Title
Receive and accept the quarterly report of expenditures and caseload data for the Department of Social Services.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee receive and accept the quarterly report of expenditures and caseload data for the Department of Social Services.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The attached report represents actual caseload and expenditure data through December 2016. The report compares data month-to-month and year-to-year for three years. In addition to administrative costs, the programs highlighted are:
General Assistance CalWORKs
Medi-Cal CalFresh (Food Stamps)
In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Out-of-Home Care (Foster Care and Adoptions)
ü General Assistance (GA) program caseload continues to decline and is now near 400 individuals, a 21.4% decline over last year at the same time.
ü CalWORKs caseload increased from 3,678 in September 2016 to 4,237 in December 2016, this reflects the typical winter seasonal trend when applications for assistance and active cases increase dramatically. However, from a year to year perspective, there is an overall caseload decline of 16.9% from this time last year.
ü Medi-Cal caseload decreased slightly to 71,314 from 71,380 in September of 2016. This is an increase of 4.0% when compared to last year at this time. Overall, there are more than 160,000 individuals receiving Medi-Cal health insurance through the Department of Social Services public assistance eligibility systems.
ü CalFresh caseload also increased to 19,788 from 19,183 in September of 2016 due to seasonal fluctuations. This is a decrease of 5.7% when compared to December of 2015.
ü IHSS paid hours decreased to 396,680, an 8.3% increase over last year at the same time. This increase is a function of ongoing increases in the number of individuals enrolled in IHSS and the restoration in July 2015 of the 7% across the board reduction in hours of services (that was implemented in July 2013 as part of SB 67) as well as the implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act provisions.
ü Out of Home Care includes cases in Foster Care (including youth opting to stay in Foster Care to age 21), Probation and Adoption Assistance. The caseload is trending slightly higher with a 5.2% increase over the prior year from 1,125 in December 2015 to 1,183 in December of 2016.
ü Overall, the Department’s public assistance entitlement caseloads increased slightly when compared to September 2016 for a total of 96,925. This is an increase of .6% over last year at this time. Year to date operational costs decreased by 6.4%. Sufficient appropriations and revenues are available in the 2016-17 Budget for projected costs. The Department continues recruitment efforts to fill vacant positions to address workload demands.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Probation placement costs are included in Foster Care.
FINANCING:
Caseload trends are consistent with trends built into the FY 2016-17 Budget. Sufficient appropriations and County General Fund contributions are available.
Approved by: Elliott Robinson, Director, x4430
Attachments: 2016_12 Caseload and Expenditure Report