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DSS says goodbye to two long-time employees

BY NATASHA ASHE
SALISBURY POST

Members Jeannie Misenheimer and Dianne Scott sat teary-eyed as they sat through their last meeting. Both women have each served several years.

After the meeting, the exiting members were showered with hugs and kind words by fellow board members and Social Services staff.

Social Services Director Sandra Wilkes said both members made a big impact and will be greatly missed.

“They both have been very supportive during so many changes, including staff and programs policy changes, and have been behind us all the way,” said Wilkes after the meeting. “They will truly be missed.”

Misenheimer and Scott both served the board during program changes, high employee turnovers and revisions in Child Protective Services procedures after the department fell under scrutiny following the 1997 abuse deaths of three young children. Both were vocal and very open of their support of the staff and for former director Rick Travis. They were also on the board when the department was relieved by the state for making necessary improvements, and when it received an excellent state biennial review.

And both women openly admitted they would like to continue to serve.

Misenheimer, who served six years, gave a tearful and very emotional departure speech. Former Social Services director Edwin Koontz will take Misenheimer’s place on the board. Koontz retired from the department after serving more than four decades, two of which he served as director.

Scott, who served three years on the board, will be replaced by Zell Setzer, an independent insurance agent and retired probation officer.

Setzer, who is currently serving as chairman of the board for the Pregancy Support Center and other community organizations, was appointed by Rowan County Commissioners.

The board also heard of yet another state project Child Protective Services is participating in to ensure improvement in the county’s welfare of children.

Children Services Adminisrator Tom Brewer informed the board that his unit has gotten off to an excellent start in the state’s Challenge for Children program, an effort to reduce the number of children in Social Services care by finding them permanent homes.

The state Division of Social Services started the initiative in 1997 and 67 North Carolina counties joined the effort, including Rowan. Rowan has also been a participant in the N.C. Families for Kids initiative since 1998, also part of the effort to reform child welfar.

Rowan received a $100,000 grant for three years to start its Familes for Kids program to help meet the goals of the Challenge for Children and has formed two teams to ensure the program’s success. They are the Families for Kids Community Performance Advocacy team and the Families for Kids Community Assessment Team, both composed of local agencies’ officials and residents.

Challenge for Children evolved out of several efforts on behalf of children’s welfare. The program’s goals are:

• to ensure community-based support for families.
• to get the family is involved in a comprehensive evaluation of their strengths and needs.
• have everyone working together toward a permanent plan for the child.
• find one stable foster home that provides temporary stability until a lifelong home for the child is achieved.
• getting a safe permanent home within one year for all children in the legal custody or placement responsiblity of county DSS.

Brewer said Rowan Social Services is ahead with their 15 percent reduction in providing foster children permancy, compared to other departments average of about 8 percent, Brewer said.

In July 1998, 133 children were in the department’s custody. The backlog of children in Rowan’s Social Services care declined steadily throughout 1998 and into 1999. As of June 1998, the number is at 113.

Brewer said the efforts to move forward has been possible with the help of the recent hiring of a contract attorney to assist with court case loads. The efforts are expected to continue since the department has been notified they will get a full day in court per week – as opposed to three hours – with the appointment of a fourth district court judge in the county.