2011 Annual Report. Meigs County Job and Family Services. Meigs County Commissioners: Tom Anderson, Michael Bartrum and Tim Ihle

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1 Meigs County Job and Family Services 2011 Annual Report Meigs County Commissioners: Tom Anderson, Michael Bartrum and Tim Ihle Meigs County Job and Family Services Director: Christopher T. Shank (740) or

2 Meigs DJFS The Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services provides a wide range of human services programs such as Public Assistance, Child Support (CSEA), Workforce Development/One Stop Jobs, Child Care Assistance and Children Services (PCSA). We offer programs and services to people of all backgrounds and encourage you to learn more about how our programs may be able to help you. As a quadruple combined agency, we will hold ourselves responsible in providing for the basic needs of the disadvantaged residents of Meigs County and to assist them in becoming self sufficient. We will use the collaboration of all our available resources to attain these goals. Our programs help people of all ages, from all corners of Meigs County. This annual report provides information on all of our programs in order to allow you to better understand the work that we do. We encourage you to stop by our offices to learn more about how we may be able to help you or your family members. We also encourage all Meigs County residents who believe they may be eligible for services to apply for assistance. Our mission is to help all Meigs County residents become self-sufficient, and we will do whatever we can to help you and your family members. We re here for you when you need us. Budget Our budget is a mix of state and federal money for a wide variety of programs. Here are the budget figures for our major programs in Ohio Works First $1,128,858 Disability cash assistance $101,142 Food Assistance program $8,765,742 Medicaid* $42,536,828 Contract Services (budget details shown on next page) $1,003,507 Administrative costs $1,165,397 Direct services $3,799,516 Child support enforcement $440,390 Total spent in Calendar Year 2011 $58,941,380 * The Ohio Medicaid figures for calendar year 2011 are currently unavailable, so this figure is from fiscal year The figure is close to what that calendar year amount would be. Page 2

3 Contract Services Meigs County Common Pleas Court, Parent Education $3,300 Meigs County Juvenile Court, Children s Trust Fund, Parent Coach $14,250 Family Children First Council, Coordinator $42,016 Gallia-Meigs Community Action, Help Me Grow $139,172 Meigs County Commissioners, Workforce Development $79,745 Various Contracts for Foster Care (Mended Reeds, Oasis, Sojourners, Tri State Youth Academy, Agency Foster Homes) $375,000 Gallia-Meigs Community Action, Non-Emergency Transportation $56,234 Dr. Chantel Weisenmuller, Counseling Services $5,708 Woodland Centers, Non-Emergency Transportation $43,685 Daybreak, Non-Emergency Transportation $3,919 Meigs County Council On Aging, Homemaker Services $40,000 Meigs County Juvenile Court, Diversion $30,000 Gallia-Meigs Community Action, Title XX Transportation $2,500 Meigs County Juvenile Court, Title IV-D Child Support $22,478 Meigs County Common Pleas Court Title IV-D Child Support $30,505 Meigs County Clerk Of Court Title IV-D Child Support $17,221 Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney Title IV-D Felony Non-Support $6,820 Meigs County Sheriff (Children Services Support) $2,098 Various Miscellaneous Contracts, Maintenance Agreements and Purchased Services $89,043 Total $1,003,507 In the 2011 state budget, Meigs County Job and Family Services lost $559,000 in state and federal funding. Over the last three years our agency has lost $1.75 million in state and federal funding. This has forced us to eliminate or greatly reduce some of our safety net programs that are designed to help Meigs County residents of all ages who are living in poverty. Since 2009, 12 staff positions at our agency have not been filled because the budget is no longer able to pay for these positions. This is despite the fact that demand has increased steadily for many of our programs in recent years. We currently have a staff of 38. Page 3 Budget Cuts

