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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10221996 - D1 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA DATE: October 22 , 1996 MATTER OF RECORD \ SUBJECT: SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT On this date the Board of Supervisors considered the report from John Cullen, Social Service Director, on departmental performance . Following Board members' comments, Chairman Smith advised that the report was accepted. THIS IS A MATTER FOR RECORD PURPOSES ONLY NO BOARD ACTION TAKEN CONTRA. COSTA COUNTY 0: , men 0 � � O O Annual Performance `Rep to the Board of Superv'isors October 1996 TM .r - �° f� ! ° � y J ,,`tet, ,. w a�' �„�_ ,, •� �.n ,�% � ;. It 4 w x r r , v rt f Introduction Contra Costa County Social Service Department ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS i JEFF SMITH, Chair,District 2 JIM ROGERS GAYLE BISHOP MARK DE�SAULNIER TOM TORLAKSON District I District 3 District 4 District 5 PHIL BATCHELOR County Administrator This annual report provides information on the Department of Social Service for fiscal year 1995-1996. Our Director's Message, Department Overview, Program Descriptions, People Served, Annual Performance Indicators, Additional Accomplishments and Organizational F { 0 Information are included in the following pages. The Department of Social Service recognizes the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator for their support of families and children and their direct assistance which allows the t Department to pursue its Mission. 4� L x , OUR In partnership with the community, MISSION provide services that support and protect A families, individuals and children in need, _ and promote personal responsibility, P. independence and self-sufficiency. I J A r D I R E C T O RS M E S S A G E hallenges r PAST... PRESENT... FUTURE... �. At no time in this nation's history has social service policy i been more in question. Currently, federal, state and local i policy makers are not only debating, but in some cases 4 implementing, major changes in the areas of AFDC and i Welfare Reform, Employment Services, Health Care, Older Americans Services, Child Care, Food Stamps, Child Protection and General Assistance. This at a time when more and more of our most vulnerable families, children and individuals are at risk. Our challenge is to meet essen- tial core service-delivery responsibilities today, while preparing for major service changes tomorrow. 1995/1996 has been a time of reassessment. Major initia- tives were instituted resulting in: a re-examination of the Department's strengths and weaknesses; development of core values and mission statements; identification of needed mission critical service-delivery improvements in Income Maintenance, Employment Services, Children's "Our challenge is to Programs, Adult Services, and General Assistance; capacity building within our Information Technology and Staff meet essential core Development areas; improvements in the Personnel/ Human Resources processes; balancing of our budget; service-delivery identification of core business changes being caused by Federal and State legislation; commencement of program responsibilities today, redesign efforts in Employment Services and Children's programs; improvements in revenues; team building with while preparing for staff; increasing education and communication channels within the Department; relationship development with major service changes employee organizations; and credibility building with partner service providers. tomorrow." 1996/1997 is our first transition period. Certainly the pas- -john B. Cullen sage of Federal Welfare Reform, combined with legislation Director changing many provisions of our Adult Services, Children's and General Assistance programs will mean major impacts on our community. Over the remainder of this decade, we will be required to start a top-to-bottom redesign of this County's core human service systems. In preparation, our spending plan for this year attempts to reallocate resources to specific initiatives which we must undertake to better position ourselves for current and 6 future challenges. s Some of these "retooling" efforts, or performance objectives, by specific areas include: Administrative Bureau • Improve our Staff Development capacity • Build in-house Information Technology resources • Acquire replacement or expansion space for 3431 Macdonald Avenue operations and Staff Development j • Increase fraud identification and overpayment collection activity • Install and operate the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System • Acquire and install computer software upgrades i • Increase revenues j Income Maintenance Bureau and General Assistance (GA) • Integrate GAIN and employment services j • Initiate a self-sufficiency program within Income Maintenance • Conduct public education and information programs • Participate in automation acquisition efforts • Develop Phase II Pegasys (GA Automation) • Realign GA operations to incorporate law changes and Welfare Reform impacts Social Services Bureau • Recommit to the Family Preservation project • Expand Adoptions Services • Institute Adult Services In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) registry and training program , • Implement Area Agency on Aging (AAA), IHSS, Adult Protective Services (APS), Conservatorship integration plan • Implement Concurrent Planning Services delivery in Children's Services • Continue Child Welfare Services/Out-of-Home Care/Adoptions Improvement projects • Develop a new shelter care system, transitional housing program, and