How Orange County Schools Are Working to Help Immigrant Families - the Daily Tar Heel

How Orange County schools are working to help immigrant families - The Daily Tar Heel

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3/5/2019, 7:55PM How Orange County schools are working to help immigrant families

A school bus drives down MLK Jr. Blvd., on Monday, March 4, 2019. The  Buy Photos Orange County Board of Education passed a new resolution in which the board refuses to share information regarding the immigration status of students and their families to immigration agents. This comes after more than 200 North Carolina residents were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the past month. ZAYRHA RODRIGUEZ

BY ANDREAMARIE EFTHYMIOU

In an effort to protect the privacy of students and families, the Orange County School Board unanimously adopted a resolution in support of immigrant children on Feb. 25.

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/03/immigrant-children-resolution-0305[3/20/2019 1:48:09 PM] How Orange County schools are working to help immigrant families - The Daily Tar Heel

This resolution states the district will neither inquire about a student's immigration status nor share it voluntarily with immigration agencies. The district will allow students to receive a public education, regardless of their immigration status and will promote collaboration between local advocacy groups, government entities and Orange County Schools.

“I agree with this resolution, and I believe that (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) involvement is making a negative effect in all aspects of students learning," said community member Cristina Carrasco in an email.

With over 200 North Carolina residents arrested by ICE in February, this resolution was passed during a time when ICE involvement in North Carolina remains in the public eye.

“I think that the uptick that you’ve seen is again a direct result of some of the dangerous policies that some of our county sheriffs have put into place," said Sean Gallagher, Atlanta field office director for ICE, in a press conference. "It really forces my officers to go out on the streets to conduct more enforcement operations out in the community, at courthouses, at residences, doing traffic stops. This is a direct correlation between the sheriffs’ dangerous policies of not cooperating with ICE and the fact that we have to still continue to execute our important law enforcement mission.” EDITORS PICKS

Column: Best Bar in Chapel Rep. David Price addresses Editorial: Weeknight Hill Democratic agenda in parking, lots of greed Raleigh town hall https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/03/immigrant-children-resolution-0305[3/20/2019 1:48:09 PM] How Orange County schools are working to help immigrant families - The Daily Tar Heel

Gallagher is referring to the recent trend of newly elected sheriffs vowing not to participate in ICE programs in the North Carolina.

While this was happening, Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle joined other North Carolina mayors in denouncing the ICE activity.

In December 2018, the arrest of Durham resident Samuel Oliver-Bruno concerned UNC students about the safety of the community. Brenda Stephens, chairperson of the Orange County Schools Board of Education, said she is seeing alarm in public schools now as well.

“ICE activity has increased, causing anxiety throughout our area," Stephens said in an email. "Consequently, the board believed that we should reaffirm our resolution from several years ago. And, that’s exactly why we voted unanimously to pass the resolution in support of immigrant children on Monday evening.”

In December 2014, the board established its position on equal access to education for immigrant children by unanimously passing a resolution affirming the board's commitment to educational equality and social justice.

Stephens mentioned the school district’s collaboration with the Family Success Alliance as an example of existing ties between the district and immigration advocacy networks. The Zone Navigator Program connects community members to navigators who can serve as guides for families in need of different https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/03/immigrant-children-resolution-0305[3/20/2019 1:48:09 PM] How Orange County schools are working to help immigrant families - The Daily Tar Heel resources.

Thilini Weerakkody, a UNC sophomore and co-director of outreach for the Campus Y, helps organize events to promote social justice in the Chapel Hill community. She said she supports the board's resolution.

“Immigrant families are experiencing heightened fear and anxiety because of the new immigrant control tactics,” Weerakkody said. “... Education is a human right, and I am proud that my county is choosing to make it more accessible and comfortable for its students.”

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https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/03/immigrant-children-resolution-0305[3/20/2019 1:48:09 PM] Not everyone was happy with OWASA's improvement report, despite a community focus - The Daily Tar Heel

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2/24/2019, 11:43PM Not everyone was happy with OWASA's improvement report, despite a community focus

OWASA workers monitor the amount of water flowing in and out of Chapel Hill  Buy Photos during the Feb. 2017 water shortage.

ALEX KORMANN

BY ANDREAMARIE EFTHYMIOU

Community partnerships seemed to be the highlight of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority's annual update to the Board of Orange County Commissioners at a Feb. 19 meeting.

The main speaker, OWASA secretary Raymond DuBose, presented OWASA's improvement plans for the upcoming year. One change is the implementation of quarterly check-in meetings between the members of https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/owasa-report-2019[3/20/2019 1:54:00 PM] Not everyone was happy with OWASA's improvement report, despite a community focus - The Daily Tar Heel

the BOCC and the appointees of the OWASA board. DuBose said this was designed to create greater communication between OWASA and the community it serves.

OWASA's main system improvement for the upcoming year is a new water main assessment and prioritization model. OWASA did not directly address the large-scale water emergency that happened in Chapel Hill in 2017, nor the water main break that happened in November of 2018, but the new assessment system was originally suggested in the wake of the November event.

