Charlotte Observer----
County Manager responds to commissioners' criticism of his leadership after thousands of dollars disappear from agency.
Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones took responsibility Tuesday for the accounting failures that led to the disappearance of untold thousands of dollars from the Department of Social Services.
Jones' comments came in response to criticism from county commissioners who said he should share blame for an embarrassment that has damaged public confidence in one of the county's largest agencies.
Officials have broadened an investigation of a DSS Christmas charity across the entire department. They cannot say how much money has vanished over the years. Financial audits found that the county could not account for $162,000 meant to buy gifts for poor children last year.
Tuesday, commissioners said the agency's accounting problems may stretch back as far as five years. Republican members also questioned Jones' oversight.
“You do have to ask what went wrong in leadership to allow this,” Commissioner Neil Cooksey said. “Certainly, this will come up in the manager's evaluation.”
Jones, county manager since 2000, told the Observer his role demands that he “expect and accept responsibility.”
DSS spends more than $176 million annually and employs about 1,200. The agency runs a wide range of services for orphans, food stamp recipients, the disabled and others.
Accounting problems came to light this year when Director Mary Wilson said she learned of unusual spending patterns in programs for poor families and Foster Children.
Since then, county officials have asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to help investigate. They also suspended two workers suspected of taking $110,000 from the Giving Tree program, which solicits money to buy the holiday gifts.
One of the suspended workers has been cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated, while the other is on medical leave. No charges have been filed.
Chairwoman Jennifer Roberts said Tuesday that the commissioners would hear recommendations next week on their next step.
Commissioner Bill James said the county should inspect records dating back to 2004.
“There was no management control,” he said.
James and Karen Bentley, both Republicans, said Jones is responsible for DSS operating properly. Democrats, who hold a 6-3 majority, agreed. But they said most of the blame lies with DSS managers.
They said it is unrealistic to make Jones accountable for the actions of each of the county's nearly 5,000 employees.
“Do we hold (Bank of America Chief Executive Officer) Ken Lewis accountable when a teller takes money from a till?” Dan Murrey asked.
Jones, who makes $215,655 a year, is a fixture in local government. Before commissioners hired him for their top post, he worked for nine years as assistant county manager. He also spent three years as the community development director for the city of Charlotte.
He said he used “strong and profane” language when he learned of the DSS findings.
Jones said periodic state and federal audits of individual programs within the agency did not find major problems.
“If there are commissioners who want to place the blame on me, I'll take it,” he said.
DSS Mishandled, Misused Funding Allocated Specifically For Foster Care Children
Mecklenburg County leaders are promising reforms after a financial audit found widespread problems in the Department of Social Services, including unauthorized use of county credit cards.
A separate report also revealed the county may launch another investigation into whether DSS workers misspent money.
In March, officials said they suspended two workers suspected of taking $110,000 from a charity that solicits money to buy holiday gifts for kids. In a report to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners this week, administrators said they had turned over the findings of an internal probe to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
“This shows DSS has serious internal control and cash management problems that (County Manager) Harry Jones and (DSS Director) Mary Wilson need to fix,” commissioner Bill James said.
DSS is one of the county's largest agencies with more than 1,200 employees and a roughly $180 million budget.
Wilson, who took over DSS in July 2008, told commissioners that she ordered the audit after learning this year about accounting irregularities in the charity program.
The county paid $93,000 to Cherry, Bakaert & Holland, which studied records from July 1, 2007 through March 31 of this year.
Among the findings:
DSS workers used two credit card accounts without proper authorization from the county finance director or commissioners.
In 99 percent of financial transactions studied for one program, there were missing receipts, purchases for unauthorized products, a lack of supervisor approval or other problems.
DSS issued checks without two different authorized signatures, a violation of a state statute.
Harry Jones, the county manager, said the county has already implemented new procedures in response to the audit.
“I am very disturbed by the findings,” he said in the report to commissioners. “I can assure this Board and the public that we have fixed and strengthened our fiscal controls ... We also will pursue aggressively any evidence of suspected misappropriation to the appropriate conclusion.”
The report says that DSS will no longer be able to write checks and that all checks will be processed and written by the county finance department. Administrators, the report says, will review DSS financial policies to ensure they match county rules.
The audit focused on a voucher program in which DSS provided financial assistance to help foster parents or caretakers buy needed items for foster children. The program operated on a $167,500 a year budget before officials discontinued it this year.
Wilson said in January she reviewed expenditures for the effort and found some “transactions seemed high in terms of dollars” and often there were no receipts.
