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| Carolyn Robinson presenting at CWDA Conference |
It was a proud moment when Santa Barbara County received the State’s invitation to showcase its progressive CalWORKs 2.0 implementation efforts at the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) annual conference, which brings together over 700 human services leaders from all 58 California counties to one place to discuss best practices.
The 2018 Conference took place on October 10-12 at the Anaheim Marriott. Carolyn Robinson, CalWORKs Division Chief, was our County representative on a panel addressing the implementation of CW 2.0 and shared experiences and lessons learned to date, as well as the sustainability of the work going forward. The County was selected based on the leadership role it has taken in the implementation of CalWORKs 2.0, which shifts services to a more client-centered approach.
When the state proposed the new approach, Santa Barbara County jumped at the chance to improve services for our clients, and began to put theory into action in April 2018. The County made it its goal to meet clients where they are, assist them in removing barriers, and ultimately providing them with the tools that will help them reach their goals. The efforts have included developing a greater awareness of clients’ needs through a new “Getting to Know You” form during the Welfare to Work Orientation, piloting client workshops on goal setting, resume writing and networking, as well as trainings for staff on building resilience and facilitating access to the various resources. This has resulted in a revamping of existing processes and procedures that have effectively streamlined services for our clients. Full implementation is scheduled to take place in late October.
Leading the movement has been the CW 2.0 core team, Carolyn Robinson, Esther Herrera, Kelly Arredondo, and Nancy Saengjaeng at the helm, as project lead. Having been included in this conference is validation of the excellent work performed in Santa Barbara County.
