Fiscal Year 2004 Proposed Budget

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
CRISIS ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM MISSION: To assist residents in achieving self-sufficiency and a sense of community by providing comprehensive quality services that meet critical needs by integrating an array of services and community partnerships. 

The Bureau is comprised of four units that include the Social Work / Information and Referral Unit, the Volunteer Office, the Community Outreach Program, and the Administrative Support Unit, which serves both the Crisis Assistance Bureau and the Bureau of Assistance Programs.

• The Social Work/Information and Referral Unit mission:  To assist low-income residents in crisis to be self-sufficient by providing emergency financial assistance, crisis intervention, counseling and referral to appropriate services within the Department and the community. The program intervenes in emergency situations, ranging from individuals lacking the resources to pay for food, transportation, or medical expenses, to those facing homelessness.  Based on the level of need, households are provided with tangible forms of assistance, such as funds for delinquent rent or utilities, emergency food, clothing and transportation, and a continuum of case management services including thorough assessments, counseling, service planning and coordination, and client advocacy.  

The program administers the Emergency Needs Fund which provides limited financial assistance not otherwise met by federal, state, or local programs.  Funds are disbursed to people in need through private, nonprofit, nonsectarian and charitable organizations.  The County matches every dollar raised by private organizations with two dollars of County funds (up to the limit of funds approved in the budget, $291,427 proposed for FY 2004), except for Food for Others which receives one for one matching funds.  Proposed FY 2004 allocations, along with recent funding levels, are as follows:

*Requested a decrease; anticipate being unable to match FY 2003 level

• The Volunteer Office mission:  To promote volunteerism and advocate for active volunteer participation in the community in order to meet community needs and enrich the lives of Arlington residents.  The Volunteer Office promotes volunteer opportunities in both government and nonprofit agencies serving Arlington residents and encourages residents to become involved in their community.  It provides technical assistance to volunteer program managers, publishes a newsletter that highlights training for volunteer managers, provides current information on state and national legislation affecting volunteer programs, and organizes training for volunteer managers.  This office offers an outreach program targeted to the Hispanic community to meet increasing demands for bilingual volunteers in government and nonprofit agencies serving the Hispanic community. In addition, the Volunteer Office operates a Donations Clearinghouse, which serves to increase donated resources to the Arlington community.

• The Community Outreach Program mission:   To promote self-sufficiency and community belonging for new immigrants and low-income residents by providing multicultural neighborhood based educational programs and services.  Services offered at the centers include: individualized counseling, emergency assistance, information and referral, English classes, computer classes, after-school library programs for children, nutrition and food distribution programs, employment services, and special events.   The Community Outreach Program operates from four primary sites: Buckingham Community Center, Harvey Hall Community Center, Arlington Mill Community Center and Berkeley Community Center with additional programming offered at two area senior centers.

• The Administrative Support Unit mission:   To serve as first point of contact for individuals seeking services by providing effective reception, triage, information and referral, and administrative support to clients, callers, visitors and staff.  The Administrative Support Unit is organized to provide two primary functions: receptionist and administrative responsibilities for two bureaus, comprised of 69 professional staff, who provide an array of human services.  As the first source of contact for individuals experiencing a myriad of individual, family and social problems, staff manage a high volume of calls and provide reception and triage services to a high volume of walk-in and scheduled clients, or visitors seeking assistance. In addition, administrative functions include: maintaining client files, typing documents and reports, receiving and distributing mail, providing data entry, and ordering supplies to ensure overall and day-to-day program support.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

• Personnel expenditures increase due to normal step increases offset by new hires.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

Social Work and Information and Referral Objectives:  1) To help 80 percent of families and individuals with emergency needs re-establish and maintain their highest level of self-sufficiency by providing crisis assistance.       2) To assist callers obtain appropriate Information and Referral counseling for identified problem/needs and provide callers with multiple referral options.

• The difference between FY 2001 and FY 2002 for I&R actuals reflects a better reporting system used in FY 2002.

Volunteer Services Program Objective:  To educate the public about community needs, increase the number of people helping in the community, and provide technical consultation to strengthen the effectiveness of government and nonprofit agencies which use volunteers to help deliver services.

• The estimated dollar value of services is equal to the number of verified placements (991in FY 2002) x 3.5 hours per week (national average for hours worked by volunteers provided by the Independent Sector, a national nonprofit organization, x 50 weeks per year x $16.05 per hour (this hourly rate is from the Points of Light Foundation, a national volunteer source.)

• FY 2002 measures reflect a change in format, in FY 2002 only, by the WAMU-FM radio station for an on-air volunteer recruitment event, reducing the number of applicants by about 150, which was offset by the addition of 300 volunteers who participated in September 11^th events.  In FY 2003, the radio station will revert to its former and more successful format.

• FY 2003 estimates are anticipated to be lower due to the retirement of two long-term employees and the transition to new staff.

Community OutreachProgram Objectives:  1)  To deliver education and orientation programs in apartment based community centers.  2) To streamline access to county resources by providing individualized counseling and emergency assistance with referrals to other needed services.  3)  To coordinate on-site programming provided by other nonprofit organizations and volunteers to promote community involvement.

• FY 2003 estimates based on actual 1^st quarter numbers for all four sites, including the newly opened Berkeley Center, and program improvements made at Harvey Hall. All sites are operating at full capacity.

• FY 2002 actual included partial year services provided at Gunston, which was closed as a site for renovation, and replaced by the opening of the Berkeley Center. 

• Number of monthly participants is a duplicated count; a person participating in three programs in a month, for example, will be counted three times.  An unduplicated count is not available.

Administrative Support Unit Objective:  To accurately and efficiently assist callers, clients and visitors to access services, and thereby assist bureau staff in the provision of quality customer services.

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