Now, officials are working with auditors to determine whether to conduct a more extensive review. The review would try to determine whether workers violated fiscal policies.
The audit also studied transactions involving the Giving Tree program, which takes public donations to buy gifts for foster children and other DSS clients.
Among the well-known supporters of the program is Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson.
In March, the county said it found multiple checks from November 2008 through January 2009 were made out to an employee who helps with Giving Tree. Other checks were authorized payable to the relative of another DSS employee. The relative is not a DSS worker.
Wednesday, the county said one of the workers suspected of taking money remains on paid administrative leave. The other is on extended family leave.
An internal agency audit found two instances of possible misappropriation. “Other instances of concealment were found, but misappropriation could not be determined due to poor record keeping,” a report says.
County officials are working with police to obtain receipts from vendors, but a spokesman said Wednesday there is no criminal investigation at this time.
The Giving Tree program has been suspended.
DSS Money Misspent, Receipts Were Altered
Auditors found numerous problems with a Christmas charity run by the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.
The now-defunct Giving Tree program collected gifts and donations for children in the county's foster care system
The Giving Tree audit, which triggered an agency-wide probe, found:
- No receipts for a $10,000 check made out to an employee.
- For the remaining $152,289 disbursed, $138,978 in receipt copies were provided.
- Of those 840 receipts, 799 had problems, including:
- Parts of receipts whited out, or omitted in photocopying.
- Altered dates.
- Gift card misuse.
- Multiple submissions of altered receipts.
DSS Also Mishandled Social Security Money
Mecklenburg County officials paid for "various programs" out of an account for recipients of Social Security benefits, according to an audit of the Department of Social Services.
The practice, auditors say, is a violation of Social Security Administration regulations.
According to the report:
"The non-guardianship expenditures made from the account are in an inappropriate use of the guardianship funds and may be in violation of North Carolina general statutes."
In response, county officials say they have changed their use of the account.
Officials say effective March 31, "Only expenses related to Social Security guardian funds are expended from the Social Security account."
DSS Director Mary Wilson, who took over in July 2008, ordered the audit after learning earlier this year about accounting irregularities in a charity program. Read more about the report in today's story, "Audit reveals more DSS problems."
The county paid $93,000 to Cherry, Bakaert & Holland, which studied records from July 1, 2007 through March 31 of this year.
Ex-DSS Director got a raise despite being re-assigned
Former Mecklenburg County DSS Director Richard “Jake” Jacobsen, received a $4,000-a-year merit raise after questions surfaced about his performance and he was reassigned, records show.
Documents released by the county Friday about Jacobsen's compensation provide new details about a controversial 2007 arrangement that allows him to stay on the county's payroll although he now officially works for UNC Charlotte's Institute for Social Capital. The Observer obtained the information through an open records request.
Jacobsen's pay recently drew scrutiny as the county tried to eliminate a $78.9million deficit in next year's budget. County officials decided to allow him to continue to receive the county's eighth-highest salary of $167,936.
In addition to his salary, the county provides Jacobsen a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer, a cell phone, and a county computer and printer.
This week, commissioners passed a 2009-10 budget that includes cuts in county services, layoffs for hundreds of educators and the closing of libraries on Sundays.
Commissioners voted unanimously in September 2007 to reassign Jacobsen from the Department of Social Services to UNC Charlotte, where he is an executive-in-residence.
The vote came after two former employees filed a lawsuit against the county alleging that they were fired after they complained that Jacobsen's performance had suffered following a stroke.
At the time, County Manager Harry Jones said Jacobsen's new job wouldn't be as demanding. Jones also said the county decided to keep Jacobsen's salary the same so it wouldn't affect his retirement.
Jacobsen, who had been director since 1994, earned $163,907 under the agreement. Officials said that since he served as DSS director for four months afterward, he received a merit increase.
On Friday, Jacobsen defended the compensation, saying “it was in my original contract. I agreed to come out here (to UNCC) as long as I didn't lose anything.”
Since January 2008, the county has paid more than $6,700 in maintenance for his vehicle, county General Manager Michelle Lancaster-Sandlin said in a written statement. Taxpayers also paid nearly $1,500 to fuel the vehicle during that time, documents show.
Internal Revenue Service rules require Jacobsen to pay the county $31.23 in commute mileage every two-week pay period, Lancaster-Sandlin said.
The county has spent $851 paying monthly cell phone bills for Jacobsen from January 2008 through May of this year, documents show.
Jacobsen will remain on the public payroll until he retires in February 2010. Until that time, he will work for the Institute for Social Capital.
Jacobsen's job is to conduct research on child welfare, lecture classes and organize symposiums for the Institute.