multi-disciplinary interview center for children. Personnel Division • Conduct classification reviews in number of rapidly changing areas j • Revise our personnel evaluation process • Develop a new exam plan for Department recruitment and hirings • Institute protocols for use of acting and temporary positions. This is an exciting and extremely challenging time in the Social Service arena. Professionals committed to serving adults, children and families will be called upon to not only provide high-quality services to our clients, but to manage significant service- delivery system redesigns. As a Department, we will outreach to public and private enterprise to begin developing new community service-delivery systems which better address basic human needs, protection and self-sufficiency. Demands on staff, clients, and our community will be great over the next few transition years. However, I am extremely confident that we have the desire, initiative, people, and skills necessary to i meet these challenges. In conclusion, given the Board of Supervisors' and County Administrator's continued support, we will, "in partnership with the community, ' provide services which support and protect families, individuals and children in need, i and promote personal responsibility, independence and self-sufficiency." i John B. Cullen, Director 3 i � Department Overview The Contra Costa County Social Service Department is organized "• 1--- —�% into three operational bureaus: Administration, Income Maintenance/GAIN and Social Services. Additionally, within the Director's office are the Personnel and General Assistance Divisions. Our organization chart is located on the last page of this Annual Report. The Social Service Department is charged with the responsibility for .d management of millions of dollars in taxpayer resources to deliver Wit+ nearly 40 Federal, State and local programs, which provide basic -, financial assistance, nutritional and medical support, protective ser- vices, self-sufficiency and employment. We provide these services to approximately 100,000 Contra Costa County adults, children, and families each year. Our taxpayer-supported services are delivered through the exemplary efforts of nearly 1,000 staff in facilities throughout our County. The Administration Services Bureau and the Personnel Division provide essential services to the Department as follows: Financial Resources The adjusted budget for fiscal year 1995-1996 for the Social Service 1- I Department consists of all operating and direct cost to clients. The total budget was $219,242,344 with revenue offsets of$195,735,989 leaving a net County cost of$23,506,355. In addition, $42,588,678 in *, Food Stamps were distributed through our programs for a total of $261,831,022 under our management. As we began the fiscal year, "d" Department expenditures were some $4.5-5 million in excess of budget. By year's end, we did balance our budget. Listed below by Budget Unit and source of funding is the Department's adjusted budget. Budget Unit 1995-1996 Federal/State Net County Cost Adjusted Budget Revenue Services &Admin. $ 76,095,495 $65,492,037 $10,603,458 Categorical Aids $131,666,290 $130,243,952 $ 1,422,338 General Assistance $ 11,404,509 = $11,404,509 Indigent Interment $ 76,050 $ 76,050 TOTAL $219,242,344 $195,735,989 $23,506,355 4 i' Personnel Resources The Department has 1,043 allocated permanent positions. At the end of this past fiscal year, positions were deployed as follows: 25 to Department-wide Administration and Personnel; 673 to Income Maintenance/GAIN Bureau and General Assistance; 269 to Social Services Bureau; and 76 to the Administrative Bureau. Over the past decade, the Department has seen major staffing changes. The following chart summarizes the total staff by functional areas from 1986 to 1996. Staffing Actual Actual as of % Change to 1986-1987 Aug. 5, 1996 Aug. 5, 1996 Management 37.00 25.00 -32.43% Administrative 63.70 45.00 -29.36% Line Supervisors 90.00 94.00* +4.44% Line Workers 693.90 811.10** +16.89% TOTAL 884.60 975.10 +10.23% *excludes 1 temporary **excludes 23 temporaries Our major growth area has been in line staff. This has been driven by the increased demands for client services and new program mandates, primarily in public assistance, employment and children's services programs. �# `a sig Affirmative Action The June 30, 1996, Contra Costa County Workforce Survey Report shows that the Social Service Department employed 378 individuals !4 who considered themselves to be in ethnic minority groups and 838 female employees. The chart below provides a breakdown of this minority group representation. I' Minority Group Labor Force % Social Service Staff (Parity) Number Percent 'l. Hispanics 10.5% 104 10.5% i African Americans 7.6% 201 20.2% Asian/Pacific Islanders 5.4% 66 6.6% American Indians/Alaskan Natives 0.6% 7 0.7% TOTAL 24.1% 378 38.0% Females 45.4% 838 84.3% 5 Sick Leave Sick leave usage in the Department was lower in 1994/95, although it continues to be unusually high. 81% of all sick leave earned was used this past year, which is down from 89% the previous year. Staff Development _. We recognize the value to the organization of the continuing profes- sional growth and development of our employees. The Department encourages, promotes and financially supports employee member- ships in Social Service-related professional organizations. We also encourage staff development through a high level of staff participa- tion in Department work groups and task forces. • Through its Staff Development Division, the Department provides direct in-house training plus coordination of