AGENDA DATE: 8/3/2016
TITLE:
Title
Albemarle County Department of Social Services Request for New Positions
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Albemarle County Department of Social Services request for new positions using new funding appropriated by the General Assembly
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Kamptner, Letteri, Savides
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: The 2016 General Assembly appropriated additional administrative funding in the amount of $4.2 million to assist localities with Medicaid application and renewal processing due to the increase in the volume of applications for Medicaid resulting from open enrollment on the Federal exchange. Local departments are struggling to process new applications for Medicaid within the allowed timeframe while also completing the required annual reviews of existing Medicaid cases. In FY16, the statewide average for the number of overdue Medicaid applications was 10,819 applications each month, with an average of 6,927 applications remaining pending for more than 90 days. During the same time period, the statewide average for the number of overdue reviews was 29,270 cases each month, with an average of 15,839 cases each month being more than 90 days overdue. The General Assembly responded to the statewide concerns regarding the application and renewal processing for this vital benefit program by appropriating these new monies to help support the local departments. The total amount of State funding approved for localities for FY17 is $2,690,600. The remainder of the $4.2 million will be covered by federal resources and local resources. This funding has become a permanent part of all local Department of Social Services budgets going forward.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Ensure County government’s ability to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities
DISCUSSION: Staff requests approval to recruit and hire two new positions using these new State and Federal monies: a Senior Eligibility Worker and a Department of Social Services (DSS) Specialist. Staff is not requesting any additional local monies. The Albemarle County Department of Social Services (ACDSS) workload measures data indicates that it is approximately six positions down across both Adult and Family Benefits programs. An additional Senior Eligibility position to focus on Medicaid, specifically Long-Term Care, would help alleviate the high workload, as well as improve ACDSS’s performance measures. The DSS Specialist would provide vital support to Eligibility Workers as described in Attachment A, and is more cost-effective than hiring a second Eligibility Worker at a higher pay grade. The State allows some flexibility in the use of these funds and the number of positions. However, ACDSS staff believes that its request is in keeping with the goals and intended use of these funds and will help assure the County’s inclusion in future allocations of this type.
BUDGET IMPACT: The total ongoing State allocation added to ACDSS’s base FY17 and ongoing budgets is $83,326, of which 84.5% ($70,410) will be reimbursed by the State and Federal governments. Staff will use new unrestricted, unobligated ongoing Federal money from the Central Services Cost Allocation program in the amount of $52,057 to cover the additional costs. Adding these two new positions will require no additional money from the locality. See Attachment A for more detailed information.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board approve the request to create one Senior Eligibility Worker position and one DSS Specialist position. If the Board approves these new positions, staff will present an appropriation request to the Board in September.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A - Justification of Need