4 2011 Here are a few of our highlights from the last year CASE BANKING FOR INCOME MAINTENANCE The Income Maintenance Unit is responsible for determining eligibility for Ohio Works First (Cash Assistance), Food Assistance and Medicaid. The Income Maintenance Unit includes nine Eligibility Referral Specialists and a Supervisor. On April 1, 2011, Meigs County DJFS implemented a system called Case Banking. Cases are located in banks and staff work on cases within these banks. A case is not assigned to one specific worker. There are three case bank teams. They are: * Intake Team: responsible for all initial applications and reapplications for the month. * Phone Team: answers all calls and questions regarding OWF, Food Assistance and Medicaid * Change Team: makes any changes necessary for OWF, Food Assistance or Medicaid cases. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES Located within our agency are four community partners: A representative of Juvenile Court, The Family and Children First Coordinator, a psychologist from Riverbend Behavioral Health and a team of social workers from Integrated Services of Appalachian Ohio. These agencies mainly support our children services unit, but can assist many of the other clients we serve. By having these agencies located within our agency, this means clients, as well as staff, have immediate access in the event of an emergency and it provides for better communication and case planning among the agencies. ANGEL TREE TOY GIVEAWAY This year, over 300 children were served by the Angel Tree project. Many local businesses, churches and civic organizations donated items. The Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services has sponsored this program on a yearly basis for over twenty years. Page 4

5 RE-STRUCTURING OF WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT (WIA) AREA 14 On July 1, 2011, WIA Area 14 was re-structured. The new configuration consists of Athens, Meigs and Perry counties. Perry County Department of Job and Family Services serves as the fiscal agent, Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services serves as the administrative agent and Athens County Department of Job and Family Services serves as the Level Two One-Stop through its operation at The Work Station. Area 14 serves individuals with training and educational needs through its system of One-Stop Employment and Training centers. NEW ONE-STOP EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING CENTER On April 12, 2011, our new 3,000 sq. ft. One-Stop Employment and Training Center opened at 150 Mill Street, Middleport, adjacent to our main office. The new One-Stop was a collaborative effort between the Meigs County Community Improvement Corporation, the Board of County Commissioners and our agency. In less than one year s time, the new One-Stop has seen a 137% increase in the number of residents accessing services. Monthly classes are held such as Job Club, Life Skills, Basic Computer Skills, Resume/Cover letter Writing, Internet Job Search, Pregnancy/Parenting Classes, Child Care Training, Pre- Employment Workshops and Educational Workshops. This is in addition to WIA services, transportation services and child care. One-Stop staff has worked with over 50 businesses and over 100 people have become employed after receiving services. NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT In the Spring of 2011, President Obama declared Meigs County, along with 20 other Ohio counties a federal disaster due to the spring rains and subsequent flooding. As part of the declaration, Meigs County was awarded more than $300,000 to be used to create short-term, full time jobs to help with debris removal and flood clean-up from streams, creeks and other waterways. Gallia-Meigs Community Action was awarded the contract through the Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services and Workforce Investment Act Area 14 and is expected to provide 36 full time jobs over the next year as the clean-up continues. TORNADO RECOVERY In September 2010, two F3 tornadoes hit Meigs County affecting the Reedsville community. Twenty-five homes were damaged or destroyed. Meigs County Job and Family Services spent seven days on the scene working closely with the Health Department, Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Medical Services, county commissioners and the local fire department to name just a few. Our agency assisted residents with housing, clothing and medical needs. In addition to the services provided immediately following the tornadoes, our staff members worked with the effected families through June Our agency also served on the local committee in charge of distributing donated funds. Page

6 2011 MODERNIZATION AND STANDARDIZATION EFFORTS With an increase in the number of clients we are serving and a decrease in funds to serves these individuals, the agency has been busy collaborating with neighboring counties to find efficiencies in the way we do business. As stated before, Athens, Meigs and Perry counties are in a workforce partnership but also share other services between the agencies, such as human resources, public relations and policies and procedures. In addition to this, Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services is a member of a consortium of six other counties called the Southern 7. The Southern 7 consists of Lawrence, Jackson, Gallia, Scioto, Pike, Pickaway and Meigs. These seven counties have the same digital imaging system and have collaborated to standardize common business procedures, practices and forms. In addition to this, the seven counties have developed similar policies as it relates to determining hardship criteria for cash assistance and good cause policies. These standardization and modernization efforts benefit both the clients we serve as well as produce a more efficient and economical way to deliver a high level of services within our reduced budgets. JOB FAIR Meigs County Job and Family Services participated along with Athens County Department of Jobs and Family Services and Perry County Department of Jobs and Family Services for the WIA Area 14 s annual job fair. The job fair was held at the Athens Community Center in the Spring and nearly 400 individuals from the three county area met with prospective employers. In 2012, the job fair will be held on April 18. Page 6

