Now, with much less fanfare, the county is readying its third proposal to follow the Standard Work First Plan — an effort that has been successful in moving families away from public assistance checks and into paying jobs.
Beth Duncan, director of the Moore County Department of Social Services, recently told the Welfare Reform Committee that the local Work First program has consistently ranked among the top 15 counties in North Carolina when it comes to reducing the number of welfare families.
“If you’ve put people to work, then you’ve had a positive impact,” said Manila “Bud” Shaver, a committee member.
Moore County started the 1995-96 fiscal year with 967 active cases of families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. By the end of the year, the number dropped to 737. Work First had not officially begun in North Carolina at that point, but apparently families caught on early and began finding jobs.
The 2001-02 year began with 216 Work First Family Assistance active cases and ended with 189 cases.
At a July 26 meeting, the Welfare Reform Committee voted without dissent to apply for Standard Work First status, the same situation that has brought the county success in the past four years.
The subject is on today’s agenda for the regular meeting of the Moore County Board of Commissioners. Once the commissioners approve the application, the committee and the DSS will begin work developing a plan to be submitted for final county approval later this year.
With county commissioners’ approval, the committee will submit the proposal for final approval by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Social Services.
Statistics presented to the committee show that the DSS has achieved a 92 percent job retention rate with Work First. DSS personnel credit this success with the department’s use of retention services, benefit diversion and mileage assistance as means of keeping clients on the job and off welfare rolls.
“We’re doing a lot more for clients now, such as job counseling,” Duncan told the committee.
Because many clients were unaccustomed to working at full-time jobs, she explained that often they did not understand principles accepted by people who have always held jobs. Examples include getting to work on time and reporting for work every day of the week, not just two or three days.
Duncan said Moore County has been successful under the Standard Plan and recommended continuation of this method.
Reasons for retaining the Standard Plan include retention of electronic connection with the state’s Medicaid and Food Stamp programs, check writing for cash assistance, appeals and legal liability provided by the state, automation and programming support from the state and state and federal reporting requirements.
In spite of the county’s Work First success, DSS staff has serious concerns about circumstances surrounding the proposal for a 2003-05 plan. In their report to the committee, DSS personnel mention such things as the nationwide economic downturn, along with the loss of jobs, and the current disarray of the state budget and the impact it may have on the Work First program.
With counseling and special training and nudges from DSS, hundreds of parents have found full-time or part-time paying jobs through Work First.
Under Work First, a client remains eligible for monthly assistance checks until a job is found or two years have passed. DSS does not drop clients once they get a job, because many clients remain eligible for services needed to stay employed, and, in the case of low-paying jobs, to make ends meet. Many clients remain eligible for such services as Medicaid and Food Stamps.
The Work First client who leaves the program after two years is not eligible to reapply for three years. After subsequent eligibility of 60 months, the client is no longer eligible to reapply.
Work First is North Carolina’s response to the nationwide call for welfare reform during the mid-1990s. This initiative of former Gov. Jim Hunt was actually put into effect before the federal program was implemented.
Under the original legislation, counties were given the option of applying for either Standard or Electing status.
Counties accepting the Standard Plan fell in line with the accepted state program. Other counties, including Moore, opted to apply for Electing status, which was available to a limited percentage of clients across the state. It was a competitive picture for counties applying for Electing status.
Electing counties were granted the option of devising their own Work First plans, following no more than a limited number of state and federal requirements. This concept was popular with many counties where the leadership was critical of programs established by state and federal agencies. Electing county applicants argued that they knew the needs of local clients better than did the state or federal agencies.
The county’s application was put together by the DSS staff with assistance from a committee composed of professionals and lay members of the community. County Manager W. David McNeill Jr. continues to chair the committee, composed also of representatives from such agencies and institutions as the health department, the schools, the Employment Security Commission, the Cooperative Extension Service, Sandhills Community College, nonprofits and volunteers.
Despite a top-ranking Electing proposal, Moore County’s application was turned down when the legislature at the last minute changed its selection process and decided to pick the Electing counties by drawing from the hat rather than merit.
The Moore County administration and the Work First Committee were disappointed, but that disappointment soon changed into satisfaction when DSS officials reported the advantages of sticking with the state method.
In 2000, when it was time to reapply, the committee quickly agreed to remain a Standard county. At that time Duncan learned that some of the Electing counties first selected in 1998 had decided to switch to Standard status.
The timetable calls for the county’s proposal to go to the state DSS by Nov. 1.
