|
Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services
April 2012 |
|
|
|
Hours and Locations
|
Contact Us
704-336-3000
Hours
Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm
Locations
Kuralt Centre
301 Billingsley Road
Valerie C. Woodard Center
3205 Freedom Drive
Community locations where you can find our staff periodically during the month.
Ada Jenkins Center
Access Center
Asian American Library
Crisis Assistance Ministry
C.W.Williams
Dilworth Soup Kitchen
Goodwill
Jacobs Ladder
Jail North and Jail Central
Latin American Coalition
Hindu Center
Hope Haven Service Center
Matthews Help Center
McCreesh Place
My Sister's House
Salvation Army Center of Hope
Uptown Men's Shelter
YWCA
|
|
Our Mission | |
To provide economic and social services to sustain and/or improve the quality of life for Mecklenburg County citizens. |
|
Our Vision | |
To be an involved and recognized leader in human services, valued by our stakeholders because of our needs-based customer focus in the delivery of services. We will help create a resilient community by proactively investing in our employees, operations and services, and by developing impactful relationships for the benefit of our customers.
|
|
|
|
Message from the Director | |
Dear Partner,
As we move into the last quarter of our fiscal year, I would like to share a few highlights:
- Received NACo award for the "Know the Signs" dvd, used to educate first responders and other community partners on indicators of adult maltreatment.
- Received NACo award for Senior Citizen Nutrition Program's Short-term Meal Service, for recently discharged hospital patients who require assistance in ensuring nutritional needs are met during rehabilitation and convalescence periods.
- Received a NACo award for Independent Living services provided to youth over 13 years of age in foster care and youth who were in foster care but were now between 18 and 21 years of age.
- Seven Hundred and eleven Work First customers have obtained employment during the first six months of this fiscal year. One hundred and ninety-six of these customers were placed through the Job Boost Program.
Spring Fling at DSS is May 8th. We are inviting Community Partners to come celebrate with us! You can set up a table to tell us about who you are and what you do, or just come join the festivities! RSVP as a vendor to: carlo.battle@mecklenburgcountync.gov
The staff at DSS are committed to our best as we face the challenging times ahead. Enjoy the rest of the newsletter!
Mary E. Wilson
Director
301 Billingsley Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28210
Mary.Wilson@mecklenburgcountync.gov
|
|
Mid-Year Accomplishments | |
The Department of Social Services noted Major Departmental Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2011-2012.
Here are a few examples of our new Programs, Services and Initiatives:
- Partnering with the Community Resource Connection and the major hospital systems to implement wrap-around services for older and disabled adults to reduce the amount of 30-day hospital re-admissions for the same initial admitting health condition.
- Working with contract partners to facilitate trauma initiatives in facilitating trauma assessments for those children coming into the custody of DSS. A committee of 20 staff throughout Mecklenburg Department of Social Services has been formed to address DSS and its stakeholders in becoming trauma-informed.
Here are a few examples of our Service Delivery Changes:
- Implemented "Express Service" for customers who wish to make an initial application and have either completed an ePASS (on-line application) or Benefit Bank application. When the application is brought into DSS, the customer can opt to either "drop off" the application in the drop box, complete a full interview with an intake worker, or complete an abbreviated interview with a Case Manager at the Front Desk, after which the application is routed for processing.
- Implemented use of Mobile Data computers in Mecklenburg Transportation System fleet. Use of this technology promises to deliver significant efficiency gains in vehicle usage, revenue generation, ride-sharing and expansion of service to a greater number of customers.
|
Older American's Month
Every May, in honor of Older Americans Month, Council on Aging hosts its Annual Conference. These conferences provide topics and speakers from national, state and local levels of special interest to Charlotte-Mecklenburg's aging population. For more information visit: Charlotte Council On Aging | |
|
|
|
|
|
Office of Management and Budget |
Success! DSS has scored successful or exemplary on ALL service reviews conducted by Mecklenburg County Office of Management and Budget!