Some county officials have said his research would give the county value for its money by identifying gaps in the social service system.
But Friday, Jacobsen said he is unsure his research on children of former welfare recipients will be complete before he retires in February.
Jacobsen said officials must find a professional researcher to analyze the information because he cannot “crunch the data.”
Commissioners have said they should not rescind the agreement with Jacobsen since it expires relatively soon. However, some officials have voiced displeasure.
“The county was supposed to get some benefit,” commissioner Neil Cooksey said. “To my mind, I have not gotten a straight answer about what the benefit is.”
Jones recommended that commissioners agree to reassign Jacobsen to the Institute for Social Capital. Jones did not return calls seeking comment.
Previously, he has said the recommendation was not connected to the suit. Jones has said he was happy with Jacobsen's work at DSS, but concerned for Jacobsen's physical health.
Jacobsen said his work has already paid off.
He said he has organized two symposiums, helped make connections between the college and local government and helped initiate discussions of a new academic program.
“It's not glamorous, but it's beneficial,” he said.
Jacobsen said commissioners should hold off making judgments about his work at UNC Charlotte. “Let's see what happens when I'm finished,” he said. “Let's see what's accomplished. If they are not satisfied, they don't have to do it again.”
Jacobsen's "Deal"
A former top Mecklenburg County official who remains on the public payroll though he no longer works for the county also received a deal favorable to his retirement nearly two decades ago in California.
In the early 1990s, Richard “Jake” Jacobsen's tenure as head of social services in San Diego ended after a grand jury alleged widespread fraud in welfare programs and mismanagement of child protection cases.
A former San Diego County administrator on Wednesday told the Observer he set an effective retirement date for Jacobsen that would let him collect a pension for 20 years of government service.
In 2007, Mecklenburg commissioners voted to reassign Jacobsen after a lawsuit questioned his health and competence as director of the Department of Social Services.
Officials said part of the reason for the agreement was to allow him to reach a February 2010 retirement date. The latest deal faces scrutiny as the county tries to erase a $78.9 million deficit in next year's budget. Officials have proposed reductions in county services, job losses, pay freezes and benefit changes for employees.
County Manager Harry Jones has proposed cutting $34 million from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. In response, the district said it may have to lay off as many as 400 teachers.
Jones said the county should continue to pay Jacobsen his $167,936 salary. Jacobsen, 65, now works for UNC Charlotte's nonprofit Institute for Social Capital. The arrangement also allows Jacobsen the use of a county vehicle, according to a document detailing the deal. Jones did not return phone calls for comment.
Some commissioners said Wednesday they were not aware of the circumstances surrounding Jacobsen's departure from San Diego or had not seen the current agreement.
“I am concerned that he is getting a better deal than a rank-and-file county employee might get that is being subjected to possible job termination as a result of the budget cuts,” said Commissioner Neil Cooksey, who was not on the board when Jacobsen was reassigned. “It sends a bad message to cut a special deal for a high-ranking employee that you wouldn't necessarily cut for a rank-and-file employee.”
Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he did not know specifics about Jacobsen's arrangement, but said he was concerned about what precedent it might set.
Jacobsen led the San Diego Department of Social Services in 1992 when a state review panel reported that the agency's child-protection agency was “out of control.” The panel found workers took children from their homes needlessly and that welfare fraud cost the county as much as $70 million a year. Jacobsen has said most of the allegations the group reported were unsubstantiated. He did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
In April 1992, Jacobsen was replaced as head of social services and reassigned. Two months later, he resigned.
David Janssen, who was chief administrative officer for San Diego County at the time, told the Observer he agreed to make Jacobsen's effective retirement date Sept. 1. The move, he said, let Jacobsen receive a pension for 20 years of government service.
Janssen said he did not believe the review panel's findings and thought Jacobsen was unfairly blamed. He said Jacobsen was a star performer.
“In some ways, he was the scapegoat,” Janssen said. “We reached an agreement that was fair to him.”
Richard Rider was a candidate for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors when Jacobsen served as that county's DSS director. Rider called for Jacobsen's removal during the campaign.
He said government boards should not give favorable packages to departing workers who do not perform well.
“You're looking at a lack of accountability,” Rider said. “Instead of dealing with someone's ability to do the job, they look at how they can look out for his welfare.”
Mecklenburg County hired Jacobsen to head the DSS office in 1994. Officials recall him as an innovative leader who improved the agency.
In 2007, two former employees filed a lawsuit alleging they were forced from their jobs after they questioned Jacobsen's health and performance following a stroke. A judge dismissed the suit.
