AG 1999 09 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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09/14/99 TUE 11:06 FAX 1704939140! DSS ~008 -- SUCCESSFUL METHODS PREVIOUSLY USED: The methods that we plan to use have been utilized in Cabarms County in the past with very successful results. In 1992, the agency bel~an a prolp'am called "Sobs for Dad~', which used many of these same principles to work with absent non-custodial parents in order to help them obtain employment and pay the delinquent child support owed to their children. This pro,mm wes very success~tl durin~ its entire duration fi~om 1992 until 1999. Xt ended after the NC Employment and Tralning Grant Program no lonser fonded any job training programs in the state. We won several awards for innovation and success, including the NC Association of County Commissioners Award and a Governor's Award for Excellence in Workforce Development. We also won a nalional award through the National Association of Counties. This proBram was very etfectlve at worldn, g with the absent parents and educatin_,a and counseling them as to their responsibilities to their children. We viewed ourselves as very successfol in that we achieved a 75% collection rate on those tlut! we worked with, who most likely would not have been paying child support at all without our assistance and support. Also, in 1~95, we were approved for the first welfare re~m program in the state with our ~Fer/~ OVer ~Fe/~'~ program. We used creative methods, including diverting cash assistance and food stamps to employers to help make a salary, in order to make our pm~,m successful. This benefit, coupled with intensive social work services stat ,h-ici sanctions, helped us reduce our WI~FA population from 1,013 in 1995, to 517 in Ausust of I999, a 49% decrease in recipients. ADDITIONAL ]NI~ORMATION ABOUT OUR PROPOS~n PROJECT: Our commitment in C.~hamis County to employing welfkre recipients reinforces this proposal. We have continually been at the forefront in welt'are refbrm in the state ~nd nation. Our ~FO~' and .lob.t'or Dads programs have served a large ses,,,ent o£ the public assisUmce recipients in C~barms County, and we anticipate that the ".lol~fer,41~4tFDf" program will reaoh out to a wider sesment. We have no reason to doubt that our efforts in this arcna will be as suoceasful as we have previously been. We always strive for innovation and excellence, and settle for nothing less.