7 Our Programs Public Assistance Programs Our agency provides a wide range of public assistance programs to people of all ages. These programs include Ohio Works First Cash Assistance, Food Assistance (formerly known as food stamps) and Medicaid. Meigs County residents may apply for these services in person or online. The online option can be found on our website, A few facts and figures: In 2011, Meigs County Job and Family Services had a total of 3,315 active public assistance cases. Our agency processed 2,378 applications for public assistance in In addition, 99% of these cases were processed within the 30 day time limit. Our monitors found no errors in our food assistance program. The Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS), which is used to insure the integrity of the public assistance programs in Ohio, reported that our agency had a 99% accuracy rate. This means that the information collected by our staff members was nearly perfect. The Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) gave Meigs County Job and Family Services a 100% accuracy rate. Our county was one of just 30 in Ohio to have a 100% accuracy rate. Ohio Works First (OWF) OWF is Ohio s cash assistance program and is only available to families with dependent children. Families can only receive it for a total of 36 months. The major goal of the program, which has work requirements, is to help participants move toward employment. Payment levels depend on the size of a family. For a family of three, for example, the maximum payment level is $450 per month. In 2011, our OWF program served an average of 553 recipients each month. Of these recipients, 384 were children and 170 were adults. The number of recipients decreased from 2010, when we had an average of 583 per month. Food Assistance Food Assistance benefits can be used to purchase food or food products intended for human consumption. This program also has work requirements. In Ohio, the benefits are issued through the Ohio Direction Card, which is an electronic benefits card. The number of Food Assistance recipients has risen steadily in the last few years in Meigs County and across Ohio. In 2011, we served an average of 5,597 recipients each month. The average monthly benefit per person was $131 per month. The number of recipients increased by 4.8% from 2010, when we served an average of 5,341 Food Assistance recipients each month. The 2010 figure was a 13.7% increase over Page 7

8 Our Programs Meigs County Children Services Our agency receives reports of child abuse and neglect, and is required to investigate each report in a timely manner. Our staff members work with families to identify services and develop a case plan to reduce the risk of future abuse and/or neglect. In most cases, our agency is able to provide services to the child and family while the child remains in the home. However, there are instances where the child cannot safely remain in the home and it is necessary to work with the local court system to remove the child from the situation. If the child is placed outside the home, we are required to develop a case plan detailing the activities which must occur to ensure the child is safely able to return home. If that is not possible, the plan will identify an alternative safe, stable, permanent living situation that promotes the child s health, growth and development. Our agency also provides homemaker services to families where child abuse and neglect situations are being corrected through a case plan. A few facts and figures: Our agency investigated 250 reports of child abuse/neglect in The annual cost of foster care in Meigs County is $375,000. Our agency had 19 children in foster care in Our agency finalized 2 adoptions in Our agency had 5 adoptions pending at the end of Our agency served 310 children through the Angel Tree toy giveaway program. Child Care Program Our agency provides Child Care services to children of eligible parents in order to support their work and training efforts and to help the families achieve self-sufficiency. The goal of the subprogram is to provide quality, dependable child care in homes and centers. Our staff members determine eligibility for subsidized child care services, based on state determined financial guidelines. Our staff members can assists parents in locating certified homes or licensed centers to meet their child care needs. Individuals interested in obtaining information concerning available Child Care providers, as well as individual who are interested in becoming a Child Care Provider may contact Meigs County Job and Family Services at and ask for the Child Care Unit. A few facts and figures: Number of child care providers in 2011: 25 Number of active child care cases in 2011: 208 Page 8

