Caldwell DSS director warns of social‑worker vacancies, contracts brought in to maintain services; state reimbursement rules may reduce admin funding

Caldwell County Department of Social Services Director Kim Arnett told the board Tuesday that the agency has lost multiple social workers and a supervisor in recent weeks and is actively recruiting replacements.

Arnett said the department contracted with a private firm, Expansion Solutions, to help the food‑nutrition team process applications and recertifications while vacancies are filled. She also said the department began a coaching and training engagement with Allies for Outcomes for child‑welfare supervisors.

Arnett warned the board about upcoming state administrative changes she identified as "HR1," which will lower the administrative cost‑share for food and nutrition from 50% to 25% in October. She described a separate state policy that could require counties to pay a share of benefits if the state's payment error rate exceeds 6 percent; Arnett said the state's error rate had been 10.21% and was unofficially about 7% at the time of the meeting, while Caldwell County’s local error rate was reported as zero.

The director urged ongoing attention to process improvements and technology within the state's NCAS system to reduce errors, and asked for continued support from commissioners on salary competitiveness to help recruit and retain social workers. The board did not vote on new salary changes at the meeting but discussed recruitment and training plans.