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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20031405.tiff RESOLUTION RE: APPROVE ADDITION TO OPERATIONS MANUAL, SECTION 5.000, GENERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with Section 5.000, General Assistance Programs Policies and Procedures for the Weld County Department of Social Services Operations Manual, and WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said additional section, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, ex-officio Board of Social Services, that Section 5.000, General Assistance Programs Policies and Procedures for the Weld County Department of Social Services Operations Manual be, and hereby are, added and approved. The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 4th day of June, A.D., 2003. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS _�A WE COUNTY, COLOR DO ATTEST: f��'�"�f �aa ` vid . Long, Chair Weld County Clerk tot ;o= c H:,k r'?3v i��F "$ R bert D. sden, Pro-Tem BY: -— d c °s_ YiC�_ Deputy Clerk to the Boer �P M. J. eile AP- - • D TO . -M: ' ' t'LLJ William H. Jer ounty Attorney Glenn V ad Date of signature: 2003-1405 SS0030 SS General Assistance Policies and Procedures 5.000 General Assistance Added 6/03 State law allows counties the option of a having a general assistance program and, if established, to determine the benefit level. General Assistance programs provide temporary and emergency assistance for applicants for Federal/State categorical assistance programs and help for some medical indigents. General Assistance programs are totally funded by county funds for services,not personnel or administrative costs. Expenditures from this program are not covered by Colorado Works (TANF), Old Age Pension, Aid to Needy Disabled, or other Federal/State means. 5.001 Description of General Assistance Programs Added 6/03 Under Colorado State Rule Section 3.100.24, Volume III, Income Maintenance,the Department"may provide,by means of its own funds, items which are needed by recipients and which are not included in the standards of assistance. Such provision for"unmet need" shall not be deducted as income in the budgeting process". The Department's General Assistance programs consist of: A. Shelter: Short-term and emergency housing to individuals and families who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence through contractual arrangements with shelters. B. Shelter Case Management: Short-term case management services to individuals and families who are receiving shelter care and are considered homeless and/or victims of domestic violence through contractual arrangements with shelters. C. Dental: Partial funding for emergency or non-routine dental services, which are not covered by Medicaid, for public assistance recipients who are receiving categorical assistance. Services are provided through contractual arrangements with the Weld County Dental Society. D. Vision: Partial funding for vision examinations and eyeglasses, which are not covered by Medicaid, for public assistance recipients who are receiving categorical assistance. Services are provided through contractual arrangements with the Weld County Optometrists and Ophthalmologists Society. E. Kind: Emergency assistance for applicants and recipients of public assistance, as deemed appropriate by the Department, when other services or funds are not available. General Assistance Policies and Procedures F. Prescription: Short-term, emergency assistance for prescriptions for categorical program recipients when Medicaid or other services are not available. G. Burial: Households or individuals who are indigent and lack sufficient funds for burial may qualify for this assistance. Relatives make applications. Policies, procedures, and payments set forth in Colorado State Department of Human Services regulations Volume III, "Categorical Burials" will be followed for General Assistance Burials except that the person is not eligible for "'Categorical Burial" because they are not receiving categorical public assistance. Categorical Burial Assistance will be pursued whenever possible for individuals or households who are eligible for public assistance or are public assistance recipients. H. Refund: Promissory notes will be created to recover General Assistance expenditures from individuals who benefit from services rendered under Section 5.001 and when the Department or the City of Greeley/Weld County Housing Authority believes the recipient will have the ability to repay the funds within a reasonable period of time, as follows: 1) The City of Greeley/Weld County Housing Authority will be responsible for refund actions with individuals receiving services under Section 5.001, A and B. 2) The Department will be responsible for refund actions with individuals receiving services under Section 5.001, C through F. 5.010 Shelter Services Added 6/03 The purpose of shelter services is to provide funding for short-term and emergency housing assistance to individuals and families who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence. These services will be provided through shelter facilities that: A. Meet the definition for a shelter and serves the homeless as defined by the Emergency Shelter Grant regulations under the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. B. Have the ability to provide such shelter services in a proper and satisfactory manner, as prescribed by the County. C. Participate in Weld County's Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula, which is an approved plan by the Board of General Assistance Policies and Procedures County Commissioners to distribute shelter and case management resources provided under general fund resources. 