A few years ago, most municipalities moved the responsibility of administering cash grants — as part of the social services program — to the county and state. Plainsboro has been one of the few in the county, and even state, that has not yet done that.
But the township will soon be doing so, and along with that change, the rest of the social services responsibilities at the township level will be taken on by Joanne Lupica, the township’s director of the Recreation Department.
According to Township Administrator Bob Sheehan, “the operation is going to be maintained as it currently is and be moved under the management responsibility of Joanne Lupica. That’s a natural move because they already do certain types of social services activities.”
The one area that will change, he said, is the administration of cash grants at the local level. The township usually has between 6 and 10 people who receive assistance from these cash grants through the township’s social services program. But, like most of the county’s other municipalities, the township will be moving that job to the county level.
“We think it makes some sense for a couple of reasons, primarily that folks who access our financial assistance are also accessing other services in Middlesex County,” he said. “We end up becoming a second venue that they have to deal with. We’re currently in the process of sorting out the transition.”
