DSS FISCAL MANUAL SECTION VI - PAYMENT PROCESS

SECTION VI - PAYMENT PROCESS

December 31, 2011

Section VI-A Funding Authorizations

Each Division within the Department of Health and Human Services which provides funding to County Departments of Social Services through an allocation process will provide funding authorizations, which will set forth the amount of funds that can be made available to them.

The Division of Social Services will provide funding authorizations for DSS programs at website: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/budget/county.htm. At the time each funding authorization is available to be released, an email will be generated notifying County Directors, Fiscal Officers and County Finance Officers that they are available on the website.

The funding authorizations will be in an excel format that will list all counties in alphabetical order. The spreadsheet will reflect the new authorized amounts, amounts previously authorized if applicable, and total authorized amounts. Amounts will be broken down by federal, state and required county match as applicable.

The following list identifies the funding authorizations that will be issued by DSS. Please note some require the Director’s signature.

The signed Funding Authorizations are required by the federal government to demonstrate that these funds have been obligated. Counties must complete the designated Funding Authorizations by faxing or mailing to their Local Business Liaison. These Funding Authorizations must be returned within 15 business days from the authorization date. Regardless of whether a copy of the document is faxed or mailed, counties are required to retain a copy of the document submitted for retention and audit purposes.

This section includes a brief description of allocation formulas for allocations distributed by the Division of Social Services.

1. Crisis Intervention Payments and Low Income Energy Administration funds are allocated based on each county’s share of SSI, Work First, and Food Stamp households plus 4.5% of the remaining non-categorical households.

2. Social Services Block Grant funds and State In-Home funds are allocated based on each county’s percentage of the total public assistance recipient population and general population. Each of the population figures is weighted equally.

3. LINKS funds are allocated based upon the number of eligible youths aged 16 - 21 in each county as identified by the Child Placement Information Tracking System.

4. Adolescent Parenting funds are allocated to specific programs based upon responses to Requests for Proposals. The same level of State funding is allocated to each program. (Grant Ended 2007)

5. Adult Day Care funds are allocated to specific programs based upon responses to Requests for Proposals.

6. Permanency Planning and Special Permanency Planning funds are allocated based on the most recent population estimates.

7. Family Preservation funds are awarded to specific programs based upon responses to Requests for Proposals. (Grant Ended 2010)

8. Work First County Block Grant funds are allocated based upon the percentage of each county’s total AFDC (including AFDC EA) expenditures, except expenditures for cash assistance. The resulting percentage is applied to the State’s total budgeted funds, except funds budgeted for Work First Family Assistance, for Work First Program expenditures at the county level (GS 108A-27.11(a)).

9. Adult Care Home Case Management funds are allocated based upon each county’s expenditures in the prior year.

10. State Foster Care and Adoption funds are allocated to counties based upon the need for increased Foster Care and Adoption staff, per the Dear County Director letter from Charles C. Harris dated November 24, 1997.

11. State Aid to County Administration is allocated based on each county’s share of the prior year’s public assistance administrative cost.

12. Program Integrity funds are allocated in an equal amount to each county.

13. Energy Neighbor funds are allocated based on the percentage of each county’s Progress Energy client population to Progress Energy’s state-wide residential customers.

14. Work First Demonstration Grants awards were time limited-grants. This Grant was issued to N.C. County DSS’s, based on the availability of funding and the submission of an acceptable grant proposal. The purpose of the grant awards was to identify best practices to improve worker participation rates. (Grant Ended 2009)

County Departments of Social Services are at times asked to voluntarily relinquish any allocated funds (such as Social Services Block Grant or State In-Home Funds) that they believe they would not be able to spend in that fiscal year, so that those funds may be reallocated to counties that need additional funds.

The Division's policy regarding any county that relinquishes such funds is as follows:

l. Any county that relinquishes funds for reallocation to other counties and afterwards discovers that it (the county relinquishing the funds) needs additional funds for that fiscal year will be given top priority for any subsequent reallocation of funds (in that fiscal year).

2. Any funds voluntarily given up by a county in a given fiscal year will not affect that county department's permanent allocation.