Need for Social Services Doubles in City

By Desiree Parker Friday, March 12, 2010

On Thursday, Williamsburg city council members heard a presentation about the city’s social services department, whose client load has in many cases doubled during the last two years.

The wealth of services the social services department offers has been a booming business during the recession.

Human Services Director Peter Walentisch explained to council that his department, which offers comprehensive services for everyone in the community, deals with more than just poverty issues. “We handle all the human life issues from prenatal to death,” he told them.

He couldn’t offer any of the services without his staff, he said – most of whom were seated in the audience – and he took several moments to explain how dedicated and hard-working they were. For his staff, “It’s not just a job, it’s a passion and commitment for these people [in the community].”

Also, most staff members are trained to work with several different programs as an added efficiency in the department, which makes everything run better and helps plug holes if there’s an emergency, according to Walentiscsh.

Aside from a hard-working staff, human services also relies on partnerships with other localities, agencies (like the United Way and Avalon) and faith-based organizations to fill in service gaps for people who walk through the doors looking for assistance.

To better explain to council all the functions that fall under the Human services umbrella, he outlined the three basic divisions of programs within the department: benefit and eligibility programs, service programs and community programs.

Benefit programs available to city residents include energy assistance, assisted living, the food stamp program (which just got a new name), general relief, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and daycare subsidies.

Service programs generally involve direct case management by trained staff, Walentisch said. Under this category are adoptions and adoption assistance, adult protective services and other adult services, child protective services, crisis intervention, court-related services, foster care, home visits and nursing home screenings.

The human services department also manages city-initiated community programs like disaster assistance, shelter management, neighborhood response teams, employment/workforce development services, Achieving Careers Today (a program created through federal stimulus grants), school liaison, special needs services, youth and family services, and the Youth Achievement Program.

Chris Powell, the deputy director for human services, talked to council about the increase in caseload the department has seen during the course of the recession. All programs have seen an increase, Powell said, many programs seeing close to double the number of people seeking service compared to two years ago.

The food stamp program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) has seen a doubling of need since summer 2007, and that doesn’t include the more than 25 percent of people who are turned away due to ineligibility.

So far, aside from having a heavier caseload that requires more time, staff is doing an admirable job providing services for everyone who might need them, Walentisch said.

Of the four revenue streams the department looks to for its $2.4 million budget, the city share is $761,000, according to Powell, which comes out to 31 percent.

In the future, Walentisch told council some of the issues that will likely face the city include having services ready for older adults (between 60 and 100), which he expects to reach 30 percent of the population not too far out. “This will be the biggest issue for the whole Historic Triangle,” he said.

Meeting the needs of unskilled workers and getting them fair wages and housing will also be a concern for the city soon, along with issues associated with becoming a more ‘urban’ population.

“The citizens are very appreciative of your services, too,” Mayor Jeanne Zeidler told Walentisch after the hour-long presentation and thanks from the council.

Councilman Paul Freiling agreed, saying many people are glad to live in the city because of the services they receive.