externally provided training with educational institutions such as U.C. Berkeley, � 01-iU.C. Davis, Fresno State, as well as individual consultants and our County's Training Institute. Last year staff attended over 30,800 =' •s, hours of training. .a f µ e + This year we began developing and acquiring a new 12,000 square foot training facility to prepare our Department for new Staff Development challenges brought about by statewide automation and major program reforms/redesigns. This facility, opening in October of 1996, will provide our staff with a site for automation training as well as program and professional development training. • Last year we were in the planning stages of training for new super- visors. This program is now a reality and has been embraced by all those who have attended. The training focuses on the basic employee-personnel issues; how the Department operates; the supervisor's role; and techniques, ideas, and tools that enable workers to become effective supervisors. • The Department has opened up a number of mission-critical redesign efforts for participation by staff. Included are the: Employment Services-IM Redesign work group, CWS Concurrent Planning task forces, and Automation Planning Team. These efforts are not only providing staff an opportunity to expand their expertise, but also help the Department develop more acceptable and supported program/operational changes. • Performance evaluations have become a high priority for the Social Service Department. Over the years, annual evaluations have not been routinely completed. Fewer than 40% of our staff have current evaluations. Not only will more performance reports be completed, we will also begin work with our employee organ- izations to revise our evaluation documents to make them more job specific. 6 i w Automation Automation is used extensively to enhance the efficiency and effec- tiveness of the Department's operation. Specific areas where automa- tion is deployed include Income Maintenance, Social Services, and Operations. A variety of automated systems supports our Income Maintenance functional area. These systems include: Welfare Case Data System (WCDS), GAIN Information System (GIS), Program Efficient General Assistance System (PEGASYS I), and Medical Eligibility Data System (MEDS). These systems automate various processes of computing and issuing benefits, controlling for future follow-up actions, gener- ating notifications to recipients, compiling workload statistics, and providing fiscal and audit reports. Three major systems support our Social Services functional area. They are: Social Service Reporting System (SRSS), Child Welfare I Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), and In-Home Supportive Service Payroll System. These systems provide sophisti- cated tracking and follow-up capability for social work staff. Operationally, personal computers and Local Area Networks (LANs) ! are being deployed to provide a high degree of automation to various Department support functions. Examples include automation of inventory control, archived records management, contract adminis- tration, fraud prevention and detection, and administrative hearing processes. Office automation, including electronic mail, is also being expanded to maximize the productivity of staff. A number of major systems are in the process of being completed or are being planned, including the following: CWS/CMS (Child Welfare Services/Case Management System) As mandated by the State, all 58 counties will implement this system in 1996/97. The purpose is to enhance automation in the area of Child Welfare Services and to provide a greater degree of account- ability. The first phase, office automation, was completed in August 1996. In this phase, 225 personal computers have been added to the Department to enhance the ability of the social workers to complete their work. The second phase is scheduled for completion in May 1997. In this phase, all child-welfare-related data will be retained in a I' central database with significant functionality made available to our CWS staff. MAGIC (Merced Automated Global Information and Control) The Department is assessing the feasibility of acquiring this system from Merced County. It would replace the Welfare Case Data System (WCDS) and would provide significant improvements in service delivery while reducing administrative costs in the Income jMaintenance functional area. If the Department decides to adopt this system, and the requisite approvals are received from State and Federal sources, it could be implemented during the 1998 calendar year. The system would provide many years of improved service I delivery, at significantly lower costs, pending a new WCDS system. Welfare reform will of course impact our business case for automation. PEGASYS II In capitalizing on Phase I PEGASYS, the Department will be able to automate the General Assistance eligibility determination and I benefit calculation functions. In combination with PEGASYS I, which provides the "back-end" case tracking, client notice, fair hearing and sanction functions, we will have a fully-functional GA automated system. State welfare reform definitions will impact our justification for GA automation. WAN (Wide Area Network) This system will link together the Department's 11 offices permitting ( personal computers to share information and many applications + quickly and efficiently. System milestones are being reached each t month with the overall completion expected by the end of the calen- dar year. The WAN and LANs are the first steps in opening up the Department to utilize current and future technologies. � .k' �� w til• x t* P £ f t ei, r � �� �h,'6.x 5' a x'§ a '¢r• �R PROGRAMS , CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ANNUAL PERFORMANCE income Maintenancel GAIN Bureau The Income Maintenance/GAIN Bureau is organized geographically with divisions responsible for each portion of the County. Within each division are eight to twelve units, each consisting of eight to ten eligibility workers, a unit clerk and a supervisor. There is also a Countywide GAIN division with units located in each geographical area. Centralized functions of Quality Control and Special Projects are located in Martinez as are Program Analysts who provide policy and procedural direction. The major service-delivery programs operated by this bureau and workload facts are as follows. ° Aid to Families with Dependent Children F`.. