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Personnel Committee Meeting Minutes
September 10, 2003
Present: Reta Shiver, Jackie Jordan-Mcleod, Dianne Gallimore, Christy Ward, Ben Rose, Janet Gentry, Deborah Coley, Holly Steed, Pat Cameron, Maggie Parsons, Donanna Bates, Patrick McCoy, and Jack Jones.
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chairman, Jack Jones. Members and guests introduced themselves.
Patrick McCoy of OSP reported the following:
I. Delegation of Authority
While some delegation agreements for qualifying Social Work and Income Maintenance classes are in place around the State, a committee will be meeting to finalize qualification guides for these classes. Phase One will update and formalize existing agreements.
Competency levels of staff in some counties are already up to par, but staff will need to be trained in many counties in order to ensure uniformity and consistency in qualifying the classes in question. Some training focusing on qualification standards will be conducted at the Social Services Institute. Donanna Bates is the presenter for this session. This might be good refresher training for staff that already follows the qualifications process. Supervisors who are interested in learning to apply standards should attend the training at the Social Services Institute. OSP is developing a comprehensive guide to be utilized in the qualification process.
The Office of State Personnel will delegate as much authority as an agency is willing to accept up to the Social Worker III class. The process will improve both agency and State efficiency in that there will not be a wait for turnaround from the State and State staff will be free to handle other essential functions. OSP will offer consultant services when county personnel is unsure of action (s) to take, or has questions.
Counties will not create their own recruitment standards as the emphasis will continue to be placed on statewide uniformity and consistency. OSP will review counties every 3 years for quality assurance. County staff must be trained when there is turnover in order for the county’s certification for qualification to be valid. The County Director certifies that rules will be followed and the agreement will also provide assurance that staff is adequately trained.
The process presents and opportunity for the OSP to schedule training and for the State and counties to network and share information. Infor-mation can be posted on the website for easy accessibility for the part-nership.
II. Turnover—presented by Holly Steed
Ms. Steed presented a wealth of information to the committee in the form of printed material that included (1) Job Satisfaction Survey from research conducted by Luis Carrasquillo (2) Exit Interview Form (3) Analysis of Turnover Costs (4) Turnover-Relationship chart including characteristics and factors impacting turnover.
Patrick McCoy stated that OSP has the staff and capability of conducting a statewide turnover survey. Different individuals will offer differing per-spectives as to what motivates them to do the job. Hopefully, most Child Welfare Social Workers could complete the survey over the Internet. State staff that handles surveys(Terry) is phenomenal and a master crafter of questions. Purpose of the turnover survey is not to target a spe-cific individual such as a supervisor or director, but to elicit pertinent in-formation. Surveys can look at training, job satisfaction, and working con-ditions. Surveys will be ongoing, not just a one-time activity.
OSP is talking to Lynn Freeman regarding Child Welfare issues in terms of addressing the Secretary’s request for partnering to help Child Welfare Social Workers. OSP might be the best avenue for quick change as op-posed to the Division of Social Services because the Division might study the issue to death.
One way to address pay grade differential for Child Welfare Workers at the Social Worker III level would be to create two pay grades, one of which would be at the Senior level. This would be an incentive for seasoned workers. There is a sense of urgency for making improvements in the SW classifications. Some counties, such as Onslow, already implement pay differentials for Social Workers. Another county offers a $2000 bonus each year for Social Workers.
Jerry and his subcommittee will work with the OSP on the turnover issue. The focus of the survey should be left up to the committee.
III. Training
Even though a 72-hour pre-service training is required of Social Workers, the State does not include a component of that 72-hours that focuses on Workplace Violence. Local agencies are tasked to provide their own training on Workplace Violence. Johnny Lee from the Governor’s Crime Commission deals with Workplace Violence. His sessions include (1) Strategies for Coping and (2) Debriefing. Mr. Lee will work with counties and the Association to provide training. He might be able to access grant funds to assist with training.
In other business the PC discussed DSS Social Worker Salaries in relation to Social Work salaries in private industry. While it is next to impossible to obtain a salary scale from private industry, the consensus of the commit-tee is that private industry pays more. New/higher pay grades are needed for Social Workers in Child Welfare.
The Certified Public Managers Program should be publicized for Directors.
Meeting was adjourned at 11: 40 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Reta Shiver, Director
Pender County DSS
