News from Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services

Last year was a year of new beginnings for the Department of Social Services. First, we looked inward to identify ways to be more efficient and effective in the delivery of services. We reorganized and expanded service to the Valerie Woodard Center and added Saturday hours so customers do not have to take time away from jobs or school to apply for assistance. We mapped some of our processes to identify bottlenecks and find ways to provide more services by using existing resources differently. We cross-trained staff and implemented technology solutions to enable us to streamline service delivery.

Next, we embarked upon a rigorous service-by-service review to determine how we could meet the growing needs of the citizens of Mecklenburg County, who

continue seeking resources to help them during this challenging time.

Between FY07, which is when we started to see the early signs of the recession, to FY09, the number of new applications for assistance grew by 32 percent. Medicaid applications have gone up by 21 percent. Work First mushroomed by 57 percent. And food stamps? Applications skyrocketed by a mind-boggling 77 percent. Caseloads for all public assistance programs combined have risen by 34 percent. We have had to look for ways to expand our resources to meet the growing need in spite of losing 56 positions and cutting almost $11 million out of our budget. We had to change the way we think about how and where we deliver our services. Our new mission and vision reflect our renewed focus on being the safety net for a community struggling with what Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts called a "tsunami of crisis."

We expanded our outreach by engaging in collaborative partnerships such as the Hall House project and the ARRA-funded rapid re-housing program called Project Hope. We are pleased to work in partnership with the City of Charlotte, WISH and Crisis Assistance Ministries to provide five social workers and one supervisor. They will provide supportive services for up to 100 families in the program. We stretched to provide outposted supportive services at 13 locations where we can leverage our partners' facilities and provide on-site determination of food stamp and Medicaid eligibility. Finally, we centralized and expanded our existing community social work model to provide social services at places where DSS has never been, such as the Matthews Help Center, Jacob's Ladder Job Center and the Latin American Coalition.

The approach of a new year brings with it reflection on the year that was and anticipation for the year that will be. I can't help but look back on my first calendar year at DSS and not be filled with gratitude for all that DSS and you, our collaborative partners, have accomplished together in 2009. There is no question that our agencies struggled to keep up with the wave of customers seeking our help day after day. But we rose to the occasion with flexibility, creativity and determination.

We know that your agencies, your staff and your customers also faced epic challenges in 2009, which leads to the all-important question: What does 2010 hold for us? The changes each of us have experienced in 2009 forced us to be more receptive to change than ever. I believe these changes will reap significant rewards in 2010 and well into the future as we continue to look for new ways to meet the needs of the people we serve.

I look forward to a phenomenal 2010 working with you. Happy New Year!

Mary