A cooperative agreement between Schuylkill County and a number of area municipalities for the administration of the various Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects was approved by the Schuylkill County Commissioners at their public meeting held Wednesday at the courthouse in Pottsville.

The agreement is with Coaldale and McAdoo boroughs and the townships of Delano, Schuylkill, Rush, Frailey, West Mahanoy, Cass and Porter. Grant Writer Gary Bender said under the agreement the county will handle the distribution of any grants awarded under the CDBG program.In other action the board approved the offender supervision fund agreement for the period July 1, through June 30, 2013, to continue to remand to the county funds collected by the probation department of supervision fees of defendants in criminal cases who are placed by judges on probation/parole and order them to pay a $50 monthly supervision fee.The board renewed the monthly $100 compensation to the nine members on the Schuylkill County Transportation Authority which oversees the operation of Schuylkill County Transportation (STS) bus system.Contracts enteredContracts were entered with various firms and individuals for providing services to the Children and Youth Agency as follows:Eihab Human Services, Tunkhannock, for group home and emergency bed at $180.,40 per day; Cornell Abraxas Group Inc., Pittsburgh, for shelter at $255 per day; Pyramid Health, Duncansville, for group home at $169 per day; adolescent inpatient at Ridgeview for drug and alcohol clients at $199 per day, and at Quakertown at $216 per day; Friendship House, Scranton, for group home at $173.31 per day; one on one supervision at per diem rate of group home plus $20 per hour; Dawn Turrito, Orwigsburg, for foster parent orientation and foster parent training at $400 per unit; Psychological Associates, Pottsville, for group counseling at $35 per day; bonding evaluation at $80 per day and specific issue and sexual history of polygraph at $300 per unit; Penn Kasher, Pottsville, for on call first 100 calls at $90 per unit and additional calls at $45 cents per unit; and Attorney James Lewis and Attorney James Conville, both of Schuylkill Haven, for legal services at $3,500 per unit and extraordinary services at $75 per unit.Personnel mattersThe commissioners hired Lugene Eyrich, New Ringgold, as a part time housekeeper at Rest Haven Home at $9 per hour.The commissioners still have authority for hiring people at the county hospital although it hired Service Access and Management Inc. (SAM) to operate the hospital. Only the employees in the business office work for SAM.Two caseworkers were hired in the Children and Youth Services Agency, Kaylee Moyer, Shenandoah, and Paige Nelson, Pottsville, at $16.7612 per hour. Debra Fridirici, Schuylkill Haven, resigned as a social service aide in the agency.District Attorney Karen Byrnes Noon announced the hiring of Lori Prosick, Frackville, as a part time secretary at $12.9472 per hour.