September 7, 2000

The Honorable Board of Supervisors
County of Los Angeles
383 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

Dear Supervisors:

APPROVAL OF PROPOSED MANAGEMENT REORGANIZATION OF DPSS AND ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN FY 2000-01 BUDGET FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION

(ALL DISTRICTS - 3 VOTES)

JOINT RECOMMENDATION WITH THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE (CAO) AND DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES (DHR) THAT YOUR BOARD:

1. Approve the proposed management reorganization (Attachment A) of the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS).

2. Approve the Request for Appropriation Adjustment (Attachment B) in the amount of $1.3 million with a net County cost (NCC) of $82,000 to finance the proposed reorganization. This adjustment will be primarily offset by Federal and State funds allocated for the administration of social services programs. The small NCC amount will be absorbed within the Department=s 2000-01 Adopted Budget.

3. Approve the addition of 16 positions as detailed in Attachment C to the Department=s staffing ordinance for the FY 2000-01 budget, subject to allocation by the Department of Human Resources, for the Department to implement this reorganization plan.

PURPOSE OF RECOMMENDATION

Over the past four fiscal years, DPSS has been fully involved in the implementation of welfare reform in Los Angeles County which has included partnerships with the community, advocates, other County departments and public and private agencies. To meet the demands of this unprecedented process, the Department has had to make many significant operational changes, while continuing to function with the same organizational structure as was in place pre-welfare reform. The existing organizational structure reflects the budget curtailments of the early 1990s when management positions were markedly reduced and a district office structure that dates back at least 40 years.

During the past 12 months, the Department has undergone an intensive review of its basic operational and management structure to develop an organizational framework that will

facilitate effective services to families, adults and children, while promoting long-term self-sufficiency. The attached reorganization plan represents input from all levels of departmental staff and management. Approval of the requested DPSS restructuring plan will enable the Department to further its mission and achieve its local, Federal and State mandates.

JUSTIFICATION

Since passage of the Federal and State welfare reform legislation, the Department has focused on the development of programs to meet the needs of its participants as well as the Federal/State time limit requirements. During this process, severe demands were placed on the time and availability of staff doing the work. As a result, the Department recognized the need to restructure itself to ensure continued and ongoing program success. Therefore, in April 1999, key departmental staff met to discuss the critical departmental adjustments needed to better manage the newly defined system.

As a result, four strategic planning workgroups (Investment in Staff, District Restructuring, Measurable Outcomes and Internal Communications) were established in June 1999 and tasked with developing recommendations that would help design an innovative, contemporary organizational structure that could better manage the new and challenging programs being administered. Specifically, they were charged with looking at the essential modifications needed to allow discretion for managers, better internal and external communication, more productive work environments, and measurable line staff goals consistent with the Department=s mission. These workgroups were comprised of approximately 150 departmental managers and line operations staff, including union representatives, from all of the Department=s programs.

The workgroups produced over 250 recommendations which were collapsed into 67 projects, of which 40% are already in various stages of implementation. Plans are in development to put into effect the balance of these projects.

To complement the effects of these workgroups, a representative task force of 40 managers was convened to focus on proposals for executive staff restructuring. This
group was guided by the following five principles:

< Provide consistent and intense emphasis on enhancing employability and sustaining career advancement for all CalWORKs and General Relief employable participants;

< Provide consistent, focused support and direction for all line staff;

< Enhance the ability of program staff to concentrate on program-related issues and strategies;

< Converge resources on the fastest growing programs in DPSS, i.e., Medi-Cal, Food Stamps and IHSS; and

< Support the outcomes of the departmental strategic planning process.

The combination of these departmental efforts resulted in the attached new organizational structure. This structure reflects:

< Creation of four Divisions to strengthen the Department=s ability to focus on quality services to families, children and other low income individuals.

< Consolidation of the employment-related programs (General Relief/GROW and CalWORKs/GAIN) into one bureau to focus on employment-related activities, while addressing the repeated concerns of the Board, participants, researchers, and advocates about the need to improve internal communication between Eligibility Workers and GAIN Services Workers.