Commissioners reassigned Jacobsen to the Institute for Social Capital, where he is to conduct research on child welfare, promote the institute in the community, lecture classes and organize symposiums. The agreement kept his salary the same. Officials said Jacobsen's research would aid the county's social service system. They also said they were concerned about his health but did not want to stop him from working. The job change had nothing to do with the employees' lawsuit, they said.
Former commissioner Parks Helms, who was on the board at the time leaders agreed to the arrangement, said the circumstances surrounding Jacobsen's reassignment in Charlotte “were entirely different” than San Diego.
“In this instance, it was a question of his health,” Helms said. “The question is do you just kick him out? You find a way to take advantage of that instructive knowledge.”
Former County Manager Jerry Fox, who helped hire Jacobsen, said “his appointment is one of the best I ever made.” Fox said Jacobsen's arrangement with the county and previous deal in San Diego do not raise any red flags.
“They did what they thought was best for him and the county,” Fox said. “I'm not going to second-guess that.”
Commission chairwoman Jennifer Roberts, who was on the board when Jacobsen went to UNC Charlotte, said she doesn't remember seeing the final version of the agreement with Jacobsen and was not familiar with the county's vehicle policy.
Commissioner Bill James said he knew generally about Jacobsen's time in San Diego, but not about his pension. However, James said, “I don't think it's much of a shock that individuals who are near retirement, wherever they are, try to negotiate as beneficial a retirement deal as possible.”
James said the board did not have detailed discussions about Jacobsen or his reassignment deal in 2007. James said he doesn't recall seeing a copy of the written agreement and was surprised to hear it included access to a car.
Still, James said there may be more risk than reward to end the current agreement. “The problem with not honoring the agreement is you are breaking your word, and you are subject to legal action.”
Was Foxx’s Wife’s Hiring Due to Patronage?
It sounds like there is a little of “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” down on Billingsly Rd. Controversy is brewing over the hiring of Samara Foxx, the wife of Charlotte City Councilman and mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx (D), to a position with the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services which pays a salary of $100,000. Her hiring alone isn’t enough reason to suspect any unethical play here. What raises my eyebrow is the fact that the department was on a hiring freeze and she got the job after it being posted for just one day.
Nothing to see here folks (wink, wink). Move along. Move along…….
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County DSS Director Richard Jacobsen Sued for Racism and Agency Incompetency
Two former aides to Mecklenburg Department of Social Services Director Richard "Jake" Jacobsen have sued the county, claiming they were wrongly forced from jobs after voicing concerns about racism and incompetence at the agency.
In the lawsuit, they allege that medical troubles have left Jacobsen too forgetful and erratic to do his job.
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Jacobsen and Jones declined to comment.
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Brenda Jackson, the agency's former deputy director, and Lynn Becker, a former assistant to Jacobsen, filed suit in Mecklenburg Superior Court on Friday, accusing the county and several individual employees of defamation, breach of contract and suppressing their free speech.
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Jacobsen, DSS director since 1994, is white.
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Jacobsen, who had a stroke, was back at work by August 2005, and Jackson returned to her role as deputy director.
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The lawsuit says Jacobsen has said that there are days when he feels he can't handle his job.
Did the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Dept of DSS take the Stratton Children because of Racism or for more Federal bucks?
Jack and Kathy Stratton’s nine children have proved to be a veritable cash cow for the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services. The Stratton children have been in foster care for nearly two years, ever since the DSS removed them from their home on charges of neglect. The Strattons have steadfastly denied the charges, and have been fighting to regain custody.
During that time, the DSS, through federal funding, has been receiving $9,971.73 per month for the Stratton children, while paying out only $3,600. Net profit: $6,372 per month.
The numbers may seem numbing, but they’re not surprising. In fact, in reading the 100 or so pages of the 2000 US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee’s report on foster care programs and adoption incentives, two common threads sew these federal laws together: Parents accused of abuse or neglect have very little protection under the Constitution; and there is a money trail following every foster child who moves through the system.
Under federal guidelines established in 1980, children in foster care are eligible to receive funds from a block grant to states called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). As a condition of receiving TANF funds, states must operate foster care and adoptive assistance programs under title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
In 1997, Congress enacted significant changes to title IV-E, namely adding a push to terminate parental rights (TPR) in cases where children have been in foster care for 15 out of 22 months. The new legislation, a Clinton initiative called the Adoption and Safe Families Act, called for these TPR proceedings to begin 12 months after a child’s placement in foster care, rather than the 18 months required by the old legislation. Both the Illinois Supreme Court and the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that portion of the Adoption and Safe Families Act unconstitutional because it presumes parents are unfit simply because their children have been in foster care for 15 months.