5.010.1 General Organization Added 6/03 Shelter services involve three major entities: A. The Weld County Department of Social Services (Department) B. The City of Greeley/Weld County Housing Authority(Housing Authority) C. The Board of County Commissioners (The Board), acting as the Board of Social Services and acting as the Weld County Housing Authority Board. 5.010.2 General Description Added 6/03 A. The Board organized all housing and related services under the Housing Authority. B. The Board adopted and approved a Weld County Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula distribution methodology. C. The Housing Authority contracts for shelter services with agencies that are able to provide shelter services and meet the Board's criteria and participate in the Weld County Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula. D. The Department refers directly to the appropriate shelter facilities those individuals and families who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence. 5.010.3 Eligibility Criteria Added 6/03 A. An individual or family who does not have a place to stay for the night and does not have the financial resources to secure a place to stay; and B. An individual or family who meets the admittance criteria of the specific shelter. 5.010.4 Functions of the Department Added 6/03 A. The Department will transfer its annual finding for shelter services to the Housing Authority the first week of the new calendar year to the Housing Authority for financial management. General Assistance Policies and Procedures B. The Department will identify, from monthly billing sheets received from the Housing Authority, those individuals who are clients receiving public assistance. 5.010.5 Functions of Housing Authority Added 6/03 A. The Housing Authority will identify those agencies that meet the appropriate criteria of shelter and contract with such agencies for purposes of shelter services. These shelter services will be available to those individuals or families who meet the eligibility criteria as identified in Section 5.010.3 of the Department's Operations Manual. B. The Housing Authority will provide financial management of the shelter funds including: 1. Providing monthly reimbursement of services conducted by shelters on behalf of eligible individuals or families as identified in Section 5.010.3 and for a maximum period of thirty(30) days per incident; and 2. Monitoring of overall performance standards of the shelter, through contracts, and as established for Emergency Shelter Grant contracts between the County of Weld and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and through the Weld County Shelter and Case Management Distribution Formula; and 3. Reporting timely expenditures and client identification information from shelters to the Department on a monthly basis; and 4. Returning appropriated funds not spent or encumbered by shelters at the end of each calendar year to the Department that the monies were appropriated; and 5. Obtaining promissory notes and pursuing recovery from individuals who benefited from shelter services that were paid with General Assistance Payments, if the individual has the ability to repay the funds within a reasonable period of time. These recovered funds will be returned to the Department no later than the end of each calendar year when the Housing Authority receives the monies. Housing Authority will establish the criteria by which promissory notes will be pursued with an individual and establish contract criteria with shelters to obtain promissory notes by January 1, 2004. General Assistance Policies and Procedures 5.010.6 Transfer Authority of Shelter Funds Under General Assistance to Housing Authority Added 6/03 For Calendar Year 2004, the Department will transfer shelter funds under its General Assistance Budget to the Housing Authority for the purposes provided in Section 5.010 through 5.010.5. This transfer will be for the reimbursement of shelter costs on behalf of Department clients and will not include personnel or administrative reimbursement for the Housing Authority. The Calendar Year 2004 funding is $40,000. 5.020 Shelter Case Management Services Added 6/03 The purpose of Shelter Case Management Services is to provide funding for short-term case management assistance for those individuals and families who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence. Short- term case management assistance is intended to help individuals and families obtain permanent housing, access to support groups, and other community resource referrals. These services will be provided through shelter facilities that: A. Meet the definition for a case management provider and serves the homeless as defined by the Emergency Shelter Grant regulations under the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. B. Have the ability to provide such case management services in a proper and satisfactory manner, as prescribed by the County. C. Participate in the Weld County Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula, which is an approved plan by the Board of County Commissioners to distribute shelter and case management resources provided under general fund resources. 5.020.1 General Organization Added 6/03 Shelter Case Management Services involve three major entities: A. The Weld County Department of Social Services (Department) B. The City of Greeley/Weld County Housing Authority(Housing Authority) General Assistance Policies and Procedures C. The Board of County Commissioners (The Board), acting as the Board of Social Services and acting as the Weld County Housing Authority Board. 