DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES /
DPSS MISSION
The mission of DPSS has changed dramatically. The focus of its programs has shifted from ongoing income maintenance to temporary assistance coupled with expanded services designed to help individuals and families achieve economic independence.
In 2004, DPSS adopted the following "DPSS Mission and Philosophy:" To enrich lives through effective and caring service.
DPSS PHILOSOPHY
DPSS believes that it can help those it serves to enhance the quality of their lives, provide for themselves and their families, and make positive contributions to the community.
DPSS believes that to fulfill its mission, services must be provided in an environment that supports its staff's professional development and promotes shared leadership, teamwork, and individual responsibility.
DPSS believes that as it moves towards the future, it can serve as a catalyst for commitment and action within the community, resulting in expanded resources, innovative programs and services, and new public and private sector partnership.
DPSS PROGRAMS
The State and Federal assistance programs that DPSS administers include California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP), CalFresh, and Medi-Cal Assistance Programs. DPSS also administers the General Relief (GR) program for the County's indigent adult population and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). The goal of these programs is to provide the basic essentials of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care to eligible families and individuals. In 2010, DPSS provided public assistance to a monthly average of 2.35 million individuals, including In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS).
As a result of Welfare Reform, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program replaced the Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) program effective January 1, 1998. The CalWORKs program is designed to transition participants from welfare to work. To achieve the goal of Welfare Reform, DPSS has developed programs which help participants achieve self-sufficiency in a time-limited welfare environment. DPSS’ Welfare-to-Work Programs currently provide the following services:
· Child Care
· Transportation
· Post Employment Services
· Treatment programs for Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence and Mental Health
· Ancillary Expenses
AIDED CASELOAD
As shown in the Persons Aided chart (Figure 2), using December 2009 and December 2010 as points in time for comparison, the number of CalWORKs aided individuals increased by 7.6% (31,403 individuals). The number of Medi-cal Assistance Only aided individuals increased from 1,655,341 in December 2009 to 1,677,283 in December 2010. This represents a 1.3% increase (21,942 individuals).
In total, there was a 3.7% increase (86,344) in the number of individuals receiving assistance for all programs combined from December 2009 to December 2010.
The following represents caseload changes in programs where children are most likely to receive aid:
CalWORKs
The number of participants receiving assistance through the CalWORKs program slowly declined from February 2002 through March 2008 (Figure 6). Recent economic turmoil and a high level of unemployment rate have caused an increase in the number of people receiving CalWORKs. In December 2010, 443,245 individuals received cash assistance from CalWORKs. This represents a 7.6% increase (31,403 individuals) from 411,842 individuals aided in December 2009 (Figure 2).
CalFresh
Similar to the cash assistance program for families, the number of individuals receiving CalFresh increased in 1995. In December 2010, 978,920 individuals had been aided in the CalFresh program. This represents a 12.4% increase (108,552 individuals) from 870,368 aided individuals in December 2009 (Figure 2).
MEDI-CAL ASSISTANCE ONLY (MAO)
In 2009, there were 1,655,341 individuals receiving Medi-Cal benefits. By December 2010, the number of individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal had increased to 1,677,283. This represents a 1.3% increase (21,942) in individuals served (Figure 2).
CASELOAD CHARACTERISTICS BY SERVICE PLANNING AREAS (SPA) – CITIZENSHIP STATUS, PRIMARY LANGUAGE, AND ETHNIC ORIGIN.
Figures 1 through 1.9 display the total number of individuals aided by citizenship status and ethnic origin, and the total number of cases aided by primary language for all programs by SPA.
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION, CHILD ABUSE REFERRALS AND STAFF TRAINING
A major focus of DPSS is to ensure that all of its employees are active participants in child abuse prevention. In 1987, the DPSS Training Academy implemented a comprehensive Child Abuse Prevention training program. The primary purpose of this training is to inform DPSS public contact employees about the seriousness of the child abuse problem in Los Angeles County and the employees' mandated reporting responsibilities.
Since its inception, the Child Abuse Prevention training program has been delivered to DPSS public contact staff, including Social Workers, GAIN Services Workers, Eligibility Workers, clerical staff, and managers. To ensure that all DPSS public contact staff receive the training, the program is incorporated into the orientation course given to all new hires.
