The Moore Caring Community steering committee has a job description and a focus. All it needs now are applicants for coordinator and an office for that person.

The new non-denominational, non-profit organization has secured a $30,000 allocation to employ a faith community coordinator to develop a link between churches and Work First clients. The allocation comes from the Moore County Department of Social Services county budget for 1999-2000.

""There is definitely interest among the churches,"" said Dr. Joe Currie, who chairs the MCC’s Church Contacts Committee.

Currie told the steering committee at a Monday meeting that his committee has been working with a list of 98 churches, names of which were accumulated through a variety of sources, including the United Way.

The full steering committee, which met at Carthage United Methodist Church, is moderated by the Rev. Mark Wethington, minister of Southern Pines United Methodist Church.

Currie said the response to committee inquiries was mostly positive, but many churches asked for additional information before making a commitment.

""They want something on paper,"" Currie said.

Walt Worthington, chair of the Personnel Committee, shared a job description developed with assistance from similar agencies operating in Durham, Wilson and Burke counties.

Worthington recommended that an advisory board be established as the source to which the coordinator will report. Two counties have such boards, but in the third the coordinator answers directly to the social services department.

Worthington expressed his opinion that perhaps the committee should distance its work from the social services department, not because of any fault on the part of DSS but to ""keep a fire under the churches.""

The coordinator may be of any age, race or church, and the committee debated whether it should be a fulltime position or part-time. Committee members indicated a willingness to consider applications from retired clergy in the community as well as from recent graduates of seminaries or divinity schools, or anyone else eligible to carry out the duties.

One retired minister recommended for the position was approached but was not able to accept, the committee reported.

Letters spelling out plans for the program and asking for help in finding applicants for the position were mailed early this month to member churches of the Sandhills Council of Churches, but Worthington said he has received no response. Similar contacts are being made to churches in the northern end of the county.

Both committee chairmen agreed to continue working on their efforts.

Steering committee members agreed to empower the Personnel Committee to accept applications and to handle the mechanics of hiring a coordinator.

The $30,000 allocation includes everything, and the committee must cover all its expenses within that total, including salary, expenses and office operations. Steering committee members include ministers and laypersons from several denominations, all acting as volunteers without pay.

For this reason the search is also on to find suitable office space for the coordinator, such as a church or business willing to donate an office. Equipment, including furnishings, a computer and a telephone, are also needed. The Moore County DSS, which is itself scattered in three separate locations, does not have office space available for the new program.

Committee members were urged to ask around and see if they could find office space both suitable and rent-free.

Worthington said that his committee determined differences in the operations at the three counties with faith coordinators. One coordinator has office space in the DSS building, another works from home, and the latter possibility will be explored.

In a letter being dispatched to numerous churches in Moore County the committee says that ""It is help that is needed, not money."" Churches were advised that the Moore Caring Community wants to identify a cooperating church near the home of each Work First client.

Currie described some of the problems his committee encountered in contacting churches throughout the county. At least 15 churches have no telephone, so letters were sent. Other churches do not have fulltime resident ministers, and many church contacts were not available because staff was on vacation.

However, Currie said the committee made a sufficient number of contacts to determine that the churches of Moore County recognize the need and are interested in cooperating.

Moore Caring Community grew out of the Jubilee Project, launched in 1997 by the North Carolina Council of Churches. The local organization was initiated with an all-day workshop held in May.

Personnel from the Moore County DSS shared with the committee examples of the problems encountered by Work First clients.

Beth Duncan, social services director, explained the differences between the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and Work First. AFDC was an entitlement program, and all qualifying families received monthly public assistance checks, along with such services as food stamps and Medicaid.

AFDC no longer exists as entitlement.

Work First, initiated in 1995, is North Carolina’s response to the move in Congress to bring about welfare reform. Under this program, eligible clients are given two years in which to receive monthly checks while searching for employment and graduation from welfare rolls. However, those who find jobs are not cut off entirely from assistance. If their jobs are low paying, they may still be eligible for food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized day care. And if the job pays too well for them to qualify for these services but does not provide insurance, they are likely to be eligible for the new Health Choice program which provides insurance for children in families of the working poor.

""There are some safety nets out there,"" Duncan said.

Duncan advised the steering committee to avoid emphasis on numbers because the number of clients changes from day to day.

""That number can be dramatically different by next week,"" Duncan said of one figure advanced by a committee member.

Nelda Caudill, DSS income maintenance administrator, said that one set of figures refers to Work First clients who have found jobs, another set to those who are still enrolled in the program and have not found jobs.

The DSS works regularly with about 400 families enrolled in Work First. Other families do not qualify because the head of the household, such as a grandparent or other relative, is too old to be expected to get a job, or the child is too young.

Duncan said Work First clients, most of whom have never held jobs before, have many problems, including numerous emergencies.

For example, most do not have new cars, and many have no transportation at all. If their old car breaks down or their ride to work does not show up, they are in danger of losing their job. If their child becomes ill and there is no one else in the household to care for that child, the client’s job may again be on the line.

""There is so much potential for crises in these people’s lives. It’s a whole new life for them,"" Duncan said of the world of work.

The job of the faith community coordinator will, therefore, be that of helping churches to find ways to help these families, hopefully right there in their own communities.

Examples of services that church members can provide include providing emergency transportation, keeping a sick child on a temporary basis, and advising the Work First client on everything from job-related needs to economic issues.

DSS personnel said many clients need mentors but there aren’t enough to go around. The Cooperative Extension Service has been providing training for prospective mentors, but the number of clients outnumbers the available volunteers.

In the meantime the committee decided to work on development of a church mailing list and preparation of a county map pinpointing the location of Work First clients and the location of participating congregations.

The full committee will hold its next meeting on Monday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. at Carthage United Methodist Church.