Each year, OWASA invests about $20 million in capital improvement projects — upgrading pipes, pumps, equipment and more — to increase system resiliency. Nearly 50 percent of customer payments fund these projects, according to Linda Low, OWASA’s communications and community relations officer. These projects would fall under the system improvement plan.

OWASA also announced at the meeting that the sewer construction in the historic Rogers Road area is now expected to be complete by the end of April 2019. Construction began in September 2017, but OWASA encountered a lot of dense rock that affected the timeline of construction, according to DuBose. EDITORS PICKS

Column: Best Bar in Chapel Rep. David Price addresses Editorial: Weeknight Hill Democratic agenda in parking, lots of greed Raleigh town hall

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/owasa-report-2019[3/20/2019 1:54:00 PM] Not everyone was happy with OWASA's improvement report, despite a community focus - The Daily Tar Heel

DuBose also discussed OWASA’s new strategies for addressing affordability by partnering with community organizations. In the last year, OWASA has worked with the Orange County Family Success Alliance to share conservation outreach materials translated into Spanish, Burmese and Karen.

Mary Tiger, OWASA’s sustainability manager, is now attending the Orange County Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative's meetings to learn about its initiatives and how OWASA can help.

OWASA is progressing with its Care to Share program, where customers can contribute to the payments of other OWASA customers in need. Donors to this program have the opportunity to make fixed monthly donations or round up their water and sewer bills. In 2018, the program's contributions totaled $7,650.

Agua Vista is an initiative to upgrade OWASA’s water meters to simplify customers' ability to monitor their own water use. OWASA's hope is that this will allow easier leak detection and even decrease greenhouse gas emissions by cutting down vehicle miles and related costs.

OWASA currently serves more than 80,000 people in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Myra Dotson, an OWASA customer who has lived on Orange Grove Road since the 1980s, complained at the meeting that OWASA has been dumping sludge on her neighborhood's soil.

"It is hypocritical for Orange County to have OWASA play any key role in climate change actions because of the polluting activity of OWASA,” she said.

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/owasa-report-2019[3/20/2019 1:54:00 PM] Not everyone was happy with OWASA's improvement report, despite a community focus - The Daily Tar Heel

She summarized her complaints by criticizing OWASA's environmental footprint in general.

“If OWASA was actively working on an alternative to poisoning farmland, air, water and food with sludge, then and only then could I really take them seriously regarding any role in curtailing climate change,” she said.

Low said one of OWASA's priorities is educating people in the community on how they can work with OWASA on limiting environmental externalities.

“Water is vital for everything – wellness, business, community services and more," Low said in an email. "Everyone has a role to play in conserving, protecting and sustaining this vital resource!"

OWASA plans to focus more on this aspect of community education and telling people about the comprehensive process of protecting, sourcing, treating and delivering water.

"Meeting the community's needs requires periodic expansion and ongoing rehabilitation of the water, wastewater and reclaimed water systems,” Low said.

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The Daily Tar Heel welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic.

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https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/owasa-report-2019[3/20/2019 1:54:00 PM] How a push to expand Medicaid in the N.C. Legislature could cover 500,000 uninsured - The Daily Tar Heel

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North Carolina is looking to expand its medicaid options for its citizens.  Buy Photos RYAN HERRON

BY RYAN SMOOT

No longer facing a Republican supermajority, Democrats in the General Assembly are focusing their newfound leverage on expanding Medicaid for almost half a million North Carolinians.

Major state overhauls to Medicaid are already underway in accordance with a 2015 state bill to shift the state's Medicaid program toward privatization.

In the opening legislative session, Democrats introduced identical state House and Senate bills to expand

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/nc-medicaid-expansion-0225[3/20/2019 1:37:01 PM] How a push to expand Medicaid in the N.C. Legislature could cover 500,000 uninsured - The Daily Tar Heel

Medicaid for North Carolinians at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty line.

North Carolina would not allocate any money toward the expansion, with the federal government covering 90 percent of the cost, and state health providers designated to pay the remaining 10 percent.

A 2016 study by UNC's North Carolina Poverty Research Fund found expanding Medicaid in North Carolina would provide health coverage to almost 500,000 currently uninsured people and create 43,000 new jobs. EDITORS PICKS

Column: Best Bar in Chapel Rep. David Price addresses Editorial: Weeknight Hill Democratic agenda in parking, lots of greed Raleigh town hall

N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Caswell, objected to the expansion proposal, saying new enrollees to Medicaid would crowd out resources for current recipients.

“Expanding Medicaid would add an estimated 500,000 able-bodied adults to North Carolina's Medicaid program, forcing current enrollees to compete with them for access to health care,” Berger said in a Feb. 11 tweet.

In June 2018, Berger’s Senate removed a bipartisan amendment to a rural health education bill that would have studied Medicaid expansion’s costs and benefits, specifically for rural communities.

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/nc-medicaid-expansion-0225[3/20/2019 1:37:01 PM] How a push to expand Medicaid in the N.C. Legislature could cover 500,000 uninsured - The Daily Tar Heel

N.C. Rep. Graig Meyer, D-District 50, said Medicaid expansion is the single most important action the state can take for its constituents.