During the training session, the trainees are informed of the types of child abuse, indicators of such abuse, provisions of the reporting law, and DPSS employees' reporting responsibilities and procedures. The trainees also review and discuss handouts given to them related to the indicators of child abuse.
Program materials and other trainings emphasize to staff that one of the child abuse/neglect indicators is violence between household members, which often endangers the child. The Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council provides Domestic Violence training to all of DPSS public contact staff.
In 2010, DPSS made a total of 91 child abuse referrals to the Department of Children and Family Services. This represented a 22% decrease from the 118 referrals made in 2009 (Figure 3).
CAL-LEARN PROGRAM
In 2010, DPSS served a monthly average of 3,068 Cal-Learn participants. This represents a 4.9% increase from a monthly average of 2,924 participants served during Calendar Year 2009 (Figure 4).
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Figure 1
DPSS Caseload Characteristics December 2010
Los Angeles County Totals
CalWORKs / General Relief / Refugee / CAPI / Medical Assistance
Only / CalFresh / In-Home Supportive Services
Citizenship Status of Aided Persons
Citizen / 420,563 / 99,100 / 1 / 16 / 1,154,604 / 898,776 / N/A
Legal Immigrants / 22,154 / 8,322 / 842 / 4,381 / 190,277 / 79,427 / N/A
Other / 448 / 23 / 27 / 7 / 1,654 / 666 / N/A
Undocumented Immigrants / 80 / 7 / 0 / 1 / 330,748 / 51 / N/A
TOTAL / 443,245 / 107,452 / 870 / 4,405 / 1,677,283 / 978,920 / N/A
Primary Language of Aided Cases
Armenian / 3,511 / 1,691 / 404 / 859 / 18,755 / 8,236 / 30,291
Cambodian / 646 / 69 / 0 / 17 / 2,088 / 1,107 / 2,188
Chinese / 537 / 147 / 50 / 145 / 23,278 / 2,617 / 14,236
English / 107,748 / 98,892 / 79 / 268 / 322,973 / 283,650 / 71,006
Farsi / 299 / 110 / 78 / 100 / 3,637 / 761 / 5,795
Korean / 177 / 130 / 3 / 167 / 10,939 / 859 / 4,580
Russian / 225 / 96 / 19 / 143 / 4,139 / 573 / 7,457
Spanish / 63,934 / 5,314 / 43 / 1,989 / 306,901 / 148,284 / 37,342
Tagalog / 41 / 32 / 2 / 103 / 5,377 / 381 / 4,729
Vietnamese / 639 / 210 / 0 / 32 / 9,016 / 2,449 / 3,653
Other / 331 / 82 / 35 / 103 / 4,827 / 826 / 3,106
TOTAL / 178,088 / 106,773 / 713 / 3,926 / 711,930 / 449,743 / 184,383
Ethnic Origin of Aided Persons
American Indian / Alaskan Native / 460 / 539 / 0 / 0 / 1,330 / 1,559 / 409
Asian / 13,136 / 2,459 / 82 / 637 / 144,121 / 39,177 / 35,358
Black / 90,977 / 47,225 / 21 / 62 / 118,714 / 191,802 / 33,259
Hispanic / 290,749 / 33,324 / 50 / 2,234 / 1,210,751 / 626,192 / 51,688
White / 36,881 / 17,695 / 698 / 1,400 / 151,792 / 93,270 / 63,669
Other / 11,042 / 6,210 / 19 / 72 / 50,575 / 26,920 / 0
TOTAL / 443,245 / 107,452 / 870 / 4,405 / 1,677,283 / 978,920 / 184,383
Figure 1.1
DPSS Caseload Characteristics December 2010
Service Planning Area 1
CalWORKs / General Relief / Refugee / CAPI / Medical Assistance
Only / CalFresh / In-Home Supportive Services
Citizenship Status of Aided Persons
Citizen / 29,739 / 2,355 / 0 / 0 / 51,610 / 51,521 / N/A
Legal Immigrants / 593 / 114 / 2 / 62 / 4,989 / 2,187 / N/A
Other / 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 36 / 8 / N/A
