AUGUST 27, 2009 ISSUE
Child Support Services To Transfer to DSS in 2010
On August 18, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners approved Watauga County Division of Social Services (DSS) as the lead agency for Watauga County Child Support Enforcement (CSE). The move is a response to a new requirement included in the 2009 North Carolina Appropriations Act that, effective July 1, 2010, requires each CSE office administered by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to be administered by the county government.
According to Watauga County Manager Rocky Nelson, Watauga County is one of 28 counties in the state that currently provides CSE through the state office. Based on the new requirement stipulated in the new state budget, Watauga County must now administer CSE without assistance from the state and has three options—enter into a multi-county agreement to administer the service, hire a nonprofit entity to administer the service or incorporate CSE into an existing department. Once decided, Watauga County must implement the transfer by July 1, 2010.
On August 18, the commissioners chose the third option, deciding to make DSS the lead agency for CSE, effective summer 2010. According to Nelson, the net cost for absorbing CSE into county operations is estimated at between $30,000 and $40,000 annually.
“I think it’s a good decision. Many counties in the state have chosen DSS as the lead agency,” said Commissioner Billy Ralph Winkler.
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