HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04091991 - 2.2 ,
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra
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FROM: James A. Rydingsword, Social Service Director `s Costa
and Victor J. Westman, County Counsel9 �¢ bounty
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DATE:
April 8, 1991
SUBJECT:
General Assistance Program
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION•
1 . Based on the information. below, that the Board of Supervisors
maintain the current County General Assistance Program allowances and
components, pending the Board's approval of any recommendations which
may be made following the completion of the study of standards for the
administration of the General Assistance Program, which study the Board
has directed be conducted.
BACKGROUND:
On March 19 , 1991, the Board of Supervisors directed the Social
Service Department with assistance from the County Counsel to conduct a
study of standards for the administration of the County General
Assistance Program (housing, food, personal needs, and transportation)
and to report to the Board in approximately 90 days on the status of
such study.
On March 19, 1991 the Board also requested the Social Service
Director and the County Counsel to review and report to the Board on
Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation's attached letter, dated March
18, 1991, concerning certain aspects of the General Assistance Program.
Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation seeks, among other things, the
immediate implementation of certain grant levels and components in the
General Assistance Program.
The Social Service Director and County Counsel believe that Contra
Costa Legal Services Foundation's recommended changes in certain grant
levels and components in the General Assistance Program should not
implemented at this time, insofar as the Boar has directed that a study
of standards for the administration of the Ge eral tance Progra
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES S NATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMME DATION BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON - April 9, 1991 • APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT I I I ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
DAATE'SHOWN.
CC: ,Social Services Director ATTESTED w`4 1, /991
County Counsel PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
M382 (10/88) BY DEPUTY
be conducted. No changes, if any, to the General Assistance Program
should be made until the directed study is completed. In addition, the
food allowance was increased in January of this year. Moreover,
homeless General Assistance recipients currently have housing available
in various shelter facilities in the County.
As to various elements which Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation
states must be included in the directed study of standards for the
administration of the General Assistance Program, the Social Service
Director and the County Counsel intend to conduct the study in
compliance with legal requirements .
The Social Service Director and the County Counsel strongly
disagree with Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation's assertion that
there has been "a deliberate attempt to avoid the County's legal
responsibilities to its indigent citizens . " Contra Costa Legal Services
Foundation's August 23, 1990 letter was not addressed to the Board, but
was addressed to the County Counsel's Office. The letter contained
assertions concerning many aspects of the General Assistance Program.
The Social Service Department responded to the letter in the Director's
December 3, 1990 report to the Board. Based on the January 22, 1991
report by the Social Service Director to the Board, the Board increased
the General Assistance monthly food allowance (from $90 to $99 for one
person) . In response to Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation' s
presentation of documents to the Board on January 22, 1991, the Social
Service Director and County Counsel recommended to the Board that a
. study of certain standards for the administration of the General
Assistance Program be conducted.
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Law Offices of
Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation
Main Office Telephone
1017 MacDonald Avenue West County (415)2339954
P.O.Box 2289 East (415)439-9166
Richmond,California 94802 Central (415)372-82W
Fax (415)236.6846
March 18, 1991
To: Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County
From: Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation
Re: GA Grant Levels
Contra Costa Legal Services has been retained to attempt to
raise the level of General Assistance in this County.
We intend to file a lawsuit against the County unless you take
the following action today :
1 . Because you already have sufficient information in the
record regarding the requests set forth in this paragraph, we
request that you adopt, effective April 1 , the following changes
in the GA standards on an interim basis:
a. Raise the food component to reflect the current
Thrifty Food Plan level.
b. Change the restaurant allowance so that every
recipient without cooking facilities receives the allowance for
as many months as needed.
C. Give homeless GA recipients a housing allowance.
d. Raise the transportation component of the grant so
that the amount allotted for transportation is consistent with
the number of trips used in the 1989 Social Services Department
study of General Assistance grants and with the cost per trip as
was set forth in the 1990-91 Social Service Department studies.
2 . Direct the Social Services Director and County Counsel
that th study proposed must be completed and recommendations
submitted to the .Board and the general public by May 21 , 1991 ,
for review by the Board at its June 5, 1991 meeting.
3 . Direct the Social Services Director and County Counsel
that the proposed study must at a minimum include the following:
a. a survey of housing costs which complies with
applicable court decisions and which shall take into account the
following:
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i. costs for available habitable housing
.ii. the differences in costs between subsidized
housing, housing provided by friends and relatives at below
market rate and the costs to obtain market rate housing.
iii. needs of homeless GA applicants and
recipients for temporary shelter.
b. a survey of current costs of all special needs which
the Department of Social Services provides.
c. a study to determine a factual basis for the number
of trips allocated for transportation and the items contained in
the personal needs allowance and also do an updated survey of
costs for each component
d. a study of whether the Thrifty Food Plan is an
appropriate measure of the needs of General Assistance
recipients and the costs in Contra Costa County of the elements
of the Thrifty food plan.
The following chronology sets forth the reason for our.
deadlines. On August 23 , 1990 , this office informed you that we
would institute suit unless you took certain action to insure
that the County' s GA levels complied with W & I Section 17000.
In September and twice again in October of 1990 , we received
assurances from Mr. Kerr of the County Counsel ' s office that we
would receive a response to our very specific concerns.
Instead, Mr. Rydingsword, on November 6th, 1990 went before the
Board to request that he be authorized to respond to this letter
at the December 4th, 1990 board meeting. The response that Mr.
Rydingsword prepared ignored, in virtually all material aspects,
the August 23 , 1990 letter. Mr. Rydingsword did propose, using
an out of date set of figures, raising the food component of the
grant by $9. The matter appeared before the Board again on
January 22 , 1991 . At that time, we repeated the concerns we had
previously brought to your attention on at least five prior
occasions. Mr. Rydingsword was directed to report back to you
within thirty days - another deadline he was unable to meet.
Instead of responding to the concerns we raised, he has now
proposed to do another study with an indefinite deadline as when
the results will be submitted to you for action. We believe the
conduct of Mr. Rydingsword and the County Counsel ' s office to be
a deliberate attempt to avoid the County' s legal
res;,nsibilities to its indigent citizens and we are therefore
forced to respond accordingly.
cc : County Counsel
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