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) provides cash for ` t needy families with children because of the absence, incapacity, •` µ � unemployment or death of either or both parents. State law sets a ,t ' `'•x monthly limit on the amount of AFDC money one may receive to meet living expenses. Other income to the family is deducted from the cash grant after allowing certain deductions. As part of the State's "Work Pays" strategy, recipients are now able to keep more of what they earn while receiving AFDC. In a typical month, approxi- mately 17,000 17 000 families are being served by this program.tt K i AFDC Employment Services The major components of Employment Services include the Greater Avenues of Independence (GAIN) program and Cal-Learn. GAIN provides training and employment services to AFDC recipients to Ali provide them with the skills necessary to become self-supporting, ` thereby avoiding long-term dependency. Services include help with job search and help with transportation and child care. Cal-Learn is a program designed to encourage and assist pregnant and parenting teens to remain in and graduate from high school. Nearly 3,500 families are being served by GAIN monthly, while over 700 teen parents are being assisted through Cal-Learn yearly. k t•' Hx : Transitional Child Care and Transitional Medi-Cal Transitional Child Care (TCC) provides funding for child care to former AFDC recipients for up to 12 months when certain eligibility criteria are met. The objective of TCC is to help families make the transition to self-sufficiency and independence from welfare by partially paying for child care while a family member is working. Transitional Medi-Cal (TMC) extends Medi-Cal coverage for up to one year to former AFDC recipients for the same reasons. Annually, over 900 families are served by these programs. Aid to Families with Dependent Children Foster Care Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) is the Federal, State and County aid provided on behalf of those chil- dren who are in need of substitute parenting who have been placed in foster care and meet the applicable eligibility requirements. Approximately 2,100 children are currently being served by AFDC-FC. Medi-Cal Medi-Cal is a group of eight major medical care programs which provide comprehensive medical services to children and adults in low-income families. The program pays for medical care received by persons who meet eligibility criteria. Single adults and families who are eligible but whose incomes are above prescribed levels must pay or obligate their excess income toward the cost of medical care. The Medi-Cal program pays for the remainder of program-covered medical care received. Over 75,000 Contra Costa County persons are receiving Medi-Cal services. Food Stamps The Food Stamp program is designed to raise the level of nutrition among low-income households by increasing food purchasing power and to strengthen our agricultural economy. Federal law sets the monthly limits on the amount of Food Stamps a household may receive. The amount of the benefit is based on the size of the house- hold and the household's income, after certain deductions are allowed. The amount of the ' , household's real and personal property must ,y be within the limits set by the Federal govern- ment. Over 36,000 children and 18,000 adults receive Food Stamps in our Couirty each month. v � x F i General Assistance The General Assistance (GA) program determines eligibility to a cash grant program for primarily single, unemployed adults who are not currently eligible for State- or Federally-funded assistance programs (e.g., AFDC or SSI). Services are also provided which help clients prepare for self-support. Approximately 3,000 individuals are currently receiving GA. General Assistance Work Programs Work programs assist employable GA applicants and recipients in preparing for and obtaining unsubsidized employment through work experience assignments (Workfare) and job search. Social Workers and Social Service Program Assistants provide case management C, fir., services and monitor participation in Workfare, Job Club and vocational training.training- Over 1,000 GA clients participate in Work Programs each year. Customer Relationships-Income Maintenance Individuals make initial contact by phone or in person. They are E given applications to complete and return appointments for the I 4 determination of their eligibility. In emergency situations, "Expedited Food Stamps" or "Immediate Need AFDC' can be provided in a day or two. Usually interviews are scheduled within a week or so and eligi- bility is determined after the required information and verifications g are reviewed. Applications are taken at one of four major district offices located throughout the County. In addition, applications