DSS presents on CalWORKs 2.0 in Sacramento

Mark Laurel, Esther Herrera, Nancy Saengjaeng, and Carolyn Robinson at the event

by Yolanda Salgado-Tovar, Career Employment Specialist

Our own Nancy Saengjaeng was a keynote opening panelist at the recent All County Convening in Sacramento, where she spoke to a full house of county implementation leaders about the process of introducing and integrating CalWORKs 2.0 in Santa Barbara County. The County's expertise was also ably represented at the event by Carolyn Robinson, Mark Laurel, and Esther Herrera. Read on for more details, and see these photos from the event!

This one-day, in-person event, which took place at the Sacramento Marriott on September 25, was an opportunity for implementation leaders from throughout the state to learn from one another, exchange insights about past experiences, and anticipate future challenges, and potential innovations.

The State has been impressed with Santa Barbara County's progress in implementing CalWORKs 2.0, and has consulted with our CalWORKs 2.0 team in order to help other counties visualize what implementation looks like. We have piloted the State’s training materials and provided feedback on their effectiveness and improvements. Our County’s CalWORKs 2.0 team was also instrumental in planning this professional development opportunity for implementation leaders, and was recruited to share their expertise with the other counties at the event.

The County was represented by a cross-section of talent and expertise including:

• Nancy Saengjaeng, Project Leader, provided the audience an overview of CalWORKs 2.0 in Santa Barbara County.
• Carolyn Robinson, CalWORKs Division Chief, provided expertise on CalWORKs 2.0 and eligibility.
• Mark Laurel, Job Services Supervisor, provided his knowledge on CalWORKs 2.0 and Job Services
• Esther Herrera, Training Supervisor, addressed questions regarding the training components.

After the general audience, the participants were allowed to select breakout sessions based on their interests. Our team was selected to direct groups in the breakout sessions.

“It was a pleasant surprise how far ahead we are of the other counties” said Saengjaeng. “People from other counties had so many questions for us.”

As an added bonus, SBC was asked to participate in a CalWORKs 2.0 informational video. Stay tuned for our very own Mark Laurel on the State’s website a near future!