Agency

Snapshot

Our events drew in over

25,000

attendees.

We assisted over

10,000

people and families.

We partnered with over

200

organizations.

MOSAIC Goals

SSA has created its first five-year strategic plan called MOSAIC (Moving Our Strategy to Action ​and Integration in the Community). The plan provides the unifying big picture for where we are ​headed. MOSAIC consists of four multi-year goals to achieve SSA’s new mission and vision.

Integrated, Accessible, Equitable and Client-​Centered Services

Clients receive integrated services from their point of ​entry until they and/or their families have received the ​types of assistance they need from all appropriate work ​units.

Client-Centered Partnerships

Strengthen partnerships and collaborations with ​community partners, public agencies and other key ​stakeholders in support of integrated client services.

Employee Well-Being and Support

Enhance communications, employee training and ​professional development to support skill-building, job ​satisfaction, employee retention, succession planning and ​organizational effectiveness.

Technology

Improve the efficient and effective use of technology (and ​innovation in thought) to support staff and enhance ​integrated client services.

Division Snapshot

Administrative ​Services

Supporting SSA

Administrative Services (Admin) implements and coordinates resources behind the scenes to support SSA’s programs ​and staff, allowing them to provide services critical to the community.

Services include Accounting; Centralized Operations; Community & Government Relations; Contracts; Divisional ​Operations; Emergency Management & Safety; Facilities; Financial, Research and Data Analytics; Human Resources; ​Information Technology; Procurement; Program Integrity; Quality Support; Systems Management & Reporting; and ​Training & Career Development.

Accomplishments

Gifts, Donations and ​Volunteering Brighten Lives

Operation Santa Claus distributed 27,174 gifts and toys to ​Orange County children in need. Senior Santa and Friends ​distributed more than 2,100 items to vulnerable adults, ​including 245 special requested items such as durable ​medical equipment. Together both programs collected ​more than 24,000 toys and gifts in 2023 by collaborating ​with 146 external businesses, 92 individual donors and 48 ​county agencies/departments.

Staff Safety Prioritized with ​Expanded Training and Tools

The Emergency Management and Safety program expanded ​to prioritize staff training and exercises, mitigation, hazard ​analysis, response and recovery. This year, SSA partnered ​with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to train staff ​on Active Shooter/Active Attacker response techniques and ​prevention strategies. SSA also launched Alert SSA, the ​Agency’s emergency notification system. Alert SSA gives ​the Agency the ability to quickly inform staff when there is a ​perceived, emerging or imminent emergency that affects ​safety or wellbeing.

Check-in Made Easier for ​Clients

In September 2023, as part of the migration to a new ​statewide public benefit eligibility system, a new lobby ​management system rolled out, including a ticketing system, ​kiosks and tablets to make the check-in process more ​efficient.

One-day Hiring Events ​Streamline Application Process

Partnering with County Executive Office and Human Resource ​Services, SSA participated in 26 one-day hiring events. ​Applicants participated in interviews, reference checks and ​health screening all in the same day. Nearly 550 job offers ​were made as a result of this highly successful and innovative ​approach to hiring.

208,286

Applications submitted ​through BenefitsCal

$64.8 million

Invested in ​Community Services

Goals

Invest in Technology to Improve ​Clients​’ Experience

As a part of our five-year strategic plan MOSAIC, SSA will develop and ​implement a multi-year technology master plan that identifies needs, ​priorities, implementation steps and funding. SSA will evaluate our ​systems to ensure staff are best supported in their work, providing ​solutions for greater efficiency and accountability. The plan will improve ​the efficient and effective use of technology and innovation in thought to ​support staff and enhance integrated client services.

The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) ​brought together their stakeholders, clients and ​community partners in its first in-person OC Good ​Neighbor Task Force meeting. The task force first ​started in response to the fall of Kabul as Afghans fled ​their homes, many arriving in the United States.

More than 500 came to Orange County, connecting with ​the task force to find resources as they started their new ​lives in the U.S.

Division Snapshot

Assistance ​Programs

Providing access to ​healthcare and nutrition

Assistance Programs (AP) serves as a safety net ensuring vulnerable adults, children and families have access to health ​care, food assistance and cash benefits to facilitate stability, self-sufficiency and independent living. Programs include ​CalFresh, Medi-Cal, General Relief and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.

Accomplishments

Nearly 1 Million Receive Low-

or No-cost Health Insurance

Eligibility staff assisted about 530,000 families in navigating a return to ​the annual review process for Medi-Cal, health insurance provided to ​those who have low income. COVID-19 pandemic waivers allowed ​residents enrolled in Medi-Cal and Children’s Health Insurance Programs ​(CHIP) to keep their coverage regardless of changes in their eligibility ​status. As a result of staff’s efforts, on average 944,986 Orange County ​residents received Medi-Cal benefits.

Eligibility Staff Mentoring ​Opportunities Expand

In November 2023, AP merged two teams to create the new Mentor, ​Onboarding and Quality Assurance (MOQA) Region. Mentor Onboarding ​supports newly hired eligibility staff by providing a more consistent ​onboarding experience with hands-on coaching. The Quality Assurance ​team supports existing eligibility staff by reviewing casework, hosting ​workshops and ensuring policy compliance. MOQA gives eligibility staff ​the tools to provide high quality customer service.