for Medi-Cal are processed at the County Hospital and ongoing cases are served at the North Richmond and Bay Point Service Integration Team (SIT) sites for residents choosing to take advantage of them. The Department is exploring or implementing new methods to better serve its clients. Among these is the introduction of voice mail by which clients may leave messages for their workers and greater computer automation which would speed the process of eligibility determination. The Department has developed and maintained contracts for nine Food Stamp issuance sites located throughout the County and hopes even- tually to eliminate the need for the use of F, stamps through the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer systems. We also maintain both formal and informal appeal processes for those applicants or clients {p. who are not satisfied with decisions made in M, their cases. f 11 Performance Indicators—Income Maintenance Federal and State governments have established Accuracy Standards and Quality Control processes within our major aid programs. We completed Federal fiscal year 1995 with an AFDC error rate less than half that of the State average and well below the most recent Federal tolerance level of 6.8%. Our Food Stamp (FS) error rate was above the State average but below the Federal tolerance level of 9.72%. iIn Federal fiscal year 1996 our AFDC error rate has remained below 2%, and in Food Stamps we reduced our error rate somewhat while the State error rate increased. We are continuing to develop and apply corrective actions which include reinforcement training, additional desk guides and other measures. AFDC and FS accuracy rates are: FFY 95 (10/94-9/95) AFDC FS Contra Costa County 98.77% 90.61% State 96.45% 91.31% i ' FFY 96 (10/95-9/96)- AFDC FS Contra Costa County 98.28% 91.61% State 96.85% 90.04% *year to date Additional Accompliskments- Income Maintenance/GAIN Bureau • Provided accurate and timely AFDC, Food Stamps, Medi-Cal benefits and Employment Services to more than 100,000 residents of Contra Costa County. • GAIN staff successfully placed 1,073 participants in jobs, a 15% increase over the previous year. • Processed over 500 applications for Foster Care Emergency Assistance resulting in approximately $700,000 of Federal and State revenue for the Probation Department. • Kept error rates in AFDC well below sanctionable level and signifi- cantly below the average of all California counties. • Each month issued approximately 20 certificates of achievement to eligibility staff for cases which were found to be error-free. • The Federal Food and Consumer Services Department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture selected one of our eligibility work supervisors as one of the eight top Eligibility Supervisors in California. This supervisor participated in a conference in San Francisco to discuss "best practices" within Food Stamp operations in the western United States. ` • Received an award from the Director of the California Department of Social Services for being one of two counties to pilot a Statewide Quality Control restructuring effort. )�i'�'�i" • Continued the work of the Eligibility Simplification Project Task Force to develop forms, processes, and rules for participating in a statewide waiver project to demonstrate new efficiencies in the aid programs. 12 • Medi-Cal program staff participated in a multi-county pilot to simplify the annual redetermination of Medi-Cal eligibility by I reducing the number of required face-to-face interviews. j • AFDC and GAIN staff at our Hercules office developed and presented a "Work Pays Fair" designed to support AFDC clients not presently enrolled in GAIN to become self-sufficient. • Hercules staff volunteered to work with disabled students placed in n� the Hercules office by U.S. Department of Education Office of ! Special Education. • Assumed responsibility for developing questions, exercises and case examples and conducting oral boards for the classifications of Eligibility Worker II and Eligibility Work Specialist. • Sent staff to a number of training conferences and seminars in which they learned about management techniques and processes to provide better service and maintain low error rates. • Sent several first-line eligibility supervisors and mid-managers to week-long institutes in management at the Center for Human T .. Services Training & Development at U.C. Davis. • Participated actively in the development and modification of , - waiver requests for the Services Integration Team (SIT) sites on 5 � or eligibility reporting and budgeting. `' . • Merged Employment Services into the IM Bureau and began the process of redesigning our Service-Delivery System to promote self-sufficiency. d MR!_ C s > ; NV x� �• lui "ate t I'I � � Y V __.. II ti 1� A f< V Social 3Bureau The Social Services Bureau consists of Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Adult and Aging divisions. Child Welfare's major responsibility is the protection of neglected and abused children in Contra Costa County. Child Welfare provides services pursuant to Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The Adult and Aging Services division consists of both the Area Agency on Aging and the Adult Social Services programs. The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) pro- grams are provided pursuant to the Federal Older Americans Act and related State legislation and are targeted toward elderly residents of the County. The Adult Services programs are provided pursuant to the State Welfare and Institutions Code and target disabled adults who are at-risk of institutionalization, abuse, or