Undocumented Immigrants / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8,688 / 0 / N/A
TOTAL / 30,340 / 2,469 / 2 / 62 / 65,323 / 53,716 / N/A
Primary Language of Aided Cases
Armenian / 2 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 32 / 6 / 62
Cambodian / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 8
Chinese / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 15 / 1 / 7
English / 9,600 / 2,336 / 1 / 5 / 15,679 / 16,140 / 5,587
Farsi / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5 / 2 / 15
Korean / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 23 / 4 / 11
Russian / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 6
Spanish / 1,589 / 94 / 0 / 40 / 7,916 / 3,792 / 1,075
Tagalog / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 45 / 1 / 108
Vietnamese / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 24 / 8 / 11
Other / 9 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 68 / 16 / 104
TOTAL / 11,202 / 2,431 / 2 / 54 / 23,810 / 19,971 / 6,994
Ethnic Origin of Aided Persons
American Indian / Alaskan Native / 56 / 12 / 0 / 0 / 139 / 114 / 46
Asian / 274 / 18 / 1 / 8 / 1,577 / 586 / 293
Black / 11,514 / 992 / 0 / 0 / 11,028 / 17,479 / 2,818
Hispanic / 13,142 / 677 / 0 / 47 / 40,903 / 25,534 / 1,787
White / 4,958 / 713 / 1 / 7 / 10,160 / 9,232 / 2,050
Other / 396 / 57 / 0 / 0 / 1,516 / 771 / 0
TOTAL / 30,340 / 2,469 / 2 / 62 / 65,323 / 53,716 / 6,994
Figure 1.2
DPSS Caseload Characteristics December 2010
Service Planning Area 2
CalWORKs / General Relief / Refugee / CAPI / Medical Assistance
Only / CalFresh / In-Home Supportive Services
Citizenship Status of Aided Persons
Citizen / 51,407 / 8,366 / 0 / 11 / 197,556 / 116,748 / N/A
Legal Immigrants / 9,464 / 2,166 / 607 / 1,334 / 42,757 / 23,447 / N/A
Other / 62 / 5 / 3 / 1 / 277 / 107 / N/A
Undocumented Immigrants / 14 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 57,028 / 16 / N/A
TOTAL / 60,947 / 10,537 / 610 / 1,346 / 297,618 / 140,318 / N/A
Primary Language of Aided Cases
Armenian / 3,028 / 1,476 / 378 / 668 / 14,859 / 7,170 / 23,788
Cambodian / 9 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 36 / 15 / 48
Chinese / 4 / 0 / 1 / 5 / 334 / 19 / 173
English / 11,516 / 8,039 / 16 / 49 / 59,917 / 32,275 / 9,017
Farsi / 216 / 76 / 60 / 65 / 1,740 / 574 / 3,112
Korean / 19 / 4 / 0 / 18 / 1,078 / 77 / 429
Russian / 112 / 38 / 4 / 53 / 1,175 / 284 / 2,277
Spanish / 8,936 / 612 / 11 / 265 / 53,604 / 21,770 / 5,832
Tagalog / 12 / 10 / 0 / 26 / 1,364 / 126 / 1,274
Vietnamese / 52 / 8 / 0 / 2 / 704 / 214 / 324
Other / 116 / 28 / 23 / 23 / 1,467 / 291 / 1,243
TOTAL / 24,020 / 10,293 / 493 / 1,175 / 136,278 / 62,815 / 47,517
Ethnic Origin of Aided Persons
American Indian / Alaskan Native / 79 / 58 / 0 / 0 / 198 / 231 / 73
Asian / 1,196 / 208 / 2 / 72 / 18,302 / 4,102 / 3,386
Black / 4,352 / 1,754 / 3 / 3 / 7,496 / 9,719 / 1,503
Hispanic / 37,913 / 3,401 / 14 / 299 / 195,847 / 85,529 / 7,447
White / 16,302 / 4,887 / 590 / 960 / 66,852 / 38,185 / 35,108
Other / 1,105 / 229 / 1 / 12 / 8,923 / 2,552 / 0
TOTAL / 60,947 / 10,537 / 610 / 1,346 / 297,618 / 140,318 / 47,517
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