SOCIAL SERVICES ADVISORY COUNCIL
Smyrna State Service Center, Smyrna, DE
Minutes of April 2, 2014
Present:
Council Members State Staff
Mable Cephas Elaine Archangelo, DSS
Karen Young Chris Cressler, DSS
Retha Fisher Chuck Hayward, DCSE
Jessica Fullman Ray Fitzgerald, DSS
James Villarreal Ted Mermigos, DCSE
Guests:
Excused: Kevin Hansbury, Sr. Jeanne Cashman
James Villarreal called the meeting to order at 5:35pm.
March minutes were reviewed and approved by unanimous vote.
Member Recruitment
Copies of the current member roster and term expirations were distributed. Discussion was held about current vacancies and upcoming expirations. Current members will submit for re-appointment. Active recruitment for vacancies was encouraged. The annual election of officers is past due and will be held at the next meeting.
DCSE Update: --given by Chuck Hayward
Last month a batch of over 3,300 license suspension notices went out in error. It took several weeks to correct the problem. All NCP’s who received incorrect notices were mailed a letter regarding the correction.
The OCSE certification site visit has been postponed due to the delay in the IV&V re-contracting process.
The Family Law Commission has several projects that will impact DCSE as follows: working with the DAG to draft legislation that would allow a positive paternity test from an accredited lab to establish paternity; revision of the VAP instructions to 8th grade reading level; and legislation that would fund paternity testing for minors who request it prior to signing a VAP.
The Child Support Collections Commission continues to address the issue of how to deal with NCP’s who are incarcerated for long periods of time. The goal is to have recommendations by the end of the legislative session.
Net collections for March 2014 are down .45% from March 2013. YTD collections are down .59% from YTD SFY 13.
State government is under an intensive hiring and expenditure review due to revenue shortfalls. It is unclear how long this will last.
A targeted effort is being made to increase paternity numbers, including extra work on Wednesday evenings, comp time toward the project, and every Friday being “Paternity Day”. The goal is to establish 3,952 paternities by the end of September.
The contract has been signed with Specialisterne for document imaging and work should begin in late April.
Two lawsuits have been filed recently involving DCSE. One involves a Connecticut case registered in Delaware for enforcement. The other alleges a $38,000 overpayment by DCSE. A clerical error on the end date of a PFA order caused the problem. It is hoped the courts will be able to give credit for the payments made by the non-custodial parent.
IPayOn-Line kicked off implementation on 2-27-14. This system will allow clients and employers the convenience of making child support payments securely via the internet. There will be a link on the DCSE website in late spring.
DSS Update – given by Elaine Archangelo
90-95% of the local office backlog has been completed. Account transfers continue to be a challenge and will take a while longer to resolve.
Several DSS Supervisors conducted a diversity presentation at Smyrna Middle School for about 60 students on 3-14-14. The participants were given information on stereotypes, discrimination, diversity, bias, and acceptance and asked for feedback to show their understanding.
The FNS Civil Rights review was conducted on 3-27-14.
Elaine Archangelo and Takeya Perez appeared on Window on Wilmington on 3-26-14 to share information about the benefits DSS provides and how to apply for them.
There has been a lot of press about the LiHeap energy assistance and SNAP connection via the “heat and eat” option. In the Agriculture Act of 2014 this linkage of SNAP benefits was increased from a $1 to $20.01 LiHeap benefit. Delaware is considering the merits of utilizing this approach.
The Welfare Employment Committee will host its first annual TANF Employment Awards of Excellence Breakfast on 4-30-14. Employee recognition events will be held in April and May. April 7th is the second annual Coalition to End Hunger Conference at the Christiana Hilton.
Next meeting will be held on May 7, 2014 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Smyrna State Service Center.
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