neglect. Descriptions of the major children's and adult programs operated within the bureau are as follows. Emergency Response CWS Emergency Response provides 24-hour per day, 365-day per year response to allegations of child abuse. Persons reporting abuse and neglect call our centralized screening line where social workers, using State protocol, complete a telephone screen which determines whether a face-to-face assessment is required. The screening line received 19,070 referrals this past year. If a case requires a face-to-face contact by Children's Services staff, the case is forwarded to the Emergency Response Intake Unit who will meet with the child and family regarding the child-abuse allegation. Family Maintenance CWS Family Maintenance provides services which enable troubled families to stay intact. If a child can remain safely in his or her parent(s) home, a social worker will provide supervision and other services to the family to pro- ' tect the child and preserve the family. Family Maintenance 04 .._� can be provided either through voluntary agreement 41 between the parent(s) and Social Service or under Juvenile Court Order. These services can be offered for 12 months. Approximately 700 children are served each month in this area. l 14 I Family Reunification CWS Family Reunification services focus on providing assistance to return children to their natural homes. If a child is removed by Juvenile Court Order from their parents' care due to abuse and/or jneglect, services are then provided to the family to ameliorate the conditions which led to the removal. If parents cannot meet the conditions of the reunification plan, then the court will order !, permanency planning services. Approximately 530 children are served each month in this area. Permanency Planning CWS Permanency Planning services assist children in establishing new means of family support. The law requires that adoption be the first permanent plan pursued if reunification between the parent and child is not successful. If adoption is not pursued, then guard- ianship is considered as a permanent plan. Long-term foster care is the least desirable permanent plan. Approximately 1,600 children are served each month in this area. Independent Living Skills Program Dependent children in placement, ages 16 and older, are provided services to assist them in their emancipation goals. They receive hands-on experience in budgeting, looking for apartments, develop- . ing resumes, interviewing skills, applying for higher educations, and w► taking entrance exams. They attend workshops on self-esteem issues, conflict resolution, and peer counseling. Approximately 500 children bt are served each year in this area. �r =` Family Preservation Services ti w Intensive, short-term services are provided to families as a potential diversion of the child being placed in out-of-home care and, at the ?, same time, to assure the safety of the child in his or her own home. Approximately 200 families are served each year in this area. Family Preservation services are limited in availability due to funding and willingness of some families to participate. Foster Home Licensing Recruiting, licensing, and monitoring of County ' homes for the placement of dependents (children who are removed by the court) is an essential part of our = Child Welfare Services program. Over 400 homes are -$ licensed in the County by our Department. 4. 15 Adoptions ` As a licensed Adoptions Agency, we place children in new, perma- nent homes. Services include freeing children for adoption by N, terminating rights of parent(s) who have abused and/or neglected their child, as well as relinquishments from parents who voluntarily ,> terminate their own rights. Services also include recruiting and home studying prospective adoptive parents, placing freed children in these homes, and finalizing the adoptions. This past year 114 children were placed through our Adoptions program. � ' Yfil9 Yg�9 : Federal Family Preservation Support Program (FPSP) Four high-risk areas in the County have been targeted to receive ' ;E these services. Funds are utilized according to the request of focus groups in each of the targeted communities and are contracted from Community-Based Organizations. FPSP activities include informa- tion and referral, crisis intervention, family support, employment, and community development services. Senior Information and Referral Senior Information and Referral maintains current information on services and resources for persons age 60 plus; provides telephone counseling regarding available resources and services, including comprehensive assessment of client problems; provides outreach ser- vices to isolated elderly; coordinates volunteer tax counseling for the elderly; provides health promotion and disease prevention education through public presentations and cable television. Senior Informa- tion and Referral provided 16,130 contacts, 27,100 separate referrals to service, 2,659 follow-up contacts, and 3,025 outreach contacts serving 11,168 unduplicated individuals age 60 plus. Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) HICAP maintains a corps of trained volunteers to counsel the elderly regarding Medicare and supplemental insurance, health maintenance organizations, long-term care insurance, medical bills, and claims. The office provided 5,455 hours of counseling regarding health insurance options and health insurance claims to 1,570 individuals age 65 plus through the efforts of both staff and our trained corps of volunteers. Planning, Coordinating, Advocacy Program development services are provided in cooperation with other public agencies and Community-Based Organizations to develop a community-based system of services for elderly residents of the County. The County Advisory Council on Aging, on behalf of all elderly residents of the County, also provides Advocacy services. i 16 I I In-Home Supportive Services IHSS IHSS provides for eligibility services and reimbursement of house- keeping and personal care services for low-income frail and disabled individuals to allow these persons to live at home safely and avoid institutionalization. We serve over 4,200 persons each month in IHSS. ry Adult Protective Services (APS) " APS provides intervention services to protect elderly and dependent adults suspected to be victims of physical, emotional, or financial a abuse or neglect. Over 50 calls per month are made to APS. Conservatorship Intake Our staff investigate the need for conservatorship of adults who are gravely disabled by mental illness. As authorized by the Superior r Court, our staff assume responsibility as temporary conservators to authorize needed mental health treatment or to arrange food, clothing, and shelter for the conservatee. Congregate Meals L Under interdepartmental agreement the County Health Services Department, Senior Nutrition Program provided 170,758 meals at 22 congregate meal sites throughout the County to approximately 1,438 individuals age 60 plus. Home Delivered Meals and Transportation The Senior Nutrition Program delivered 160,193 meals to 1,128 individual homebound seniors age 60 plus. 71,158 one-way rides on paratransit to transport 330 individuals to and from the various congregate meal sites were provided. Case Management/In-Home Services for Frail Elders Under a contract with Family and Community Services, Inc., we provided 1,376 hours of assessment, 1,556 hours of care planning, 1,711 hours of service arrangement, and 1,799 hours of follow-up and monitoring to 489 frail individuals age 60 plus who were at risk of premature institutionalization. In addition, 48 of these individual case management clients received 15 minor home modifications to allow them to live independently at home, 36 hours of respite care, and 378 hours of housekeeping. In-home Services Registry Through a contract with Family and Community Services, Inc., we provided 6,293 hours of recruitment, screening, and referral of home care providers to 1,111 individuals age 60 plus in need of affordable in-home care service providers. 17 Home Visiting Under contract, Family and Community Services, Inc., provided 13,550 hours of volunteer home visiting to 219 socially isolated individuals age 60 plus. Legal Services During 1995-96, under contract with Contra Costa Senior Legal Services, Inc., we provided 3,569 hours of legal assistance to 715 individuals age 60 plus. Long-Tierm Care Ombudsman Under contract with Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa, Inc., we provided 11,096 hours of complaint investigation and resolution services to 2,849 residents age 60 plus of skilled nursing facilities and residential facilities for the elderly. Senior Community Service Employment Program The Office on Aging Senior Employment Program provided subsi- dized part-time employment and training to low-income persons age 55 plus totaling 5,040 hours through contracts with six public and private non-profit community service agencies. Customer Relationships-Social Services Bureau Child Protective Services (CPS) is often seen as a threat to parents who are fearful they might lose custody either temporarily or perma- nently of their child. Relationships with parents can naturally be problematic. The Department has developed a number of strategies to decrease the adversarial climate of CPS. Mediation provides the I,, family with options to resolve the issues without going to court. Voluntary Family Maintenance (VFM) which offers services to families when it is assessed that a child can remain in their own >I 4 home with CPS supervision. Family Preservation services are offered after the risk assessment, as a diversion from the formal child welfare system. Additionally, the Department has expended significant effort to work k on customer relationships with our caregivers. The Caregiver/Social Worker Committee was developed to provide education and receive input from caregivers on policies and procedures affecting them, »• Wdevelop training recommendations, and provide an avenue for dia- logue between staff and caregivers. A newsletter was re-established as a means of communication between the Department and caregivers. Training has been developed utilizing the Foster Pride/Adopt Pride curriculum which emphasizes partnerships between social workers and foster parents. Caregivers have also been invited to training for social workers on major topics. The Department also sponsors a Foster Parent Recognition Luncheon at which time the County for- mally honors the contributions of our Foster Parents. 