9 Our Programs Medicaid The Medicaid program provides health care coverage for eligible lowincome and medically vulnerable individuals. The programs include coverage for families, children and pregnant women; aged, blind and disabled individuals; women with breast/cervical cancer; and individuals in institutional care. We served an average of 6,299 Medicaid recipients each month in This is an increase from 2010, when we served an average of 6,082 Medicaid recipients each month. Disability Assistance This program provides a very small and time-limited amount of cash and/or medical assistance to disabled individuals who are not eligible for other assistance programs. Clients are only eligible to receive up to $115 per month in assistance. We served an average of 57 Disability Assistance clients per month in County Medical Services This program provides limited medical benefits for clients who are waiting on disability determination from the Social Security Administration and have been approved by state reviews. In 2011, this program made 148 referrals and had 90 approvals for assistance. Adult Protective Services Referrals for this program are taken from anyone having reasonable cause to believe an individual who is age 60 or older is being abused, neglected or exploited. The program is designed to assist adults who are in danger of harm, unable to protect themselves and have no one else who is able to assist them. In 2011, our Adult Protective Services program investigated 16 new cases. Child Support Enforcement The program s goal is to insure that all children are supported financially by both parents. Services include location of non-custodial parents; paternity establishment; establishment and modification of child support orders; collection of child support payments and/or alimony; and enforcement of child support orders, medical support orders and alimony. In 2011, the Child Support Division collected and distributed nearly $3.2 million is child support, a record amount. Currently, there are 2,328 active child support cases in Meigs County. Page 9

10 One Stop programs We served 4,104 customers in This is an increase of 137% over the previous year. We held monthly workshops on topics such as: Job Club, Life Skills, Basic Computer Skills, Resume/Cover letter Writing, Internet Job Search, Pregnancy/Parenting Classes, Child Care Training, Pre- Employment Workshops, Educational Workshops. We worked with 50 local business during the year. We helped 125 job seekers become employed. We provided 295 Non-Emergency transports. We issued 870 gas vouchers. We served 52 clients through our Workforce Investment Act programs. Page 10

11 Meigs County In 2011 at Meigs County Job and Family Services: Our staff scanned 56,508 documents. We printed or mailed 10,356 items to clients. We had 408 spend downs paid. We received 3,168 new applications. We received more than 65,000 phone calls. Our clients completed 294 voter registration forms. A few facts and figures about Meigs County Meigs County had a population of 23,770 in the 2010 U.S. Census count. This is an increase from a population of 23,072 in the 2000 U.S. Census count. 20.8% of Meigs County residents live below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau s American Community Survey. 31.9% of all Meigs County residents under the age of 18 live in poverty, according to the American Community Survey. 8.5% of all Meigs County residents live below 50% of the federal poverty level, according to the American Community Survey. Meigs County has 11,181 housing units, according to the American Community Survey. Of these housing units, 8,127 are one-family buildings, and 2,342 are mobile homes. According to the same study, 7,763 of the housing units are owner-occupied and 1,912 are rental units. In addition, 1,031 of the housing units have been built since 2000, and 2,900 of them were built before % of all Meigs County residents age 25 or older have their high school diplomas or GEDs, according to the American Community Survey. Meigs County residents spend an average of 30.1 minutes driving to work, according to the American Community Survey. The state average is 22.7 minutes. Page 11

12 Contact us: Meigs County Job and Family Services We re here when you need us.. Meigs County Job and Family Services is a quadruple combined agency comprised of Public Assistance, Child Support (CSEA), Workforce Development/One Stop Jobs and Children Services (PCSA). Our offices are located at 175 Race Street, P.O. Box 191, Middleport, Ohio To reach us by phone, call: OR To reach us by fax, use the following numbers: ADMINISTRATION WIA/ONE STOP JOBS ELIGIBILITY STAFF CHILDRENS SERVICES CHILD SUPPORT HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 8:00 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M. Website: Meigs County Job and Family Services is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. (04/12)