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1-20-98 <br /> <br />Mr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Director <br />N.C. Division of Social Services <br />325 N. Salisbury St. <br />Raleigh, N.C. 28603 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Fitzgerald: <br /> <br /> Attached is the Work First Program Block Grant Plan which has been developed <br />for Cabarms County. This Plan has been approved by the County Board of <br />Commissioners for submission to the State, in accordance with our request for electing <br />status, with the understandings and stipulations listed below. <br /> <br /> Cabarms County has taken much initiative in the area'of welfare reform. The <br />County's demonstration Work Over Welfare Program and its Work First Program have <br />been highly effective in moving families from welfare dependency to work. Recent <br />legislation has provided significant opportunities for our community to build upon this <br />success, especially through the flexibility afforded by electing status. <br /> <br /> However, as it is currently conceived in State law and policy, electing status <br />presents unacceptable costs and risks to counties. These laws and policies unfairlY <br />disadvantage electing _counties as compared to standard counties. Cabarrus County may <br />request a change to st..andard status unless the following stipulations are met by the State <br />through legislative or other action. <br /> <br />Stipulations <br /> <br />1) <br /> <br />Assistance Payments: To protect them from an unfair financial risk, electing counties <br />must be pernfitted to draw funding for assistance payments from the same pool of <br />funding used by standard counties if their funding requirements for assistance <br />payments exceed their block grants. This should be the case except where the <br />excessive costs have resulted from the county's having set eligibility or payment <br />policies more liberal than the policies for standard counties. <br /> <br /> <br />