ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — While Richmond County taxpayers are spending six figures annually to transport clients of social services programs like WorkFirst to their school, job or appointments, in many instances they don’t show up for the ride.
“We pay for all no-shows, and, yes, they are a constant problem when offering these services,” said Social Services Director Tammy Schrenker.
In June, of 241 trips taken by ART to pick up social services clients, there were 50 no-shows, accounting for about 15 to 20 percent of the agency’s transportation expenses.
In May there were 25 no-shows. In April, there were 46 and in March there were 43.
For social services, each no-show for an ART transportation appointment costs $8.40. For taxicabs it is charged by the mile.
“We do have a policy to deal with no-shows,” Schrenker explained Wednesday. “Sometimes, they are truly an emergency, so we try to find out exactly what happened, and if it was just because they forgot or they weren’t ready when their transportation got there, we follow the suspension process. Our clients can be suspended for up to 30 days from this program.”
The process works like this: A first offense warrants a warning, a second offense can be a three-day suspension.
