The Mercer County Board of Social Services (MCBOSS) has been serving the citizens of Mercer County since 1932. It was established under the authority of New Jersey Statutes Annotated (NJSA) 44.

In New Jersey, public assistance programs are federally funded, state supervised and county administered. Therefore, county boards of social services are true intergovernmental agencies accountable to all three levels of government. This is an inherently demanding task given the varying focuses and mandates of the different government entities.

In calendar year 2002, MCBOSS provided services in response to more than 100,000 requests at a cost to Mercer County of $11.9 million. This county investment allows MCBOSS to access $215 million in state and federal funds. The net result is that every dollar the county allocates results in $19 in federal or state dollars being returned to provide direct services to its citizens.

Federal law and state statutes require that the care of the poor be removed from the often conflicting interests of the political arena. This intention has been clearly illustrated in several ways, specifically, the Hatch Act (which limits MCBOSS employees' political activities), requirements that staff positions be part of the Merit System and be assigned to the classified service and establishment of autonomous boards.

More than 8,000 families and individuals visit MCBOSS' office or one of its outreach sites on a monthly basis to seek assistance in one of its thirty various programs. In reviewing the following pages which describe those programs in detail, it will become evident that MCBOSS is a diverse agency involved in delivering many services that touch all segments of the population of Mercer County.