DSS Home Care team, caseworkers Monica Cole and Jim Mulligan staffed the NY Connects Table during the Allegany County Fair. The theme of the table was Falls Prevention and Long Term Care. Chris Kelley, BSN, provided blood pressure screenings. The preventive team which included Valerie Smith, Kirsten Davis, Tim Puda, Andrew Fancher, Abbie Grabow and Supervisor Angela Tinder, participated in the Shop with a Cop program. Valerie Smith was instrumental in coordinating the event on behalf of the Department of Social Services. Angela Tinder and Tom Power are all enrolled in MSW classes! Both were nominated for awards within the School of Social Work. Rory Dudley, Brigette Thompson, and Lynnae Loring attended Cuba Lake Day with foster care youth.
Harley Wright received the “DA’s Outstanding Work in CPS” award. Rory Dudley has been appointed as the case worker working in collaboration with the Youth for Christ national mentoring program within Allegany County. Julie Tomasi has been serving on the Steering Committee for NYPWA (New York Public Welfare Association) Deputy Commissioners Network for a second term. The Home Care team staffed a table at the Office for the Aging’s Senior Forum. Chris Kelley, BSN, offered blood pressure screens. In the Summer of 2015, Chris Kelley, BSN, helped with the Senior Fitness Testing for the Office for the Aging’s “Growing Stronger” Program at all of the Office for the Aging Congregate Meal sites.