< Fortification of the Department=s focus on its non-cash programs, i.e., IHSS, Medi-Cal and Food Stamps. These programs provide services to over one million individuals and are the largest growing programs in the Department.

< Separation of program and line functions to strengthen the effectiveness of overall operations. This also affords a check and balance between program and line
responsibilities.

< Consolidation of the Department=s financial management into one division to properly support a $3.2 billion budget which has substantially increased since the implementation of welfare reform.

< Creation of the Bureau of Program, Policy, Research, and Evaluation to position the Department=s programs as the focal point of a seamless support system which will enable low income members of the community achieve self-sufficiency. Specifically, this new bureau will integrate programs, coordinate collaboration and advocacy, develop new programs, and monitor and evaluate the Department=s activities.

This new structure will partially restore key positions lost during the financial crisis of the early 1990s. At that time, DPSS had 7,664 employees, four Bureaus, 22 Divisions and a budget of $2.0 billion. Today, DPSS has 13,454 budgeted positions, three Bureaus, 16 Divisions and a $3.2 billion budget. The proposed reorganization seeks to restore some of these management positions while supporting the new demands imposed upon this Department by welfare reform.

Since the passage of welfare reform, the Department has implemented two new welfare-to-work programs (CalWORKs and GROW) which are designed to transition welfare participants into long-term employment. The Department has also implemented a new quality child care system and a broad array of supportive services to support the child care and other needs of these participants. At the same time, consistent with the Board of Supervisors= mandate, DPSS implemented one of the most comprehensive Medi-Cal child enrollment efforts in the nation. A similar outreach effort is currently underway in Food Stamps. DPSS has led in the development and implementation of the Long Term Family Self-Sufficiency Plan approved by your Board on November 16,1999. This plan involves

13 County departments and 46 projects and has been heralded as a model for other counties in the State and throughout the nation.

These massive efforts must be supported by a comparable far-sighted organizational structure which can complement the Department=s programmatic and operational changes.

FISCAL IMPACT

The cost for the 16 additional positions is estimated at $1,293,000 for FY 2000-01. The recommended organizational structure will require no additional net County cost.

FINANCING

The cost of the 16 additional positions will be primarily offset by Federal and State funds allocated for the administration of social services programs. To the extent that these costs are claimed to Medi-Cal, CalWORKs and Food Stamps, there is no additional net County cost (NCC), since these programs are either fully funded or funded through a State-established Maintenance of Effort (MOE). The small share of costs charged to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and General Relief programs will result in an estimated NCC of $82,000 which will be absorbed within DPSS= FY 2000-01 budget.

This transaction reallocates funding between two budgeting categories as follows:

FACTS AND PROVISIONS/LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

This organizational structure will enhance the Department=s focus on employment-related activities and its other non-cash programs, strengthen the Department=s financial controls, place more emphasis on the service delivery system as well as assist with the development of the program and operational changes needed to provide timely, successful and efficient services, and coordinate the integration of data systems and tracking of service results.

The positions needed to implement this reorganization are:

< One Assistant Director position to oversee the newly created Bureau of Program, Policy, Research, and Evaluation.

< One Division Chief to centralize all contract management and monitoring functions.

< One Division Chief to oversee Medi-Cal Line Operations comprised of over 3,600 employees in facilities located throughout the County.

< Two Division Chiefs to support the management of the Department=s employment operations.

< Two Budget and Fiscal Services Managers to support the consolidation of the Department=s financial and budget operations.

< Nine secretarial and support staff positions.

IMPACT ON CURRENT SERVICES (OR PROJECTS)

Adoption of the attached reorganization plan will:

< Strengthen the Department=s management of its service delivery systems while providing the ability to monitor and evaluate the Department=s efforts in the new environment created by welfare reform partnerships.

< Enhance the Department=s ability to focus on quality services to families, children and other low-income individuals and facilitate long-term self-sufficiency.

< Be consistent with the County=s Strategic Plan and long-range operational and resource planning efforts.

< Support departmental staff already dedicated and responsible for ensuring the success of welfare-to-work.

< Promote integration of the human services delivery system.

Respectfully submitted,

Attachment A

Attachment C

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES

Additional Positions to Implement Reorganization

FY 2000-01

Total 16

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