The law also authorized incentive payments to states to increase the number of foster and special-needs children who are placed for adoption. Lawmakers said the purpose of the legislation was to keep children from languishing in foster care for years of their childhood. But some critics say the adverse result is that families are being torn apart at a much higher rate since the new laws were enacted.
In fiscal year 1999, the latest information available for the 2000 report, the federal government set adoption goals for each state that were equal to the highest number of adoptions in any preceding year beginning with 1997.
States are paid $4,000 for each foster child adopted out over their goal in a given year. For example, North Carolina had an adoption goal of 467 in 1998. The state did not meet its goal that year, therefore it did not earn adoption incentive money.
Conversely, in 2001, North Carolina exceeded its goal of 1,244 by 37 percent, bringing in more than $623,000 in Title IV-E money and placing the state third in the nation for the amount of adoption incentive money received that year. California placed first and Missouri placed second.
Children with special needs bring in even more money. As Mecklenburg County DSS personnel have pointed out, North Carolina classifies a child as having special needs when he has an existing medical condition, is physically, mentally or emotionally handicapped. But a child who is a minority, who is of a certain age or who has brothers and sisters also available for adoption can also be classified as having special needs. Those children carry an extra $2,000 above the $4,000 if they are counted in the group that was adopted over the state’s goal.
According to Cheryl Barnes, national director of the DSS watchdog organization Child Protective Services Watch, the children social workers removed from Jack and Kathy Stratton could bring in a large amount of money if they were adopted. The children are in a large sibling group, some of them are teenagers and two of them have been diagnosed as having special mental, physical or emotional needs. But the smoking gun in the Stratton case, Barnes said, is that they are racially mixed. Their mother is black and their father is white.
Barnes has conducted research nationwide about how families are affected by child protective services and juvenile courts. Her figures show that 60 percent of abuse and neglect claims against children in Mecklenburg County who are racially mixed were substantiated in 2001, compared with 43 percent substantiated cases against black children and 35 percent substantiated against white children. It could just be coincidence, but Barnes calls it discrimination.
Barnes also claims child protective services can get more money for holding children in foster care. Under title IV-E legislation, the Foster Care Program provides open-ended matching payments to states for the costs of maintaining certain children in foster care. The match also helps pay for administrative, child placement and training costs.
According to the House committee’s report, the average estimated monthly number of children in title IV-E foster care more than tripled in the U.S. between 1983 and 1999. During those same years, federal spending on title IV-E foster care increased from $395 million in 1983 to $4 billion in 1999. That same year, North Carolina spent $64 million of those funds on maintenance payments, child placement services and administration, information systems and staff training.
Based on those 1999 figures, North Carolina received $1,107.97 per month per child in foster care from title IV-E funds. The state paid out on average about $400, or 36 percent, per month to care for foster children. The remaining $707 – allocated per child in foster care – is used for administration. Thus, Barnes said, the DSS is getting $9,971.73 per month for the Stratton children, while paying out $3,600 for its net profit of $6,372 per month.
Still, DSS personnel and some Mecklenburg County officials – most notably Board of County Commissioners Chairman Parks Helms and DSS Director Richard “Jake” Jacobsen – have denied that the DSS has any financial incentive to remove children from their homes and keep them in foster care.
Mecklenburg County DSS officials have said that all the money it has received through state and federal foster care and adoption programs goes toward helping the children they service.
What Barnes said she finds most interesting is that the federal government pays out thousands of dollars for foster care and adoption programs, yet earmarks little of that money for programs to help keep families together – the alleged number one goal of Child Protective Services.
Just this week, a Charlotte-based adoption agency won a $1 million grant to recruit black men to adopt. That kind of money is not available to keep biological families together, Barnes said.
“If you want to go and open up an agency to promote the adoption of foster kids, you can get a federal grant easy,” she said. “But, if you want to open an agency that provides family preservation services, there is no money for that.”
Federal grants, though, are available to states for family preservation under the program Promoting Safe and Stable Families. Before the 1997 legislation, at least 90 percent of the funds had to be used for family preservation services and community-based family support services.
In 1997, Congress added two additional categories to the grant program: time-limited family reunification services and adoption promotion and support services. The statute does not specify a minimum amount that must be spent on any particular service, nor does it exclude services for adoptive families in the family preservation category.
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Sources: Charlotte Observer, Paper Trail, Carolina Politics Online, Could You Be Next, Heart Gallery, Expectmore.gov, Google Maps
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