Reducing Barriers by Bringing ​Resources to the Community

Through the CalAIM Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative, AP ​expanded outreach efforts, including collaboration with ​community-based organizations and other County of Orange ​departments, and established a coordinated community ​reentry process. Outreach efforts connected Medi-Cal ​eligible youth and adults leaving incarceration to the physical ​and behavioral health services they may need prior to release ​and reentry into the community. The initiative helps address ​the health care needs of justice-involved individuals, ​delivering care more efficiently and advancing health equity ​across the county.

530,069

Medi-Cal ​Active Cases

181,332

CalFresh ​Active Cases

5,726

General Relief ​Active Cases

Goals

Enhance service and streamline ​operations

Assistance Programs will embark on a business model redesign to ​enhance the customer experience, service delivery and business ​processes, thus providing a higher quality of service to the community.

May is CalFresh Awareness Month, a time for ​recognizing an important program that helps put food ​on the table for over 300,000 residents in Orange ​County. Eligibility Technicians Daniela Contreras ​Alvarado and Jennifer Torres highlight the impact of ​CalFresh in our community.

Division Snapshot

Children & Family ​Services

Putting children and ​families first

Children & Family Services (CFS) works to protect children from abuse and neglect by partnering with families to ​ensure children live in safe, nurturing and permanent homes. Responding to child abuse reports, workers successfully ​divert more than 90% of cases through SSA’s family resource centers and the support of community partners. Other ​services include providing support to youth in foster care and at risk-children.

Accomplishments

Strengthened Support for ​Families in Crisis

Often the first person a family encounters in child welfare is an ​Emergency Response social worker. This essential role requires engaging ​families, deescalating highly emotional circumstances and managing ​crises. To provide support and responsiveness to the community, CFS ​increased the number of staff, implemented safety monitoring measures ​and added crisis counseling and deescalation training.

Youth Shelter Dining Facilities ​Renovated

SSA continues to invest in the Orangewood Children & Family Center ​(OCFC), a shelter where abused and neglected children receive comfort ​and safety. Projects included the renovation of the kitchen, dining room ​and restrooms, replacement of the refrigeration system and exterior ​painting of the entire campus. In Fiscal Year 2023-2024, OCFC served ​1,175 youth, averaging 52 youth in residence per day. Youth participate ​in events and extracurricular activities that promote normalcy and ​socialization, such as field trips to theaters, museums and cultural ​events.

Prevention Tailored to Clients’ ​Specific Needs

In February 2024, CFS implemented Motivational Interviewing ​(MI), an evidence-based practice aimed at creating an ​empathic, collaborative and empowering environment to ​address each client’s unique challenges. This change is part of ​the Families First Prevention Services Act through a ​Comprehensive Prevention Plan, providing significant new ​opportunities to improve the well-being of Orange County ​residents.

806

Youth Reunified ​with their Parents

1,535

Resource ​Families

56,200

Calls to the Child ​Abuse Hotline

Goals

Build Stronger Foster Care Network ​for Challenging Cases

CFS continues to recruit and train more families willing to provide a safe ​and loving home to the most challenging foster youth through the ​Intensive Services Foster Care program.

Ofelia Greene, a Senior Social Worker at Children & ​Family Services, emphasizes the crucial role of the ​Housing and Urban Development Voucher Program in ​providing housing for transitional age youth who don't ​always have a support network to guide them as they ​rent their first homes.

Division Snapshot

Family Self-Sufficiency & ​Adult Services

Helping families and ​vulnerable adults

Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) helps eligible families become self-sufficient through programs such as California Work ​Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Foster Care, Welfare-to-Work, Cal-Learn and Refugee Cash ​Assistance (RCA). Adult Services (AS) is designed to support the well-being of vulnerable older adults, dependent ​adults and children through services such as Adult Protective Services (APS) and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS).

Accomplishments

Expanded Access to County ​Service in Brea

A new County Community Service Center opened in Brea ​on June 10, 2024, creating a second “one-stop-shop” for ​Orange County residents to connect to resources and ​services from government agencies and community ​organizations.

Maintained High Work ​Participation Rates

Orange County continues to lead in engaging families in ​work activities as part of the federal Temporary ​Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The Work ​Participation Rates are 47.8% for all families and 57.6% for ​two-parent families.

Improved Case Management ​with New APS Technology

APS transitioned to a new system, LEAPS, in December ​2023, that allows staff to more efficiently record ​information about abuse and neglect cases. APS also ​added an application in June 2024 to track referrals and ​reporting for clients in the Home Safe Program.

Expanded Services to Better ​Serve Clients

The IHSS Application Unit began processing CalFresh ​applications on February 1, 2024, in addition to Medi-Cal ​applications, providing holistic services to clients.

98.2%

Of IHSS Applications ​Processed Within 90 days

97.97%

Of CalWORKS Applications ​Processed Within 45 days

Goals

Boost CalWORKs ​Engagement

FSS plans to continue to increase engagement of ​CalWORKs participants by 5% as part of ​CalWORKs Outcome and Accountability Review ​(CalOAR) - System Improvement Plan to reach a ​goal of 60.6%.

Protect Benefits Through ​EBT Fraud Prevention

FSS will continue to work with the District ​Attorney’s office to combat Electronic Benefit ​Transfer (EBT) fraud by implementing ​preventative measures, keeping CalFresh and ​CalWORKs clients informed and promoting ​community awareness.

Senior Social Worker Denise Ramirez talks about the ​Celebrating Hope & Success event, hosted by the Crime ​Survivors Resource Center, honoring CalWORKs ​participants of the Domestic Abuse Services Unit ​(DASU) program who have overcome adversity to ​achieve their goals.

Client ​Letters

We are grateful to serve ​our community every day. ​Letters like these

from our clients remind us ​that our work matters.