Social Services Consortium Legislator Education Week
May 6 - 10, 2013
DSS Directors, DSS Board Members and DSS Staff, now is the time for yo to act! Together we can have a strong voice in Raleigh; a voice that supports our county governments and our customers.
Staff should coordinate all participation in legislator education week
with their dss director
What is Legislator Education Week?
It is a single work week in which all consortium members contact their legislators to educate them on the Consortium Legislative Priorities using the flyer found below. The priorities have been condensed into a two page flyer (one page front and back) that members are encouraged to share with their legislators. Purpose:
To align the consortium members' powerful voices to educate their legislators on the Consortium's Legislative Priorities. This includes DSS Board Members, Directors and Staff Members. What are we asking?
That DSS Directors, Board Members and Staff all across the state contact their legislative delegations and talk with them about how important it is to maintain funding for critical mandated services to protect the most vulnerable citizens of our state: the aged, disabled and children. What type of contact should be made?
Make the contact as personal as possible. A face-to-face meeting or phone call is most effective. Invite them over for coffee, or meet them for lunch, or set up an appointment with them while you are in Raleigh. An email or letter is a secondary option and is far better than no contact at all! Key message:
That NC County Governments cannot shoulder the full funding of Federal Block Grant Cuts to Mandated Services. To educate or legislators that we must maintain services for abused children and adults. We ask that they simply set a priority to fund critically mandated services first from the Federal Block Grants (TANF, SSBG & CCBG) and fund 50% of the remaining funding gap with state funding. What should I share?
Share the flyer below. Make sure your legislator understands the information, what we are asking them to do and ask for their support to make the necessary changes to the block grants to maintain these critically mandated services. We offer an option on how this can be done. We realize that the funds reduced in our proposal from Child Care Subsidy (TANF Block Grant) and Mental Health (SSBG) are not desireable, but we also realize that in these tough economic times, priorities must be set and tough decisions made. Unfortunately, it comes down to this: Allocate funds for children to be in optional day care or allocate funds to protect children from abuse and keep them out of foster care. These are gut wrenching decisions to make, but priorities must be set! Consortium Goal:
100% of NC Legislators will receive at least one personal contact on the Consortium's Priorities during the week of May 6 - 10, 2013. Tracking Our Efforts:
We are asking everyone to notify Teresa Evans Hunter at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
by the end of the week (Friday, May 10th) and share with Teresa where your legislator has told you they stand on the Consortium's Legislative Priorities (do they support the proposals in the solutions page of the flyer?). This will help us track the effectiveness of our collective efforts and gauge the level of educational work remaining. If we do not hear from you (DSS Director), we will assume you did not make a contact with your legislators during the week of May 6 - 10 and we will follow-up to urge you to do so. Remember, there is strength in numbers and we need everyone's participation! Just beneath the table shown below you will find information on how to contact your Legislators.
Consortium Legislative Priorities FlyerPending Legislative Bills - Consortium Position
Revised Monday, April 29, 2013
Bills |
|
Position Statement |
| SB 125 - Public Access to Employees Performance Appraisals |
Oppose | Concern that employees' privacy rights would be violated |
| HB 147 - Amend Adoption Laws | Support | No Concerns at this time |
| SB 140 - Financial Exploitation of Older Adults | Oppose | Capacity concerns to comply with the law; Amend to streamline process of obtaining records from financial institutions through NC FAST and include Powers of Attorney in legislation |
| HB 189 - Amend Info Prov./Noncust. Parent/Child Supp. | Oppose | Amend for judge to make decision upon the request of the noncustodial and after hearing arguments from the custodial parent. |
| HB 149 - Caylee's Law | Support with word substitution | Amend to change wording from "knowingly" to "deliberately". Where is accountability for Division of Child Development? |
| SB 277 - Require Educ. Development Plan/Foster Care | Oppose | Amend to make local DSS and schools jointly responsible for the Education Development Plan; many of these foster children are not living in foster homes. What about birth parent involvement? Agency involvement? Kids in group settings? When a child moves? |
| HB 68 - Establish Ombudsman/Foster Care/Gaston County | Oppose | Do not see the need for this legislation - Guardian Ad Litem Programs in each county utilize community volunteers to advocate with the court on behalf of foster children; foster parent association in counties advocate on behalf of foster parents as well as the state foster parent association. |
| HB 343/SB 385 - Courts/Procedure and Fee Amendments | Support provided DSS fees are waived, Opposed otherwise | Major Unfundated Mandate on Counties; Strongly oppose unless fees to counties are waived for child support, child welfare, adult protective services, and guardianship petitions. |
| HB 434 TANF Funds for Boys and Girls Clubs | Oppose until mandated services are fully funded | Fully fund mandated TANF core services first before funding optional programs through the federal TANF Block Grant, otherwise the costs of fully funding mandated services is shifted to counties. |
