BY JESSIE BURCHETTE
SALISBURY POST

The staff of the Rowan County Department of Social Services has just completed one of the best years ever.

Staffers are providing more assistance, collecting more child support and are staying on the job longer.

The Rowan Social Services Board got an update Tuesday afternoon during its meeting at the new branch on Mahaley Avenue. It was a near celebration of good news, following a tour of the refurbished building which now houses the Child Protective Services division.

The board quickly re-elected Frank Tadlock as chairman and Edwin Koontz as vice chairman. The three members present — Tadlock, Koontz and Zell Setzer — voted unanimously. Board members Marjorie Kinard and Lee Piper were out of town.

Social Services Director Sandra Wilkes gave board members a comparison of programs for the past two years. The report brought smiles and high praise.

The last item on the report drew the biggest smiles. Through June 30 of this year, the department had 32 resignations, compared to 68 for the previous year.

“That’s a 50 percent decrease,” observed Tadlock.

For the past several years the department has been plagued by high turnover and low morale. Tadlock and others took note of many smiling faces in the new quarters.

How tough is the job of a Social Services staffer?

In a report on child support collections, staffer Earlene Rivers told about one new hire who resigned after two weeks. “When she left, she said she had a whole new respect for what DSS does, but she didn’t want to do it,” said Rivers.

Rivers gave a detailed report on children in the child support program. She noted that nationwide, the number of children eligible for child support grew by 32 percent from 1988 to 1998.

In the past year, the child support caseload in Rowan has grown by 11 percent, from 7,203 to 8,028 cases. Nearly 4,700 cases, or 58 percent, have court orders issued for child support.

Rivers and Wilkes both lauded county commissioners for agreeing to fund two new positions, enabling the staff to pursue more support cases. With the additional staff, caseloads have been reduced from around 745 per worker to slightly less than 500.

The state recommends 300 to 325 cases per staffer.

The county currently has 17 employees working on establishing paternity, obtaining court orders and enforcing collections.

Collections improved during the year from $5.8 million to $6.3 million, an 8 percent increase.

Tadlock noted that Wilkes lived up to her promise to commissioners. She promised that with more staff, collections would rise.

“Her neck has been on the line,” joked Tadlock.

Rivers said the major problem continues to be inability to locate 25 percent of the parents. “Many have mastered the art of disappearing,” said Rivers. Many of those parents are in the state correction system, where they have no income and can’t support children.

“Some cannot and some will not pay child support,” said Rivers.

On the opposite side, she said some non-custodial parents willingly pay more than they are ordered to. “It’s very, very rare, but we do have some parents who pay more,” said Rivers.

She said the staff works as a team to put children first but, despite their best efforts, cannot resolve all matters regarding child support.

In other matters, the board:

• Scheduled an open house for the new Mahaley Avenue facility for Aug. 29 from 3 to 5 p.m., prior to the board meeting.
• Got an update from Child Protective Services Director Tom Brewer on plans to provide therapeutic foster care.

The county agency has agreed to contract with the Children’s Home Society in Greensboro to recruit and train foster parents to care for children now in facilities out of the county. Many of the children need 24-hour supervision due to severe behavior disorders.

Brewer said the agency initially aims to establish five homes which would care for a total of 10 children.

The county currently pays $70,000 or more a month for 24 children in out-of-county facilities.

Officials have said the care of the children, many of whom have been abused or molested, is one of the fastest growing expenses in the county budget.

Also, Tadlock reported that information on the two candidates for the Social Services board will be sent to Resident Superior Court Judge Larry Ford. Under the procedures, if the Social Services board fails to unanimously agree on its single appointment to the five-member board, the superior court judge will make the decision.

Marjorie Kinard, who has served one three-year term has asked for reappointment. Setzer nominated Betty Clark, a retired South Rowan teacher.

Under state law, Kinard will continue to fill the slot until an appointment is made.