Nov 5, 2021 5 min read

Washington County officials passed a sweeping expansion of the county’s Department of Human Services that they hope will offer a consolidated “single-point of entry” system for residents who receive assistance through various social services agencies.

The salary board, which includes the county commissioners and Controller Michael Namie, unanimously passed during their Thursday afternoon meeting the restructuring of the department that will act like an umbrella to bring in multiple agencies under Human Services.

The concept was created by Human Services Director Kim Rogers, who was tasked with creating the structure to offer more streamlined services for people and to help coordinate with various county agencies. The board had hoped to vote on the proposal in August, but Commissioner Larry Maggi raised concerns about its cost, prompting Rogers to provide updates and reduce some of the costs in recent weeks.

Maggi, who has seen how drug addiction can affect people during his time as a state trooper and county sheriff, thinks the plan is a good first step in helping a community that continues to battle the opioid epidemic.

“Is this a magic cure? I don’t think so. But we have to do something,” Maggi said.

Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan praised Rogers for the model and was looking forward to implementing it.

“This was always the dream I had to have this single point of entry,” Irey Vaughan said.

Among the agencies that will be under Human Services are Children and Youth Services, Aging Services, Child Care Information Services, Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Assistance Programs, Food, Transportation, Homelessness and Housing. The new structure will include a centralized call system for the public to use if they know someone who is having a crisis and needs help. Officials said that will help to integrate multiple agencies in a case to figure out which one is most suited to help the person or people in need.

The department will cost $571,000 for personnel, equipment and operating costs in its first year, although the salary portion is down about $10,000 from original estimates. The first few years of the program will be paid through federal American Rescue Plan Act stimulus money.

“She came up with acceptable changes,” Maggi said about the reduction in costs.

The department will include 24 total positions, only eight of which are newly created since some county workers will be transferred or take on new roles. Of those 24 positions, three are new members of Adult Probation who will perform risk assessment re-entry surveys to help inmates return to society when they leave jail.

“We are really excited to move forward and committed to being the best we can be for the residents of Washington County,” Rogers said.

Commissioner Nick Sherman, who did not speak before his vote in favor of the changes, said in a press release issued after the meeting that he was “overjoyed” that this plan has come to fruition.

“I have worked in the human services field for nearly 20 years and know the critical role it plays in individual lives and the community. Through my work I saw firsthand the tremendous need for these changes,” said Sherman, who has advocated for the reformatted human services department since he became a commissioner in 2020. “Simply put, we needed a single point of contact to administer, coordinate, plan and oversee all Human Services departments and programs in Washington County.”

Rogers said they will begin advertising the new positions today with hopes to start interviewing candidates later this month. She said internal candidates who are already working for the county could “move over quickly,” but they hope to have everyone in place by January.

Also during the meeting the salary board voted to remove two clerks from under the supervision of Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis and place them in the probation office. The change was made after Davis waived more of her office’s duties last month, including some filings involving juvenile probation. Davis, who is a member of the salary board for matters relating to her office, voted no along with Sherman, although Irey Vaughan, Maggi and Namie voted in favor to form the majority.

That prompted a terse back-and-forth between Davis and Irey Vaughan as they sparred over the decision.

“I am being retaliated against because I’m trying to follow the rules of the state,” Davis said while addressing the audience at the meeting.

Irey Vaughan said Davis was out of order in what erupted into an argument between them and she asked sheriff’s deputies to come into the meeting room, although Davis was permitted to stay.

Davis has waived numerous duties in her office after the salary board removed other employees from her office in June and sent them to work in Adult Probation. Irey Vaughan said Davis is currently performing only about one-third of the typical duties of a county clerk of courts, prompting the staffing changes.

The salary board also tabled a vote that would have removed two payroll workers from the controller’s office and placed them in the finance department. Namie, who has served as controller for more than 30 years, is retiring in January and will be replaced by April Sloane, who won election to the office Tuesday.