| SB 594 - Require drug testing/Work First Benefits | Oppose | Cost concerns for both applicants and conties |
| SB 650 - Require drug screening/Work First Benefits SB 447 - Eligibility Requirements/Public Assistance |
Oppose | Provisions are already in place for drug screenings of public assistance applicants based upon reasonable suspicion; massive drug testing of all recipients is cost prohibitive. |
| SB 554 - Amend Child Welfare & Public Health Law | Support | No concerns |
| SB 466 - Establish Alzheimer's Disease Task Force | Support | No concerns |
| SB 415 - Define Min. Qualifications/Local DSS Director | Support | This is one of the Consortiums legislative priorities; this legislation has been requested to be put on hold pending collaborative efforts with NC Association of County Commissioners |
| HB 805 - Ban Smoking in Foster Care Setting/Infants | Support | Many counties already have this as part of their foster care policy. |
| HB 825 - Minor Can't Be Prosecuted for Prostitution | Support | Legislation appears to be consistent with local DSS child protective services mandated mission to protect children. Reports of allegation of a violation to DSS Director shall commence on initial investigation within 24 hours (concerns with time frame?) |
| HB 399 - Amend Laws Pertaining to DHHS - AB | Support | No concerns |
| HB 670 - DSS Study/Extend Foster Care to Age 21 | Support | Support study to determine benefits to foster children; Fiscal Note is recommended |
| HB 945 - House DRH70323 - MGa-125 - Funds/Enforce Adlt Protective Services Laws | Support | Additional funding in Adult Protective Services is critically needed and we strongly support this bill. |
| HB 605 - Establish Aging Subcommittee/HHS Oversight | Support | Recommend adding a county social services director as a member of the aging sub-committee |
| HB 510 - Foster Care Children's Bill of Rights | Neutral | Bill appears consistent with current foster care policy and practices. Change wording to identify and locate all kin (to cast a wider net). Meaning participation should be legally mandated for all youth with respect to their age/ability in court appearances/case planning - not just youth who are transitioning. |
| HB 831 - ED, Services for Children in PRTFs | Neutral | No position at this time |
| HB 504 - Local Electronic Notice | Neutral | No position at this time |
| HB 699 - Clerk Summons Jurors/Magistrate Eligibility | Neutral | No concerns |
| HB 923 - Specify Time/Reinstate License/Child Support | Neutral | No concerns at this time |
| HB 786 - RECLAIM NC Act. | Neutral | No position at this time |
| HB 811 - Amend Practice of Funeral Services | Neutral | No concerns at this time |
| HB 873 - Workforce Development/CC | Neutral | No concerns at this time |
| HB 392/SB 401 - State Arrest Warrant Status/Public Assistance | Neutral provided cost concerns continue to be addressed | Cost Concerns - Creates administrative hardships. Federal checks unavailable to local DSS at present - Possible discouragement of clients from applying for public assistance. |
| *SB 589/HB 452 - 2013 School Safety Act | Neutral | No known connection to local DSS |
| *SB 186/SB 287 - Notice Publication by Counties and Cities/Notice Publication by Some Local Governments | Neutral | No position at this time |
|
Neutral |
No concerns at this time |
|
| *SB 453/HB495 - Modify NC Human Trafficking Comm. Membership | Neutral | Recommend a county director of social services be added as a member of the commission. |
| *SB 472/HB 350 - Court Improvement Project Juv Law Changes - AB | Neutral | No concerns at this time |
| *SB573 - MHDDSA Provider/Guardianship Issues | Neutral | Would the provision pertaining to a corporation of not being allowed to be appointed as guardian when receiving compensation from LME not also apply to a disinterested public agent? |
| *SB 683/HB 855 - Safe Harbor/Victims of Human Trafficking | Neutral | No position |
| *SB 75 - Onslow Public-Private Partnership | Neutral | No position at this time; unclear as to the impact this law would have on the federal particiation in the cost of space |
| HB 385 - Youth Accountability Task Force | Neutral | No concerns |
| SB 302/HB 456 - DV Fatality Review Team/Mecklenburg Co. | Neutral | No concerns |
How do I Contact my Senator/Representative?
Click HERE to determine who represents you and how to contact them.
2013 House of Representatives Committee Assignments by Committee
Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee
Insurance
| Representative Dockham, Chair | Representative R. Brawley, Vice Chair |
| Representative Collins, Vice Chair | |
| Representative McElraft, Vice Chair | Representative Baskerville |
| Representative Bryan | Representative Bumgardner |
| Representative Burr | Representative Cunningham |
| Representative Davis | Representative Dollar |
| Representative Earle | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Representative Fulghum | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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| This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | Representative Insko |
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| Representative Murry | Representative Pierce |
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State Personnel
2013 Senate Committee Assignments by Committee
Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee
| Senator Ralph Hise, Co-Chair | Senator Louis Pate, Co-Chair |
| Senator Austin M. Allran | Senator Tamara Barringer |
| Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. | Senator Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. |
| Senator Gladys A. Robinson |
