(221) Health and Human Services Agency Fund

The Health and Human Services Agency enhances the well-being of children, adults, and families by administering programs like nutritional assistance benefits through CalFresh, financial assistance for low-income families and employment services through CalWORKs, health insurance coverage through Medi-Cal, child and adult protective services, and a variety of health-centered programs that promote and protect the physical and mental health of the community by preventing disease, injury, and mitigating community health hazards.

Due to the nature of the funding, the Health and Human Services Administrative division's operation and program information are recorded in a separate special revenue fund 221.

DIVISON MISSION/VISION

The mission of San Benito County’s Health & Human Services Agency is to support and strengthen individuals and families by assuring safety, supporting self-sufficiency, eliminating poverty, and improving the quality of life in our community.

DIVISION OVERVIEW:  PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

The Health and Human Services Agency Public Assistance Division enhances the well-being of children, adults, homeless and families by administering programs like nutritional assistance benefits through Cal Fresh, financial assistance for low-income families and employment services through CalWORKs, homeless and single individuals through general assistance (GA) and health insurance coverage through Medi-Cal.

STRATEGIC PLAN FOCUS AREAS

• Ensure community members continue to have a timely access to critical safety net services
• Establish an internal Quality Assurance (QA) program to measure and track program compliance and accuracy to support enhanced service delivery to the community.
• Improve the induction Orientation Curriculum and develop a continuing education program to provide ongoing professional development opportunities to remain compliant with changes to state and federal programs. 

RECENT DIVISION ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Public Assistance:

• Decreased division vacancies from twenty-eight (28) positions to five (5) positions and completed two full induction classes with new Eligibility Specialists.
• Successfully completed a Cal Fresh Management Evaluation with the California Department of Social Services.
• Effectively leveraged new technology (Microsoft 365 suite) to enhance business practices, such as the development of a divisional SharePoint page and the use of Teams as an attendance tool to enhance coordination and service delivery.

TOP DIVISION CONCERNS:

• The ability to retain and train staff with shifting state and federal mandates. 
• Continued funding availability for all programs through federal and state sources.
• Remaining current with Medi-Cal renewal processing.
• CalOAR System Improvement Plan (SIP) update submission and implementation.

LONG RANGE PLANNING GOALS (3-5 YEAR) FOR DIVISION:

• The division has implemented Business Intelligence tools to support data analysis of workflow and workload distribution. The goal is to enhance data usage in decision-making and business operations, with a three-to-five-year objective of developing a forward-facing public dashboard.
• Increase community participation in our public assistance programs by offering education, outreach, and improving program accessibility.

NEW REQUESTS FY 25/26:     Personnel & Fixed Assets/ 1-Time Items

• None

DIVISON MISSION/VISION

The mission of San Benito County’s Health & Human Services Agency is to support and strengthen individuals and families by assuring safety, supporting self-sufficiency, eliminating poverty and improving the quality of life in our community.

DIVISION OVERVIEW: 

The Children and Adult Services Division consists of Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, In Home Supportive Services and the Resource Family Program. The division strives to ensure the health, safety, and physical and emotional well-being of our community’s most vulnerable populations: Dependent Children and/or Aged/Blind/Disabled Adults utilizing a variety of evidence-based and trauma informed services.

STRATEGIC PLAN FOCUS AREAS

• Operational Development & Excellence
• Community Engagement
• Healthy & Safe Communities 

RECENT DEPARTMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Successful completion of IHSS Annual Review with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) receiving recognition for the quality of services provided and comprehensive documentation to reflect those efforts.
• Successful completion of the Resource Family Approval (RFA) Biannual Review with CDSS receiving recognition for the quality of services provided and comprehensive documentation to reflect those efforts.
• A historically low number of children entering the foster care system correlated with program efforts involving prevention and early intervention strategies with children and families served.

TOP DEPARTMENTAL CONCERNS:

• Current threat of budget cuts to Federal Funding targeting at-risk populations including children, elderly adults, and the disabled.
• Affordable housing for older adults with limited financial resources and limited familial support.
• Financial scams targeting elderly and disabled adults and not enough advocacy and outreach to educate those at risk.
• Limited number of resource families (foster homes) who are willing and able to have school-aged children placed in their care resulting in children being moved out-of-county and transferred out of their school of origin.

LONG RANGE PLANNING GOALS (3-5 YEAR) FOR DEPARTMENT:

• Improve reunification and permanency outcomes for children who enter the foster care system.
• Reduce delays in processing applications and completing reassessments for older adults and disabled persons requiring support with activities of daily living to remain independent.
• Recruit and retain more resource families interested in fostering school-aged children.
• Increase outreach efforts targeting elderly and dependent adults to educate on financial scams using landline phones, smart cellular phones, computers, artificial intelligence, etc.

NEW REQUESTS FY24/25:       Personnel & Fixed Assets/ 1-Time Items

• Add 1 Social Worker Supervisor I

The following budget unit information details the different sections found under the Health and Human Services Agency fund (221), a division of the Health and Human Services Agency. The sections are as follows outlined by their coded number:

• (2285) - HHSA Administration
• (2290) - Cal Works Assistance
• (2295) - Foster Care/Adopt Assistance
• (2330) - Whole Person Care - Ended in 2020