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Human Services Additional Position Request
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jason Kay, County Attorney, 704-283-3784; Julie Broome, Human Resources, Director, 704-283-3869
ACTION REQUESTED:
Authorize the addition of four FTEs (full time equivalency) in Human Services for the following job classifications:
• 3 Staff Attorneys
• 1 Paralegal
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
For over 30 years, Human Services has contracted with the law firm of Plyler, Long, and Corigliano, PLLC (and its predecessors) for litigation representation of the Department of Social Services (DSS) in its child and adult protective service court cases and for training of social workers and other staff in legal matters. This outside firm has historically utilized a team of attorneys and legal support staff to deliver these services on behalf the County, led by one of its named partners, Dale Ann Plyler. The firm has recently announced Ms. Plyler’s impending retirement, after having led the DSS legal services function for over three decades. In long-anticipation of this retirement, the County has put in place a transition plan to bring the litigation services fully in-house in order to provide improved budget stability, increased efficiency, and strengthened communication and collaboration opportunities. The revenue savings yielded by shifting away from the contracted legal services model will fully fund the positions, allow for significantly decreased hourly legal service costs, and increase the County’s ability to meet a recently expanded court schedule, all while obtaining a 50% federal reimbursement for the costs of the new in-house legal services. The positions will be filled, trained, and deployed as soon as practicable in light of the service transition needs. No new funding is required for these positions.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding has been identified within the FY2024 budget for this request.