CREST HAVEN – Ocean City residents in need of county social services programs will soon have those services made available to them in their municipality.
Due to the county’s lack of public transportation from Ocean City to Rio Grande, where the Cape May County Social Services Building is located, Freeholder Kristine Gabor announced that a target program, with details yet to be finalized, will bring social services personnel into the city one day a month.
“We will try it one day a month to see how many clients we serve and what happens,” said Gabor, who oversees the county’s Human Services Department.
Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton said he attempted a similar program a decade ago, and “met nothing but bureaucratic resistance.”
Perhaps that change in attitude comes with the shift of the Board of Social Services directly under the county umbrella, not a separate organization. All employees, programs and grants, formerly administered by the board have been assumed into the county’s direct employment.
Gabor said the Ocean City program will, at first, be under the supervision of Theresa Hooks, a local person who has worked the neighborhood program and has an office close to City Hall, Gabor noted.
At present it’s uncertain where the one-day office will be located, she said. Depending on space availability, it could be in City Hall or possibly in the Senior Center.
One criterion for the setting is that it affords a private area for consultation with clients, Gabor added.
“It’s a great partnership, a pilot program, a test case,” said Gabor.
She said a release would be issued when the time and location were confirmed.
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