CalWORKs WTW & Supportive Services

Imperial County

Department of Social Services

2995 South Fourth Street

Suite 105

El Centro, CA 92243

Ph: (760) 337-6800

FAX: (760) 337-5716

Text Box: Work Participation Rate These two last years brought many changes for the CalWORKs WtW program in terms of verification of activities. New procedures were written and a timeline was developed to keep everyone on track with new requirements. A new data collection process has been established as well. Employer Recruitments CalWORKs WtW section has had a capstone year. CalWORKs WtW along with partners EDD, IVC and IVROP Promote have now been helping families transition into self- sufficiency for 10 years! Imperial Valley has seen an overall increase in the retail business sector. CalWORKs WtW staff, in collaboration with their partners, worked diligently to prepare participants to become qualified candidates for the following employers: AKAL Security, Brawley Wal-Mart, Brunswick Bowling & Billiards, Burlington Coat Factory, Customs and Border Protection, Job Fair at IV Mall, County of Imperial, Michael’s, Old Navy, Prima Bella, Ross, State of California, RGIS Inventory and Quechan Resort & Casino among others. Hires During 2007-2008, CalWORKs WtW participants transitioned into employment in record numbers. The chart below captures the number of jobs obtained throughout 2007-2008. There was a total of 2,613 hires in 2008. Self-Sufficiency During the past 8 years, CalWORKs WtW has assisted over 9,570 individuals transition off from receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Trainings and Educational Services The following are some of the training and educational services provided to CalWORKs WtW families during this year: CUAHS Job Readiness/Basic Computer Skills EDD Job Club/Job Search IVC Customer Service Academy IVC Retail Sales Academy IVC Vocational Education and Self Initiated Plans (various certificates/majors) IVC Business Technician (Fast Track) IVROP PROMOTE English Immersion IVROP PROMOTE GED IVROP PROMOTE Job Ready SDSU IV Campus Self Initiated Plans (various majors) SDSU IV Campus Empowerment Work Experience The work experience component, which offers participants the opportunity to get hands on learning in the public sector, continues to grow.

CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WTW)

and Supportive Services

Text Box: The purpose of the CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work program is to enable participants to achieve employment self-sufficiency and economic independence through employment, training, education and supportive services.

Universal Engagement

During the universal engagement period, the first 90 days following cash aid approval, participants are taken through an intensive program to give them the tools needed to become self-sufficient. Approximately 100 to 120 participants go through this process per month. At this time the success rate for this program is 98%.

Participants participate in the following activities:

· Achieving Independence and Maximizing Skills (AIMS) Workshop AIMS is offered by partner EDD’s employment professionals. Participants are taught skills they need to enter into employment, such as: completing applications, writing resumes, interviewing, and how to present themselves to an employer.

· Assessment If, after AIMS, participants are not employed, they will participate in Assessment which is completed by Imperial Valley College counseling staff. Each participant is assessed on an individual basis on individual strengths, talents, and interests. They will also be assessed for skill and abilities. The counselor will also look for barriers and skill gaps. Results are given to the social worker to decide what avenue to take in the participant’s journey toward self-sufficiency.

New Strategies

Due to new state regulations, and new populations needing to be addressed, strategies were developed to engage them in our services to become self-sufficient:

· Timed Out Timed out work eligible parents are required to participate in work and/or activities to meet the federal work participation rate requirement.

· Pre-Sanction Project Three Social Workers conducted home visits to non-compliant CalWORKs WtW participants to avoid a sanction for non-participation. The main reason for non-compliance was failure to comply with Orientation/Appraisal and Job Club. More than half of the referrals avoid sanctioning as a result of these home visits.

· Post-Sanction Project Three Social Workers contacted sanctioned participants to encourage participation. From July 2008 to December 2008, 258 sanctioned individuals had been contacted resulting in 97 compliance plans signed and 99 sanctions lifted. These three social workers apply intense case management services to these participants in an effort to avoid a recurrence of sanction.

· Vendor Payments The vendor payment is a payment method. Vendor payments are issued by the county for payment of rent for CalWORKs sanctioned individuals. These payments are deducted from the individual’s grant amount. The process was started in March of 2007. From July 2008 to December 2008 350 vendor voucher letters were mailed out; 29 sanctioned individuals placed on the vendor voucher, 45 individuals have worked to have their sanction cured and 55 opted to have their cash aid discontinued. The vendor voucher process is also imposed on non-compliant timed out participants. As a result, approximately 37% of the timed out participants have responded and are engaged in CalWORKs WtW activities through employment or other venues.

Behavioral Health, Alcohol/Drug Rehabilitative Services and Domestic Violence Services

CalWORKs WtW partners with Behavioral Health Services to provide necessary services to families with medical or behavioral issues. These services include counseling, medical support, parenting classes, anger management, domestic violence waivers, and assistance to secure restraining orders.

