REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 26, 2024
FROM
JAMES LOCURTO, Interim Director, Transitional Assistance Department
SUBJECT
Title
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids System Improvement Plan
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve and authorize submission of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids System Improvement Plan to the California Department of Social Services to include the provision to provide California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Welfare-to-Work services plan focused on improvement of program design, service delivery models, and activity structure.
2. Authorize the Assistant Executive Officer as the County Welfare Director, as required by the California Department of Social Services, to execute and submit the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids System Improvement Plan to the California Department of Social Services, and any non-substantive amendments, on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the Assistant Executive Officer to transmit the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids System Improvement Plan and any non-substantive amendments to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: James LoCurto, Interim Director, 388-0245)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) 2023-24 allocation is estimated to be $134,300,000 and is 100% federal and state funded. The allocated funding is included in the Human Services Administrative Claim 2023-24 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of the proposed CalWORKs System Improvement Plan will allow the Transitional Assistance Department (TAD), in collaboration with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to implement suggested strategies for focused improvement of the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) program.
TAD utilizes the CalWORKs Outcomes and Accountability Review (Cal-OAR) with the purpose of establishing a local, data-driven program management system that facilitates continuous improvement of county CalWORKs programs by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating outcomes and best practices.
Cal-OAR encourages counties to take a thoughtful and proactive approach in how CalWORKs programs are set up, services are provided, and activities are organized within these programs . This provides opportunities for adults participating in CalWORKs programs to build core capabilities critical to manage adversity, succeed in navigating long-term career goals, and balance the challenges of life, family, and work. Through collaboration and partnership, counties and the state will execute a joint vision for CalWORKs outcomes of interest that propel improvement of county CalWORKs programs.
As required by Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 11523, Cal-OAR consists of three core components:
• Performance indicators (measures),
• County CalWORKs self-assessment (Cal-CSA), and
• CalWORKs system improvement plan (Cal-SIP).
The performance measures represent one component of Cal-OAR, intended to be analyzed within the larger Cal-OAR system, including specific questions and data elements contained in the Cal-CSA. WIC 11523 requires Cal-OAR to include measures of participant engagement, participation, service delivery, educational attainment, employment, and program exits and reentries. Additionally, it may include measures of family and child well-being. Data reported will be used to establish county and state baselines for each of the process measures. TAD has selected engagement rate as its performance measure. Engagement rate will measure WtW customers’ progression toward self-sufficiency.
The Cal-OAR is a continuous quality improvement process, which includes the Cal-CSA and Cal-SIP, and is a learning process for all of those involved, taking place over a five-year cycle. The Cal-SIP report serves as a guide to goals TAD wants to achieve to improve its CalWORKs program. While the goals TAD selected will remain in place, the strategies may be revised during the progress report phase of the work if TAD finds that pivoting will yield better results. If the County Welfare Department (CWD) decides to pivot, TAD will make the CDSS and its internal leadership aware when TAD submits the progress reports.
The Cal-SIP is based on the information gathered and reported from the Cal-CSA. Each CWD will develop a plan for improving its CalWORKs program. The Cal-SIP will select a set of measures for focused improvement and development to improve the selected performance measure(s).
CDSS requires the Cal-SIP to be approved by the Board of Supervisors (Board) and executed by the County Welfare Director. In San Bernardino County, the County Welfare Director is the Assistant Executive Officer over the Human Services departments. Upon approval by the Board, the Cal-SIP will be submitted to CDSS for approval, certification, and posting on the CDSS site. Once the Cal-SIP has been posted on the CDSS site, TAD will begin to implement the approved selected performance measures.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on February 28, 2024; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 11, 2024; Finance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on March 11, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on March 11, 2024.