by Maria Gardner, Assistant Director
On February 13, 2024, the County Board of Supervisors approved the addition of 65 funded positions for our department. The majority of these positions were added as CalFresh support positions, which shifted overhead costs to that program area and freed up funds in other program areas to also add Administrative Support staff and staff in the Adult and Children’s Services program areas.
The 65 new positions include:
- CalFresh/CalFresh Support: 56 positions
- 44 Eligibility Workers (EW I/II)
- 3 Lead Eligibility Workers (EW III)
- 3 Eligibility Supervisors (ES)
- 4 Administrative Office Professionals (AOP I/II)
- 2 Department Business Specialists (DBS)
- Administrative Support: 3 positions
- 2 Computer System Specialists (CSS I/II)
- 1 Utility Worker
- Adult & Children’s Services: 6 positions
- 1 Child Welfare Services Social Services Supervisor II
- 2 Adult Protective Services Social Services Workers
- 1 Adult Protective Services Department Business Specialist
- 1 In-Home Supportive Services/Adult Protective Services Administrative Office Professional Sr.
- 1 In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Administrative Office Professional I
AB 79, signed into law in 2019, mandated that the California Department of Social Services revise their annual funding methodology for the administration of the CalFresh program. The work on this effort was put on hold during the pandemic, but in the fall of 2023 the new methodology was put forward. Some of you had a direct hand in updating the CalFresh allocation methodology by participating in detailed time study efforts to track and record all aspects of work in the program, not just the number of approved cases.
Interviews are already occurring to fill many of these positions. Some staff will go straight to the line and others will need to attend induction training first. These efforts will help our staff with their caseloads and ultimately assist our clients in being safe, supported and self-sufficient by providing timely benefits and services.
Thank you all for holding down the fort during such a monumental period of time consisting of a pandemic, natural disasters, the unwinding of the public health emergency, the implementation of CalSAWS, and planning for the implementation of the ERP, just to name a few.
We know that help can’t get here fast enough, but we hope you take comfort in knowing that help is on the way!
Want to know more? See the details, video, or presentation from the meeting.