5.020.2 General Description Added 6/03 A. The Board organized all housing and related services under the Housing Authority. B. The Board adopted and approved a Weld County Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula distribution methodology. C. The Housing Authority contracts for Shelter Case Management Services with agencies that are able to provide shelter and case management services, meet the Board's criteria, and participate in Weld County's Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula. D. The Department refers directly to the appropriate shelter facilities those individuals and families who are homeless and/or victims of domestic violence. 5.020.3 Eligibility Criteria Added 6/03 A. An individual or family who does not have a place to stay for the night and does not have the financial resources to secure a place to stay; and B. An individual or family who meets the admittance criteria of the specific shelter; and C. An individual who requires case management services and meets the admittance criteria of such service. 5.020.4 Functions of the Department Added 6/03 A. The Department will transfer its annual funding for Shelter Case Management Services to the Housing Authority the first week of the new calendar year to the Housing Authority for financial management. B. The Department will identify, from monthly billing sheets received from the Housing Authority, those individuals who are clients receiving public assistance. 5.0203 Functions of Housing Authority Added 6/03 A. The Housing Authority will identify those agencies that meet the appropriate criteria of shelter and case management services and General Assistance Policies and Procedures contract with such agencies for purposes of Shelter Case Management Services. These shelter services will only be available to those individuals or families who meet the eligibility criteria identified in Section 5.020.3 of the Department's Operations Manual. B. The Housing Authority will provide financial management of the Shelter Case Management Services funds including: 1. Providing monthly reimbursement of case management services conducted by shelters on behalf of eligible individuals or families as identified in Section 5.020.3 and for a maximum period of thirty(30) days per incident; and 2. Monitoring of overall performance standards of the shelter, through contracts, and as established for Emergency Shelter Grant contracts between the County of Weld and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and through Weld County's Shelter and Case Management Distribution Formula; and 3. Reporting timely expenditures and client identification information to the Department on a monthly basis; and 4. Returning appropriated funds not spent or encumbered by shelters at the end of the calendar year to the Department that the monies were appropriated; and 5. Obtaining promissory notes and pursuing recovery from individuals who benefited from case management services that were paid with General Assistance Payments, if the individual has the ability to repay the funds within a reasonable period of time. These recovered funds will be returned to the Department no later than the end of each calendar year when the Housing Authority receives the monies. Housing Authority will establish the criteria by which promissory notes will be pursued with an individual and establish contract criteria with shelters to obtain promissory notes by January 1, 2004. 5.020.6 Transfer Authority of Shelter Case Management Funds Under General Assistance to Housing Authority Added 6/03 For Calendar Year 2004, the Department will transfer shelter funds under its General Assistance Budget to the Housing Authority for the purposes provided in Section 5.020 through 5.020.5. This transfer will be for the reimbursement of Shelter Case Management Services costs on behalf of General Assistance Policies and Procedures Department clients and will not include personnel or administrative reimbursement for the Housing Authority. The Calendar Year 2004 funding is $20,000. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES P.O. BOX A GREELEY, CO. 80632 Website:www.co.weld.co.us ' Administration and Public Assistance(970)352-1551 Child Support(970)3524933 V ill 9 O • COLORADO MEMORANDUM TO: David E. Long, Chair Date: May 30, 2003 Board of County Commissioners FR: Judy A. Griego, Director, Social Services (At 01, RE: Addition of Section 5.000,General Assistari e Programs Policies and Procedures,Weld County Depaitiuent of Social Services Operations Manual Enclosed for Board approval is an addition of Section 5.000, General Assistance Programs Policies and Procedures,Weld County Depaitinent of Social Services Operations Manual. These policies and procedures were reviewed and discussed at the Board's Work Session of May 28, 2003. The purposes of Section 5.000 are to: 1. Add or clarify County policies and procedures as they relate to programs funded by County funds. State and federal funds are not involved. Reference: Sections 5.000 - 5.001, General Assistance and Description of General Assistance Programs. 2. Specifically add Section 5.010—5.020.6, which refer to Weld County's Shelter and Shelter Case Management Program. These policies and procedures outline certain decisions by Weld County regarding the program, which include: A. The City of Greeley/Weld County Housing Authority assume administrative and financial management of the shelter and case management program, developed under the Weld County Shelter and Case Management Funding Formula distribution methodology. B. At the beginning of each Calendar Year,the Department will transfer its General Assistance funds, through a check to the Housing Authority, for the purposes of shelter($40,000) and case management($20,000). C. The transfer authority be effective Calendar Year 2004. Reference: Section 5.010 through Section 5.020.6. If you have any questions,please telephone me at extension 6510. 2003-1405 Hello