Social Services Department

Janine M. Sewell, Director 608 Jackson Street P.O. Box 510, Fredericksburg, VA  22404 Write to Ms. Sewell

(540) 372-1032     FAX: (540) 372-1157     Office Hours: M - F     8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The Board of Social Services meets on the second Friday of each month, 7:30 a.m., in the DSS Conference Room effective September 2008.

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For information and assistance with Child Support Enforcement, please contact:

Virginia Department of Social Services
Division of Child Support Enforcement
2342 Plank Road
Fredericksburg, VA  22401
Telephone Number:  (800) 462-0983
FAX Number:  (540) 899-4131
E-mail Director Robert Rodenski: robert.rodenski@dss.virginia.gov

For access to a free, online database of child care programs in the City of Fredericksburg and surrounding counties, please visit The Childcare Network Web site.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to enhance the quality of life by our commitment to provide professional, quality services to the community.

Philosophy of Service

The Social Services Department adheres to an individual's right of self-determination. The Department's clients are, therefore, informed of services available to enhance his/her functional capacity as an individual, family member, and resident of the community. Respect for the dignity of the individual, as a person capable of choosing appropriate means to alleviate correctable conditions and problems experienced in daily living, is the premise to the philosophy of this Department.

Board of Social Services of the City of Fredericksburg - Overview

The Board of Social Services of the City of Fredericksburg oversees the Social Services Department. The Board of Social Services is composed of five members who are private citizens and reside in the City of Fredericksburg, and an appointed Council Member. Members of the Board serve balanced, overlapping, four-year terms.

Services Provided:

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• Auxiliary Grant Program (AGP)
• Medical Assistance (Medicaid)
• Nursing Home
• Community Based Care
• State - Local Hospitalization (SLH)
• Food Stamps
• Employment Services (VIEW Program)
• Child Care Services
• Adoption Services
• Child Protective Services
• Foster Care Services
• Foster Home Parent/Family Program
• Adult Services
• Adult Protective Services
• Fraud Services

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF):
TANF is a program, which provides temporary financial assistance to eligible families with children. The family receives a monthly cash payment to meet their basic needs. To be eligible, a family must be financially needy and must meet certain other requirements. A child may be eligible if he:

• Is under age 18, will graduate from high school before age 19;
• Is going to school regularly if he is between the ages of 5 and 18;
• Is living with a parent, or other relative; and
• Is a citizen of the U.S. or an eligible immigrant

Auxiliary Grant Program (AGP):
A program established to maintain those persons receiving financial assistance at the level they were receiving as of December, 1973, under the Old Age Assistance (OAA), Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), or the Aid to the Blind (AB) programs, by providing money needed to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. For SSI recipients who require domiciliary care and whose income is insufficient to meet the cost of that care, within the established maximum, when placed in a licensed facility.

Medical Assistance (Medicaid):
The Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) was established under Title XIX of the Social Security Act to enable states to provide medical care for public assistance recipients and medically needy persons (i.e. persons of low income who can meet their maintenance needs but have insufficient income to provide the cost of medical care). The program is financed by state and federal funds.

In Virginia, Children’s Health Insurance includes Medicaid and Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) and is available through a single application. Children will be covered by Medicaid if the family’s income meets the Medicaid income requirements. Children who are not eligible for Medicaid and who meet the FAMIS eligibility requirements will be covered by FAMIS.

Nursing Home:
If you or someone in your family needs nursing facility care and cannot afford the cost, they may be eligible for financial assistance.

Community Based Care:
Home and Community-Based Care or CBS is a title to mean a variety of in-home community-based services reimbursed by DMAS designed to offer individuals an alternative to institutionalization. These individuals meet either mental or physical conditions that require nursing supervision and assistance with activities of daily living.

State - Local Hospitalization (SLH):
The State and Local Hospitalization (SLH) Program provides payment for inpatient and outpatient hospitalization services, ambulatory surgical services performed in free-standing ambulatory surgical centers and local Virginia Health Department clinical services provided to individuals who do not have the resources to pay for these medical services themselves. SLH is not medical insurance. It does not cover the professional services of medical doctors and other health care practitioners or prescriptions obtained from a drugstore or pharmacy. It may be available to you if you are not eligible for Medicaid and your income is less than or equal to 100% of the federal poverty level.

Food Stamps:
A federally funded program designed to provide eligible populations nutritionally adequate diets by supplementing food budgets of low-income households.

Employment Services (VIEW Program):
TANF (financial assistance) recipients are required to participate in the employment service program. The Work First message is given to the recipient from their first contact with the agency. The program includes assessment of job skills, education, review of work history and provides supportive services to gain employment and to become self-sufficient.

Child Care Services:
Child Care financial Services are provided to eligible families to enable parents or legal guardians to maintain employment or to attend an educational or training program that will lead to employment. For access to a free, online database of child care programs in the City of Fredericksburg and surrounding counties, please visit The Childcare Network Web site.

Adoption Services:
The Department maintains registries of families studied and approved for adoption and of children available for adoption. A variety of efforts and attempts are initiated to bring these families and children together.

Child Protective Services:
Identification, receipt, and immediate investigation of complaints and reports of alleged child abuse and/or neglect for children under 18 years of age. This includes assessment, arranging for and providing necessary protective and rehabilitative services for a child and family when the child has been found to have been abused or neglected or is at risk of being abused or neglected.

Protective Services includes services to children who are not reported as a complaint of abuse or neglect, but for whom potential harm or threat of harm exists. This prevention service is to keep the family together, thereby preventing the need for removal of the child. All children and families are eligible for these services regardless of income.

Child Protective Services are available to all children and their families on a 24 - hour a day immediate response basis. Callers may remain anonymous and there is a 24- hour, 7-day a week.

The Child Abuse and Neglect State Hotline is 1-800-552-7096.

Foster Care Services:
Temporary substitute care is arranged for children who cannot remain in their homes. The goal of foster care is a permanent home for each child. Returning to his or her homes is the first choice, followed by relative care, adoption or permanent foster care.

Foster Home Parent/Family Program:

• Recruitment of Foster Homes
• Screens and approves foster home applications
• Completion of home studies on foster parent applications
• Assists in placing children removed from their home with the best-matched foster family
• Provides initial and ongoing foster parent training
• Provides support to the foster care staff
• Provides ongoing support to the foster parents

Adult Services:
Adult services are provided to a person with disabilities who is 18 years of age and older, to persons 60 years of age or older, and to their families when appropriate. Adult services provide assistance to adults to remain in their homes by receiving in-home services, i.e. home based care, assessment for Nursing Home Placements and other Adult Care Facilities. Eligibility for adult services is based on need for the services, availability of the service, and any financial considerations that apply.

Adult Protective Services:
Receives and investigates reports that an adult is abused, neglected, or exploited or at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation; the provision of a wide variety of health, housing, social and legal services to stop the mistreatment and prevent further mistreatment; and the potential to intervene legally to provide essential protection to persons who are in emergency situations and lack the capacity to consent to services. Adult Protective Services reports are received by local department of social services or through the 24 hour, toll-free Hotline at 1-888-83-ADULT. Any person who suspects that an elder or an incapacitated adult is abused, neglected, or exploited should make a report.

Fraud Services:
Provides the TANF, Food Stamp, Medicaid, and Child Care Assistance applicant with up front information to assist them in making a truthful application for these services. The Fraud Investigator receives case referrals from department staff and from the community on suspected fraud cases. This referral is investigated and if fraudulent will be presented to the commonwealth attorney's office for legal prosecution.