College Population

The college population is provided with resources to help in achieving both educational success and self-sufficiency. Tailored workshops with presentations that included student resources and career opportunities were offered to them on a monthly basis.

A monthly newsletter “Paths to Success” that was created specifically for them, continues to be provided in both electronic and paper format. It included scholarship information, time management and study tips, important deadlines, and family resources, among others.

A support group was established to help participants address parenting, academic, professional, and social needs. Club members set the goals for a given year and have ten months to work toward them. In 2007 and 2008, club members decided to work on strengthening their family bonds.

Cal-Learn

The Cal-Learn program is designed to assist pregnant and parenting teens completing their high school education and setting personal goals to attend college, vocational education plans or find employment. Cal-Learn has served 100 students throughout July 2008 – December 2008 with 23 students graduating from high school.

CalWORKs Planning, Advising, Teaching, Helping, Strengthening Project (PATHS)

PATHS was designed to encourage families to engage in healthy activities with their children by playing games, crafting and reading to their children. The first workshop started in July 2007. Workshops have now been held in Seeley, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Heber and Calexico. Outside agencies are invited to have a resource table so their parents can learn about services provided within their community. PATHS has collaborated with IVC, CalWORKs (eligibility), schools, EDD and CFS to organize soccer camps, basketball camps, IVC tours, Youth Fairs for employment and camping.

Supportive Services

To have a successful CalWORKs WtW program the following supportive services are needed:

· Child Care During July 2008 – December 2008, CalWORKs WtW has paid $1,422,353 in child care.

· Transportation CalWORKs provides transportation assistance to participants to make their participation in WTW activities possible.

· Ancillary Expenses Ancillary expenses include any expenses a participant has that prevents him/her from participating in the assigned CalWORKs WtW activity. This includes, but is not limited to, books, tools, clothing specifically required for employment and testing fees for certifications.

Housing Services

CalWORKs WtW partners with Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program PROMOTE to bring housing referrals and services to CalWORKs families. Services include referrals to subsidized housing units, Imperial Valley Housing Authority, Campesinos Unidos for assistance with rent deposits, as well as assistance in enrolling in discount utility programs.

Tax Preparation and Earned Income Tax Credit Services

CalWORKs WtW, IVROP PROMOTE and Internal Revenue Services Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program collaborated to train staff in providing no cost tax preparation services to CalWORKs WtW and income eligible families in the community.

CalWORKs WtW Strategic Plan

CalWORKs WtW will continue to improve the Work Participation Rate by moving families into self-sufficiency and reduce caseloads by providing the following:

· Effective and quality job referrals. This includes direct job referrals, Job Fairs, employer recruitment assistance, CalJOBs employment listings, and more.

· Adult Basic Education; which includes English Immersion and GED classes.

· Job skills training relative to the labor market conditions in Imperial County. These trainings include, but are not limited to, Basic Computer Skills, Retail Trades, Customer Service Academy, Business Office Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant trainings and several others identified on the “List of Approved Majors and Certificates”.

· Work experience placements in community based organizations. This service will provide participants the opportunity to learn skills outside of the classroom by those who are doing the job, operating the business, and can mentor participants entering the work place.

CalWORKs WtW staff will provide referrals for responsive treatment plans and follow up services to ensure elimination of barriers that interfere with achieving self-sufficiency.

CalWORKs WtW will improve the Fast Track component by engaging participants in work or activities at the earliest stage possible. Participants are encouraged to engage in work and/or other activities as soon as they are presumed to be eligible by participating in Universal Engagement activities and aggressive job search even before their cash aid is granted.

CalWORKs WtW will utilize our Child Care Coordinator to educate our families about preschools available in our community as well as services available through Pre K programs during home visits to providers exempt from licensure. Child Care Coordinator will conduct weekly workshops to assist parents and providers in correctly completing child care forms. This will decrease the delay in child care payments as well as involve the parents in the child care process.

CalWORKs WtW will work to keep the integrity of its child care program. At this time, we have established procedures with the District Attorney’s office to assist in the investigation of possible fraud child care cases. Along with this, the Child Care Coordinator will determine household composition during home visits and verify the need for child care based on the approved CalWORKs WtW plan. The expectation is that we will be able to prevent the abuse of child care services and decrease the possibility of fraud.

CalWORKs WtW will use the vendor/voucher process more aggressively to re-engage sanctioned population as we found this process to increase compliance with the hard to serve population.

Imperial County continues to experience growth in the local labor market needs. CalWORKs WtW will utilize all available resources to effectively engage the business community and CalWORKs WtW families to continue to create avenues for self-sufficiency.