A shelter grant through Mississippi Home Corporation that may allow tens of thousands of dollars to flow to the new Sunflower County Transitional Shelter for the homeless appears to be moving forward.
“The county was awarded the grant. They have an environmental report that is due by January 31,” Dr. Adrian Brown of Brown & Associates told the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors during a Monday afternoon work session. “The board would have to decide if they would like to accept the grant, and if you all would like to accept the grant, that would require the grant implementation process.”
District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald suggested to the board to authorize Brown as the grant administrator.
“I’ll say now what I did say – he wrote the grant; he knows about it,” Donald said. “I want to make a motion right now that we hire him as the administrator so that he can get this work submitted by the 31st.”
Brown gave further details about how data would be collected for the reimbursement grant that could help with paying for many of the operational expenses at the shelter.
“I forwarded an email to Mrs. Hart (County Administrator Mary Hart) from a guy named Reginald Glenn. He is responsible for the oversight for the data collection piece that comes from different regions of the state,” Brown said.
The state of Mississippi has three regions: Jackson, Gulf Coast and Northern.
“They have been having meetings concerning protocols to the data collection piece,” Brown said. “I believe they’ve met with Sunflower County Ministerial Alliance Counseling Services a few times. I did forward his information so that the county may engage him on what the expectations and requirements are from the federal and state standpoint.”
Brown informed the board that he had not been a part of the conversations between SCMACS and Glenn.
Hart asked Brown, “Is this something that you can do? I remember you telling me that it had to be a licensed social worker to enter this data in.”
Brown replied, “Most shelters are subsidized from the state or federal standpoint. They have case managers, licensed social workers, who would see the intake process and those people are who collect the data and enter the data into the third party.”
Brown told the board that they would have to modify the agreement they have with SCMACS if they would like them to enter the data on the county’s behalf.
“If you all want SCMACS to collect and input the data on your behalf, then the agreement needs to be modified that they have with the county,” Brown said.
Hart asked Brown again if it was a requirement that it had to be a licensed social worker to collect and enter the data.
“They strongly encourage that it’s a case manager,” Brown said. “I am not a case manager. They want you to have a case manager, but if you all want the grant administrator to do it for your first year, I am sure we can work something out.”
Donald asked Brown if his firm had a certified case manager.
Brown replied, “We have access to one.”
Donald said, “Okay, that covers that. Then because Brown & Associates is hired as the county’s administrator, and as long as you have access to it, then you can justify what is being put down.”
The board decided to allow the grant administrator to collect the data.
The board asked Brown about his fees.
“The fee that I came with to share today did not incorporate case management,” he said. “Our hourly fee is $125 an hour. We estimated it would take two hours a week to administer this grant, which is eight hours a month times 125. That is without case management.”
Brown told the board he would be glad to speak with who is needed about everything that is required.
The board asked Brown for his firm’s fees, including case management.
“I am not sure. I would have to look; it may not be anything additional,” he said. “Before I commit to something, I need to know the requirements.”
Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams, said, “I think what we need to do is allow you to see what your total fee is.”
Donald informed the board they would have to approve Brown because the environmental report is due January 31.
Brown decided not to include additional fees as the case manager.
The board approved hiring Brown as the grant administrator and the case manager to review data input by SCMACS.
