Running head: AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Agency Report and Presentation

Nyisha Turner
Wilmington University

AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Agency Report and Presentation

The agency that I am currently doing my field placement at is the Somerset Department
of Social Services (DSS)in Princess Anne, MD. The Somerset County Department of Social
Services is one of 24 local departments under the Maryland Department of Human Resources
(DHR). The department is responsible for a continuum of human service programs that must be
assured to all in need. The Services Administration department in DSS consist of CPS/In home
Services, Out of Home Services, and Adult Services/Family Preservation.
The mission of the DSS is to aggressively pursue opportunities to assist people in
economic need, increase prevention efforts, and protect vulnerable children and adults. The
department envisions a Somerset County and a Maryland where people independently support
themselves and their families and where individuals are safe from abuse and neglect. In all of
Somerset DSSs interactions with employees, customers, and stakeholders, they are guided by
the values of Human dignity, Respect, Compassion, Teamwork (Collaboration), Communication,
Quality of Services and Integrity.
DSS serves all residents in need of services in Somerset County, MD. According to facts
from the (United States Census Bureau, 2016), there are 25,768 residents in Somerset County. A
breakdown of race consists of 54% Caucasian, 42.4% African American, 3.5% Hispanic, 1%
Asian, 0.4% American Indian, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian. Somerset is one of the most southern
counties in Md. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay and is also one of the
poorest counties in Maryland. The (Unites States Census Bureau, 2016) states that the Education
percentage of high school graduates age 25 and older is 79% and the percentage of college
graduates with a Bachelors or higher 25 and older is 15.1%. There are 11,271 housing units in
Somerset county with 8,498 households of which; there are approximately 2.26 individuals per

AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

household. When it comes to income and poverty, the median household income is $36,716 and
there are 25.5% of people living in poverty. The business opportunities in Somerset county are
acceptable considering the population size. According to the census, Somerset has 357 employer
establishments, 3,792 employees, and 128, 572 on their annual payroll (United States Census
Bureau, 2016).
Since DSS is a large organization there are many policy and procedures that are
implemented for the different services that are offered through the department. I will discuss a
couple policies that I have come familiar with at the Department. The first policy will be the
Child Welfare Policy. This policy focuses on topics in reference to child placement, Guidelines
for Early Identification & Location of Custodial and Non-Custodial Parents, Time limited
voluntary placement Agreements that provide clarity about the entry of children in Foster care
through the Voluntary Placement process, and Family Investment Meetings (FIM) where the
purpose is to convene family members during key child welfare decision points. The second
policy is the Adult Services Policy. These policies deal with policies on In-Home Aide services
which provide specific services to individuals of all ages in home to prevent or reduce the length
of institutionalization, prevent or reduce the length of out-of-home placement of children,
prevent or remedy abuse, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation or promote self -sufficiency. It also
focuses its policies on Social Services to Adults that deal with income eligibility for case
management services.
An overview of the Services department in the Somerset County department of Social
Services will involve an organizational structure that consist of three categories of services. You
have CPS/In-Home Services, Out of Home Services, and Adult Services/ Family Preservation.
Structure includes the Director Claudia Nelson, Assistant Director for Services and CPS/In-

AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Home Services supervisor Lori Engle, Out of Home Services supervisor Valerie Lewis, Adult
Services/Family Preservation supervisor Carey Kelly, and the Attorney Jennifer Goolie. The
CPS/In-Home Services department includes 8 total workers. You have 3 workers in CPS, 4
workers in In-Home services, and 1 worker in Family Support. Out of Home Services
department has a total of 8 workers as well. 3 Foster care workers, 1 FIM (Family Investment
Meeting) facilitator, 1 Resource Homes worker, 1 Independent Living Coordinator, and 2 Family
Support workers. Lastly, the Adult Services/Family Preservation department includes 8 workers.
3 workers in APS (Adult Protective Services), 1 Family Preservation worker, 2 Family Service
workers, and 2 Family Support workers (Engle, L., 2016).
Governance means all the processes that coordinate and control an organizations
resources and actions (Meyer, D., 2005). Since the Department of Social Services is a State
agency, everything is governed outside of the agency. However, certain factors may control when
and how they receive resources like; Local Government Finances, Tax Rates, Local Revenue
Growth, Local General Fund Balances, Balance of State payments, and Demographics
(population growth, social and economic factors). Funding Sources for the Somerset Department
of Social Services come from federal and state government funds (Engle, L. 2016).
DSS forms multiple relationships outside of the Department. Because the department
serves everyone in need of services in Somerset county, they have a wide-span of agencies with
whom they work closely with on a day-to-day basis. A list of some of the agencies that DSS
works hand and hand with include; Law Enforcement (when they are dealing with cases in Adult
Protective Services) (APS) and Child Protective Services (CPS), Department of Juvenile
Services (DJS), States Attorney Offices, Courts (when dealing with the Family Support Services
department), Mental Health Agencies (TLC, Maple Shade, Eastern Shore Psychological

AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Services, Somerset Health Department), Substance Abuse Centers ( Health Department, ESPS,
Center 4 Clean Start), and Life Crisis (Victims of Child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse).
Moving on to the agencies Strengths, Trends, and Challenges, according to my supervisor
Lori Engle; who is also the Assistant Director in Services, in the last 6-7 years the number of
children in Foster care decreased by more than 50 %, the Family-centered practice is less hostile,
and in the CPS department instead of doing investment the department does Alternative
Response. Alternative Response is a new approach for managing low-risk reports of child neglect
and abuse. It is based on the belief that families can stay together if they receive the assistance
they need when concerns occur. DSS uses family-centered practices which ensures that the entire
system of care engages the family in helping them to improve their ability to adequately plan for
the care and safety of their children. There is also a 2006 Place Matters Initiative that the
department uses that basically states that all children matter.
My role as an Intern at the Somerset Department of Social Services will be to
accommodate my supervisor in reviewing the different policies and procedure for the
organization. I will initiate better policies and also suggest different programs that may be
beneficial for the department. I will carefully follow all guidelines and ensure that I have a clear
understanding of how each department operates. My job as the intern will be to help my
supervisor prepare and gather necessary information that may be needed for important meetings
for the department. I will make sure that I focus on the mission and vision of the department to
ensure that my internship experience will be a great learning experience and beneficial to me in
the near future.

AGENCY REPORT AND PRESENTATION

6
References

Engle, L. (2016). University of Maryland School of Social Work Survey Questionnaire.

Retrieved from Maryland.az1.qualtrics.com
United States Census Bureau. (2016). Quick Facts: Somerset County, MD. Retrieved from
www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/HSG010215/24039
Meyer, D. (2005). What Does Governance Mean? Retrieved from
www.cio.com/article/2448788/governance/what-does-governance-mean-.html