“In Orange County, we’re very fortunate to have a strong hospital presence and easy access to health care, but we still have a lot of people who are working and are uninsured,” he said.

About 10 percent of Orange County residents are currently uninsured, according to the latest U.S. Census data from 2015.

Meyer said expansion would have a large and beneficial financial effect on UNC health care services, and would especially support the funding and development of rural hospitals. A 2018 study by Health Affairs found hospitals are six times less likely to close in a state that has expanded Medicaid.

“One of the most important impacts of Medicaid expansion will be stabilizing the bottom-line of rural hospitals that tend to be in very precarious financial situations,” Meyer said. “This will mean they actually get paid for a lot of the care that they’re currently paying for out of their bottom-line.“

A total of 14 states have not adopted Medicaid expansion, including North Carolina. In these states, people with an annual income above $8,935 a year for a family of three but below $28,676 are not eligible for any federal insurance plan, leaving them in the nation’s “coverage gap.”

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/nc-medicaid-expansion-0225[3/20/2019 1:37:01 PM] How a push to expand Medicaid in the N.C. Legislature could cover 500,000 uninsured - The Daily Tar Heel Jordan Roberts, a health care policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation, said he believes Medicaid expansion detracts from the program’s initial intention to serve the most disadvantaged populations.

“It was originally for the most needy, the most vulnerable, women, children, disabled, blind, elderly, and now we’re using it as a tool to supplement private insurance,” he said.

Roberts said the federal government’s 90 percent funding commitment has allowed states to spend an excess amount of money on healthcare.

“There’s no cost-reduction tools within it, so the system just incentivizes spending to draw down as many federal dollars as possible,” he said.

As the debate over expansion consumes North Carolina’s political forefront, the state has begun a Medicaid transformation this year after receiving federal approval in October to shift the existing fee-for- service Medicaid program to a managed care system.

Under the new system, the state awarded four statewide providers and one regional provider a set amount in Medicaid coverage funds each month, rather than per-service reimbursement. Because the managed care contracts are pre-paid, the provider could keep any excess dollars or must bear fiscal responsibility if their cost exceeds the allotted monthly amount.

The new managed care system will roll out in two phases, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services — in November 2019 and February 2020. Orange County is included in the November 2019 phase.

Elizabeth Hinton, a senior policy analyst for health policy nonprofit the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the likely motive behind the shift is to ensure a consistent state budget for Medicaid services.

“Typically when states make transitions to managed care, one of the chief reasons is for predictability for costs,” she said.

George Pink, a UNC health policy and management professor, said the effects of a managed care system elsewhere have varied by state and can financially harm rural hospitals due to the select number of statewide providers awarded contracts.

Meyer said while there are unknowns, he believes the policy can incentivize cost-saving for Medicaid providers.

"If it works, then it will be good for everyone because we'll continue to have high-quality care but at less cost," said Meyer.

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https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/nc-medicaid-expansion-0225[3/20/2019 1:37:01 PM] How a push to expand Medicaid in the N.C. Legislature could cover 500,000 uninsured - The Daily Tar Heel

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The Daily Tar Heel welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic.

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https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/nc-medicaid-expansion-0225[3/20/2019 1:37:01 PM] Orange County hit and taken offline with ransomware | SC Media

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March 19, 2019 Orange County hit and taken offline with ransomware

Doug Olenick Online Editor Follow @DougOlenick

The Orange County, N.C., government was knocked offline by a ransomware attack early Monday morning.

County officials discovered files were being encrypted and shut down its entire network in an effort to stop the malware from spreading, effectively shutting down online access to most county services, according to a statement. An outside security firm has been retained to help restore services, but as of press time the county does not know how the malware was introduced nor did it mention a ransom amount. NEXT POST IN RANSOMWARE Currently, the following county services are unavailable:

Public WiFi at all Orange County facilities. Public computers at Orange County Main Library. Online reservations for Orange County facilities as well as classes or programs for DEAPR and Department of Aging. Residents can registerRansomware in person attack for classespays off and as Delawareprograms Guidanceor to reserve Services facilities but staff will not be able to verifygives if in space to criminals is available until computer access is restored. Register of Deeds cannot process real estate closings or issue marriage licenses. A marriage license can be obtained from a Register in another county.

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/ransomware/orange-county-hit-and-taken-offline-with-ransomware/[3/20/2019 1:34:00 PM] Orange County hit and taken offline with ransomware | SC Media

Housing cannot process any vouchers. The Tax Office can not verify tax bills to determine amount owed. Appraisal services are also curtailed. Planning Department cannot process fees or close out permits. Some pet adoptions in the animal services may be delayed. The Health Department clinics are operating as normal, but services may be impacted if the disruption lasts for more than a few days.

Orange County joins a growing list of municipalities and companies that have been hit with ransomware attacks in the last few weeks. Jackson County, Ga., was taken down earlier this month and opted to pay a $400,000 ransom to regain access to its data and Columbia Surgical Specialists paid an almost $15,000 ransom to regain access to files encrypted during a ransomware attack.

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