|
|
Fresh Produce with EBT Card | |
With the spring and summer months come a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables! There are eight markets in Mecklenburg County that are equipped with the technology to process Food and Nutrition EBT card payments. These locations include:
- Atherton Market at Atherton Mill (2104 South Blvd., Charlotte)
- Davidson Farmers Market (128 Main St., Davidson)
- Black Women's Health Network Mobile Markets (located at six Charlotte churches: Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 1st Baptist Church West, Greenville Memorial AME Zion, Smallwood Presbyterian, 15th Street Church of God, and New Zion Missionary Baptist Church)
|
|
Success Story: Just One Call | |
Just One Call (J1C) is an award winning information and referral source that is available online, through email, and by telephone. Our focus is to assist senior and disabled adults, caregivers, and care providers. In addition to providing information on the access and availability for community resources, our program is also one of the portals of entry for services offered by the Department of Social Services. The program has 7 social workers who have over 70 years of combined experience, and are equipped to answer the 3,000+ calls that come in each month. The calls come from within our county and throughout the United States. Out of area calls often occur when a caregiver lives out of state, but also because of the reputation J1C has developed. People are interested in knowing if there is a similar resource in their area. Skilled intake social workers screen and assess urgent complex requests for assistance via telephone, office, and home visit interviews to help customers access needed resources. For more information on the latest events, click here: Just One Call
|
| Summer Opportunities for Youth in 12th Congressional District | |
Every year my office compiles a list of summer programs for young people provided by colleges and universities throughout the 12th Congressional District. My office compiled this directory as a resource for parents, guardians, teachers and counselors to find positive activities for young people during the summer. You can now access the 2012 Summer Opportunities for Youth from my website at http://www.house.gov/watt/Resources/education summer.htm
If you are unable to access the listing from the website, please contact Tiran Thomas in my Greensboro District Office at (336) 275-9950 or by email at Tiran.Thomas@mail.house.gov
Sincerely,
Melvin Watt
Member of Congress |
|
Bridging the Health Care Gap in Mecklenburg County | |
One of our most significant roles as a social services agency is to ensure the well being of our community and to educate our community about resources available to them. To learn more about health care and medical resources in our community designed to provide care for the uninsured and underinsured, please plan to attend our the next DSS Community Resource Committee's fair:
Bridging the Health Care Gap in Mecklenburg County
May 22, 2012 from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Chapin Hall Conference Rooms
Valerie C. Woodard Center
3205 Freedom Drive
Charlotte, NC 28208
|
Free and Low Cost Health Services | |
Free and low cost health services are available for Mecklenburg County residents. For a listing of these facilities, please click here:
Free and Low Cost Clinics |
|
Foster Care Awareness Month |
May is National Foster Care Month, a time when the nation salutes the thousands of caring, compassionate adults who serve as foster parents, caregivers, social workers and volunteers. The campaign raises awareness about foster care and encourages more citizens to get involved in the lives of foster youths -- whether as their foster parents, volunteers, mentors, employers or in other ways. To find out more about fostering, please call 704-336-KIDS (5437) or visit http://yfs.charmeck.org |
|
Success Story: Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) | 
In the past, a significant number of seniors receiving Food and Nutrition Services were automatically eligible for one time annual payment to assist with heating expenses through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP). The process changed this year requiring everyone to apply for LIEAP leaving some seniors unaware of the application process. Catherine McCoy, Kimberly Propst, Nicole Jones and Shenell Henry visited senior apartment complexes and worked with property managers to ensure increased awareness of the program and application process. A number of residents unaware of the need to apply for the program or unable to complete applications without assistance and those who indicated their intimidation of the system, were able to benefit from this outreach effort and submitted applications. Some of the applicants live marginally, had bills that were excessive, while others presented disconnection notices. Some benefitted from utility moratoriums, preventing disconnection of service through March 31, 2012. As a result of this outreach effort, approximately 500 applications were completed. Both residents and property managers expressed their appreciation to staff being attentive and responsive to the needs of these communities. Next year we look forward to reaching even more seniors.
With the overall LIEAP program, 5,189 clients applied and we were able to assist 4,056. We spent a total of $819,400.00. |
|
Coming Soon! |  * Self-serve kiosks installation is scheduled for Kuralt and Chapin lobbies within the next two months. These kiosks will allow customers to come in and independently complete an ePASS application at a kiosk, print it out, and submit it for eligibility determination. Initially, the kiosks will offer Food and Nutrition Services only, but will include Medicaid when that program is added to ePASS later this year.
* SHARE Network Access Point (SNAP) kiosks in DSS lobbies. This is a unique resource where people can go to look for jobs and other services, assisted by trained individuals. The goal is to offer resources to the no or low-skilled/middle-skilled worker that are offered to professionals through ProNet. |
|
|
|
|
| |
REMEMBER,
We rely on you to help provide us with content, ideas, and feedback as we work together to serve those who depend upon us for services. If you have a story to share about the good work you do for the community please submit to DSSReachingOut@MecklenburgCountync.gov.
Please submit your story by the 1st Wednesday of the month. |
|
|
