DSS served thousands of children, seniors and families in FY2023

Whether they're children in difficult situations, seniors who face physical and financial obstacles, families who find themselves homeless or young adults who've lost their way, thousands of residents become clients of the Washington County Department of Social Services each year.

On Tuesday, new-ish Director Tiffany Rexrode, who was appointed to that position a year ago, and members of her staff gave the county commissioners a review of the department's activities for the last fiscal year.

In that time, Rexrode noted, the vacancy rate for DSS staff had been cut by half as the agency focused on recruitment and morale.

And in its focus on clients, DSS served thousands of county residents and families during the fiscal year, which ended June 30. That included:

• More than 5,500 child support cases. James Gossard, assistant director for child support, told the commissioners DSS is collecting more than $10 million in child support payment arrears.

"Locating noncustodial parents is imperative to continue the process of getting children the support they deserve," Gossard said. To that end, the staff uses tools provided by state and federal governments to find these parents and their sources of income, he said.

DSS also uses DNA testing to establish paternity, "to ensure basic rights such as inheritance and social security and inheritance" as well as enforcement of child support, Gossard said. About 200 noncustodial parents received DNA testing in FY 2023, according to the agency's annual report.

"Unique to Washington County is our County Alliance Program for Employment," he added. "This is available to noncustodial fathers and offers job readiness and employment support services."

For FY 2023, 21 noncustodial parents participated in the program, resulting in $12,567 paid toward child support cases from participants who became employed through it.

• Emergency and temporary assistance to families. DSS provides temporary cash assistance for children in need and their caretaker relatives. In FY2023, DSS handled an average of 682 of these cases per month — the lowest number of the past four years. FY 2022 was the highest, with an average of 916 cases per month.

DSS also provided monthly payments to an average of 47 aged, blind or disabled adults who were eligible for the Public Assistance to Adults program.

Joshua Bond, assistant director for Family Investment, said that in addition to administering government programs for families, DSS coordinates with outside agencies "to better support self-sufficiency and child welfare protection" for families. That includes transportation for working clients.

And during FY2023, four clients participated in the "Public Assistance to Entrepreneurship" program, a state program offering courses designed to train clients to start their own businesses.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance. The number of households aided by SNAP payments also decreased this year, from an average monthly caseload of 14,491 in FY2022 to 12,188. An average of $5.3 million per month were spent through SNAP in local food stores, according to the report.

• Child safety assessments for nearly 3,600 children. That includes assessments for 124 substance-exposed newborns.

"Child Protective Services provides assessment services to children who are believed to be abused or neglected by their parents or their caretakers," said Amanda Bishop, assistant director for Adult, Child and Family Services. with the goal of protection and intervention to improve family functioning.

The goal, she said, is protection and intervention. During FY2023, 59 children required out-of-home placement. That number, according to the annual report, rose from 35 in FY22. Four children were formally adopted, a lower number than in previous years, and five more found permanent homes through the Guardianship Assistance program.

The Safe Place Child Advocacy Center, which provides services to children who have been sexually abuse, conducted 275 forensic interviews, assessed 118 families, offered on-site forensic medical exams for the children of 92 families and provided mental health services to 29 children.

And that's just a sampling.

An ongoing need, Rexrode said, is for foster parents and adult care home providers for youth and adults with special needs.

Commissioner Derek Harvey asked about "the most critical shortfall you would like to have addressed." Social Services Board Chairwoman Bridgett Jones-Smith replied that one of the most critical needs is communication.

While Rexrode was doing "a great job" of being transparent, Jones-Smith said, there's a disconnect with the public.

"We sit here in meetings like this and we hear this great information; they're doing a great job. But a lot of times theres a disconnect between the citizens who need this information," she said.

"You can't quite penetrate to the community where you need to provide the service?" Harvey suggested.

"That's exactly it," Jones-Smith said.

Information on DSS programs and services is available at its website, dhs.maryland.gov/local-offices/washington-county.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: DSS presents FY2023 annual report