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NCACDSS
Personnel Committee Meeting Minutes
October 8, 2003
Present: Nancy Dickinson, Evelyn Williams, Maggie Parsons, Colleen Turner, Jackie Mcleod, Reta Shiver, Don Yousey, Dianne Gallimore, Lori Lancaster, JoAnn Lamb, Keith Davis, Holly Steed, Co-Chair Jack Jones, and Patrick McCoy from OSP.
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chairman, Jack Jones. Members and
guests introduced themselves. Minutes from the previous Committee meeting were approved by the Committee.
Patrick McCoy was called on to report on the Child Welfare Survey. Patrick McCoy of OSP walked through the Child Welfare Survey document and asked for suggestions, as the document was still in draft format. JoAnn
Lamb, Child Welfare Program Administrator, offered that “Intake” should be included as a component of the survey. Joann Lamb feels that in surveying, a distinction should be made as to the worker’s area of specialization—Foster Care Licensing, Specialized Foster Care, a combination of essential child welfare functions, partial, or other. She also stated that everyone should remember that Multiple Response System Multiple Response System (MRS) workers will be performing all aspects of Social Work because with MRS workers will keep the case for the life of the case.
Patrick stated that OSP would be looking for ‘turnover’ statistics and that counties should be sure to include ‘trainees’ and staff in ‘work against’ situations as indicators for obtaining more accurate information on turnover. Length of service is not only a good indicator of turnover, but it also speaks to the level of
expertise counties have in the field. The Office of State Personnel is seeking empirical data to convince County Commissioners, the General Assembly and the State Personnel Commission of the need to improve the salaries of Child Welfare Social Workers.
According to Patrick, some directors have implemented provisions to reduce the turnover rate. Once a vacancy occurs, the average time to fill a Child Welfare position according to information gathered from the Child welfare Summit Survey was 2 ½ months. Counties need provisions in place to conduct continuous recruitment. Some counties have a “worker pool” from which they can pull staff to fill vacancies - significantly reducing the vacancy rate.
Some counties have built-in incentives to improve retention of Child Welfare staff. It was reported that one County’s Child Welfare Workers received a 5% increase per year for 4 years for a total of a 20% salary increase.
Another County reported paying Child Welfare Social Workers a premium which actually increases their salaries.
JoAnn Lamb would like to include questions that are ‘supervisor-specific’. Evelyn Williams would like for the Division of Social Services to include Collaborative related questions. The Division's survey is very lengthy and JoAnn believes that two separate surveys are needed—one for Child Welfare Services and one for
Personnel. The Committee decided that it was best to conduct two surveys- one from OSP focusing on salaries, benefits, turnover and vacancy rates; and, one from the Division of Social Services focusing on FTE's, caseloads, and ratios of workers to supervisors, etc. A Motion to this effect was made by Dianne Gilmore and seconded by Colleen Turner.
JoAnn Lamb stated that the FTE surveys will be disseminated by the Division in November. Ms. Lamb feels that the Federal dollars needed to improve Child Welfare salaries can be made available without a great degree of difficulty. The important question is “How much will it cost?” Since counties report differently, funding reports will be skewed. Given the complexity of the funding stream, how much it will cost will be a best guess estimate.
Improved child welfare salaries will enable counties to hire more qualified individuals and reduce turnover as well. Directors really need to respond 100% to both surveys. The last survey on Child Welfare conducted by NCACDSS only generated a 55% response. The State will send a letter to Directors emphasizing the importance of responding to the surveys.
The OSP Survey can be conducted via the Internet to capture their actual modes. This will take a bit longer, but Terry Hall from OSP has the software to get the job done. He is also quite skilled at crafting questions that really get to the core of the information sought. The Survey will go out under the names of the OSP Director, the NCACDSS President, and the Division Director.
Mr. Mcoy stated that this survey will be the first of many surveys to follow. A key question raised was “Will the State step in and establish a base starting salary so that there is not such a wide salary disparity from county to county?” It was interjected that the State sets base salaries for teachers and counties pay supplements as incentives. Another key question was “How do we close the gap?” All recommendations need to be presented and it will be up to the decision-makers to determine which are viable. It was noted that if and when salaries increase, health insurance, FICA,retirement, etc. will also increase. Patrick would like to have the survey disseminated through the Association’s list-serve.
Guests from the Jordan Institute and the NC Collaborative were Nancy Dickinson and Evelyn Williams. Their discussion centered on a 5-year grant that has been obtained from the Children’s Bureau that focuses on recruitment and retention. Recruitment, selection and training packages will be delivered to all North Carolina counties. A number of counties are needed to participate for a Comparative analysis of counties that participate and those that do not. County characteristics will be taken into consideration—ethnic diversity,
geo-graphical diversity, and other factors that impact the turnover rate. . Lane Cook and John Payner will be members of the project team.
There was more discussion on the Public Manager’s Program. Jean Waters stated that the program is part of a consortium of 23 states. Jim Savage developed it and got it accredited. The program is open to any middle
manager across the State in the university system and state government. There are 3 prerequisites: Supervision for Management Professionals, Diversity Training, and Interaction Management or Performance Management.
A brief update on the rewrite of Chapter 126 was given. A committee meeting will be rescheduled in the upcoming weeks. The committee will meet on the 21st or 22nd. Don Yousey stated that “just cause” should be
handled locally and he would like to offer his opinion on that issue. He stated that Health Directors are ready to go to the Legislature to ‘fight’ to maintain just cause appeal provision with Recommended and Advisory Decisions to the Local Appointing Authorities.
Delegation of Authority training will be offered at the Social Services Institute. An all day session will be presented to 25 people. A qualifications guide is in the developmental phase. OSP will find a way to provide training on a regional basis. Old agreements need to be reconstituted and updated. The Office of State Personnel will serve as a buffer to reduce undue pressure on local DSS and Health Directors.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Reta Shiver, Director
Pender County DSS