18 Direct client services provided under the AAA generally are targeted toward low-income, minority, and frail seniors. Voluntary client donations are accepted by programs with the congregate and home- " delivered meals programs obtaining over $475,000 annually in client contributions. yy r4' In-Home Supportive Services are provided to individuals who meet ,p n the low-income ad functional disability standards set by the State, based upon an in-home assessment of the client's needs. Monthly hours of service are granted to individual clients who then hire their own independent provider of service who is paid at minimum wage through a State automated payroll system. Jl Adult Protective Services and Conservatorship services are provided to at-risk individuals regardless of income. Depending upon individ- ual circumstances, clients may be self-referred or referred by other social service agencies, health care institutions, law enforcement, J t ` family caregivers, or the interested general public. ,l Area Agency on Aging services are generally accessed through the Senior Information toll-free telephone numbers publicized through- out the County. In-Home Supportive Services are accessed by tele- '" phone or in person at district offices in Antioch, Richmond, and Martinez. Adult Protective Services and Conservatorship are gen- erally accessed by telephone calls to staff in Martinez. Community Information and Referral Services are accessed through regional toll-free telephone numbers. Additional Accomplishments-Children's Services • Co-sponsored Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Western Regional I Conference held in our County in October 1995. • Concurrent Planning Forum held in October 1995, for staff, attorneys and Grand Jury members to introduce the concept of concurrent planning in Child Welfare Services (CWS). • Concurrent Planning Design Committee established to develop our Department's plan for service-delivery changes in CWS. • Kinship Care Forum held in February 1996, for staff, foster/adoptive parents, relative caregivers, and Grand Jury to provide input on County policy and Statewide policy on kinship care. i • Developed a new home study process to be utilized by adoption staff when assessing prospective adoptive parents. • Developed and implemented on-going training for experienced staff on a variety of topics. • Graduated 42 foster children through the Independent Living Skills Program of whom 50% are continuing on to higher education. 19 I • Implemented the Federal Family Support and Family Preservation Program in three high-risk areas of the County: Bay Point, Pittsburg, and Richmond. • Sponsored two foster parents to attend the Statewide Annual Foster Parent Training Conference. • Trained all social workers on Microsoft Word in preparation for the Statewide Child Welfare Services/Case Management System. • Provided cross training between CWS staff and Options for Recovery staff (substance abuse treatment program). • Provided 33 hours of specialized training to prospective foster parents who were willing to provide care for drug-exposed or drug-impacted children from the age 0-3. • Made significant progress on the Department's Adoptions Improvement Project and provided regular information to the community on CWS, OHC and Adoption services. • Instituted routine meetings with Juvenile Court, American Bar Association, California State Department of Social Services, in efforts to streamline the court system serving children. Additional AccomplishmentS-Adult Services j • Consolidated program planning, monitoring, and quality control for both AAA services and Adult Social Services. • Produced the Senior Information Journal cable television show for monthly broadcast on CCTV. • Over 20,000 senior service resource brochures for East and West County were printed in cooperation with local hospitals. • Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program either saved or recovered over $206,000 for clients. • Senior Employment Program transitioned 31% of program enrollees from subsidized to unsubsidized employment. • Established a Long-1brm Care Committee to begin advocacy for development of an integrated community-based long-term care system for the County. • Senior Home Delivered Meals successfully prepared a grant proposal for $40,000 in annual United Way funding to serve additional meals in future years. • Participated in Bay Area Emergency Preparedness Network to assure the needs of elderly and disabled are taken into account in planning for disasters. The Department of Social Service I We protect abused and neglected children. We help families become healthy, strong and self-sufficient. I We protect and care for the frail and elderly. We offer assistance to needy families with children, providing them with the basic necessities of life. We serve unemployed and disabled adults who have no other resources. 20 s CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Socidl Depatment 1995-1996 John Cullen Director Lynn Yaney Shelba Burke Public Information Officer Executive Secretary Danna Fabella Robert Hofmann Don Cruze Asst. Director Asst. Director Asst. Director Judy Campbell Children's/Adult Svcs. Income Maintenance Administration Personnel Officer Martinez-Douglas Dr. Cheryl Cook Virginia Joyce Jim Takahashi CWS Division Mgr. IM Division Mgr. Fiscal/Contracts Div. Mgr. East County Martinez Martinez-Douglas Dr. John Lee GA Policy Martinez-Douglas Dr. Ray Merritt Shirley Kalinowski John Zimmerman CWS Division Mgr. IM Division Mgr. Computer Systems Ofcr. West County Antioch Martinez-Douglas Dr. 'Merry Salter GA Operations Linda Canan Bill Reid Ken Adams Countywide CWS Division Mgr IM Division Mgr. Fraud/Appeals Mgr. Countywide Hercules Martinez-Douglas Dr. Steve Peavler Gwen Easter Phil Simonds J CWS Division Mgr. IM Division Mgr. Facilities/Purch. Mgr. Family Pres. Richmond Martinez-Douglas Dr. Linda Waddington Kareen Morgan Vacant i CWS Division Mgrr, GAIN Division Mgr. Staff Development Mgr. Central County Martinez-Douglas Dr. Martinez-Douglas Dr. Bob Sessler Chris Moore Director-AAA Project Division Mgr. �IAdult Svcs. Countywide Martinez-Douglas Dr. f Frank Gallagher MaryKay Miller Eligibility Unit Supr. FACT/FACSAC Sp. Proj./QA/TCC/ORC Beverly Wright Eligibility Unit Supr. 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