Ed. Note: The Steering Committee for the Unification Study for Winchester and Frederick County received a report from the Social Services Subcommittee in January 2006. The Steering Committee has not discussed or adopted the report as final and will not do so until later in the year after all of the initial subcommittee reports have been received and the public information sessions have been held in March. This Open Forum by Social Services Subcommittee Chairman Donna Dick outlines the procedures used by the subcommittee and gives an overview of their findings and recommendations to the Steering Committee but should not be interpreted as to the final recommendation for the Social Services functions in the community. -- Michael M. Foreman, Steering Committee Chairman

The Social Services Unification Sub-Committee was given the task of developing a plan for the merger of the Winchester Department of Social Services and the Frederick County Department of Social Services. The Sub-committee was instructed to base its plan on the assumption that one unified governmental entity would exist.

The Social Services Sub-Committee conducted an in-depth study of the organizational structure, personnel, finance/ budgets, programs administered and facilities of the two departments as they now exist. The committee met with the director of a consolidated agency and reviewed the "Position Paper of the Virginia League of Social Service Executives on Consolidation of Local Departments of Social Services" and the "Report on the Study of Consolidation of Local Departments of Social Services", written under the direction the Commissioner of Social Services for presentation to the Governor and the General Assembly.

The Committee's report was presented to the Unification Steering Committee based on the information cited above and the requirements of the State Board of Social Services and the Code of Virginia, Section 63.2-306 which outlines the legal requirements for consolidating two or more departments of social services. The report set forth guiding principles for consolidation, made recommendations regarding the major issues and outlined projected opportunities and challenges of unification.

Organizational Structure: The first step in the Unification Plan would be for the newly constituted governing entity to determine the organizational structure of the merged Department of Social Services. Local departments are organized in different ways depending on their size, location, and community needs. There are two types of boards - administrative and advisory. The local governing body appoints members of both. Currently in Frederick County, there is a seven member citizen Administrative Board, plus one member of the Board of Supervisors who serves as liaison to that body. Currently in Winchester, the City Manager serves as the Administrative Board. In addition, Winchester currently has a seven member citizen Advisory Board. Recommendation: The new governing body should evaluate the relative merits of all options and adopt the board structure as a first step, followed by appointment of the new board member(s).

Personnel: When the two governments of Winchester and Frederick County merge into one political jurisdiction, the staff of the merged Department of Social Services would be employees of that governmental body. Recommendation: The newly appointed Administrative Board and newly hired Director, in consultation with the local government HR specialists and representatives of the Human Resource Management Unit of the Virginia Department of Social Services, should set all personnel policies for the new entity.

Facility Considerations: Facility location is perhaps the most challenging issue regarding the unification of the Departments of Social Services. The Social Services Unification Sub-Committee stated that consolidation of the two departments cannot be accomplished until the new agency is located in one facility. The timing of the decision to unify is critical as Winchester is on the verge of a commitment to relocate its Department of Social Services to 15,000 square feet of space in the Phase II of the Our Health Complex on North Cameron Street. In 2003, Frederick County relocated its Department of Social Services from the second floor to the third floor of the County Office Building. Both Departments currently pay rent to their respective local governments. Recommendation: The committee suggests that a consultant may be needed to begin identifying appropriate space which, at a minimum: meets the current aggregate space need, and is located within proximity to the courts, public transportation and parking. The implementation of a unified agency should not begin until appropriate space is available.

Finances: If Winchester and Frederick County become one political jurisdiction, the resident taxpayers would share in the cost of the merged agency. Based on the experience of other jurisdictions, the Committee believes that the initial operating budget will fairly closely approximate the aggregate of the two departments' budgets with the exception of increases needed for merged IT systems and the cost of sufficient space. If the Departments of Social Services were merged without the governments becoming one political jurisdiction, an allocation formula for sharing the cost of the new agency would have to be approved by the localities. Such formulas are typically based on population and caseload size. Recommendation: The committee suggests that due to the complexity of the IT systems, and the investment in existing legacy systems, a consultant may need to be hired to evaluate and make recommendations. If the decision is made to consolidate the two agencies without the jurisdictions merging, a financial impact study should be completed.

Programs: The consolidated agency must function as one organization with one set of program policies that affect residents of both Winchester and Frederick County. Currently, the City and County Departments of Social Services have different benefit levels and services in a number of programs. Recommendation: The new Administrative Board, with in-put from the Director and Staff Program Teams, will review policies and procedures of each agency and will review statewide best practices in order to make decisions as to program changes for the merged agency. Approval would be sought from the State Department of Social Services to equalize program benefits for Winchester and Frederick County residents.

Projected Benefits

Opportunities of Unification:
• Client families that move frequently between the County and the City would be served by one agency without having to transfer their case.
• There would be greater flexibility for coverage during employee vacancies and absences (training, vacation, illness, etc.). Supervisors could specialize in their area of expertise. There would be better support and back-up coverage for the smaller programs of TANF, VIEW, Day Care, Fraud, Adult Services and Adult Protective Services. The larger units of Child Protective Services and Foster Care would allow for the specialization of functions within the unit.
• There would be more staff available to handle on-call. There could be shared workers for programs such as Fraud and for Information Technology. The agencies would not compete for qualified staff.
• There would be one fleet of agency vehicles.
• Currently each agency must develop its own budget, Affirmative Action Plan, Adult Services Plan, Independent Living Plan, Respite Services Plan, Child Day Care Plan, Fraud Plan, Program Improvement Plan, and Promoting Safe and Stable Families Plan. The combined agency would reduce the aggregate administrative time spent on the development of the budget and these plans.

Projected Concerns

Challenges of Unification:
• The potential for increased cost in obtaining sufficient space (and the corresponding loss of revenue to the County if the Department is moved from the County Office Building),
• Concern by the County of increased financial responsibility for administrative costs based on the projected disproportionate population growth. Potentially increased local expenditures (City) for General Relief and Companion Services. Increased costs due to automation standardization.
• Demographic differences between the City and County create different priorities. Loss of some discretion in policy implementation that comes with increased standardization.
• Challenge of equitably merging two staffs which previously operated under different personnel systems with different compensation scales, position classifications and employment benefits.
• Challenge of selecting the best Board structure for the merged agency to meet local needs.

When the decision is made to merge the Winchester and Frederick County governments into one political jurisdiction, the two departments of social services will merge into one unified agency. It is well understood by both departments that the implementation of effective change management strategies would be critical to the transition from two independent entities into one consolidated agency.

If there is no decision to merge the local governments, the decision regarding whether or not to proceed with the consolidation of the departments of social services should be based on the following considerations:

• Will consolidation improve the quality of services to individuals and families?
• Will consolidation increase productivity?
• Will consolidation save money?
• Will consolidation cost money, at least up front?
• Is there a commitment from the relevant governmental officials to work together to make consolidation happen successfully?

The decision of whether or not to merge the departments of social services should be based on the projected benefits such a merger would have on the clients served by the two agencies, the local governments and all of the residents of Winchester and Frederick County.