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COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 11/2012

SOCIAL SERVICES

0029.15

In addition to income maintenance, each county social services agency provides social services.

Each county social services agency develops a biennial Community Social Services Act Plan, which describes the services which will be available to eligible county residents. Most social services provided by the county agencies are directed at achieving or maintaining one or more of the following goals:

● Economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency.

● Self-sufficiency, including reduction or prevention of dependency.

● Prevent or remedy neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their own interests.

● Preserve, rehabilitate, or reunite families.

● Prevent or reduce inappropriate institutional care by providing for community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care.

● Secure referral or admission for institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate, or provide services to people in institutions.

Services must be provided to the following groups of people:

● Families with children under age 18 who are experiencing child dependency, neglect, or abuse, and also pregnant minors, minor parents under the age of 18 and their children, and other minors.

● People, including minors, who are under the guardianship of the Commissioner of Human Services as dependent and neglected wards.

● Adults who are in need of protection.

● People age 60 and over who are experiencing difficulty living independently and are unable to provide for their own needs.

● Emotionally disturbed children, or chronically and acutely mentally ill people who are unable to provide for their own needs or to independently engage in ordinary community activities.

● People with developmental disabilities who are unable to provide for their own needs or to independently engage in ordinary community activities.

● People, including minors, who are dependent on drugs, intoxicated, and/or at risk of harm to themselves or others due to the ingestion of alcohol or other drugs.

● Parents who are in need of child care services in order to secure or retain employment or to obtain the training or education necessary to secure employment. See the Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual.

● Minors involved in or at risk of involvement with criminal activity.

● Other groups of people who, in the judgment of the county board, are in need of social services.

Each county agency uses the Department of Human Services classification structure for social services, which is BRASS (Budgeting, Reporting and Accounting for Social Services). It provides the structure for standardizing and organizing the service categories used by the county agency for social services planning, budgeting, accounting, financial statements and audits, and for most fiscal and statistical reporting to the Department.

Social services which may be provided include: