Imperial County

Department of Social Services
Text Box: Contact Us: 2995 S. 4th St. Ste. 105 El Centro, CA 92243 Ph: 760-337-6800 Fax: 760-337-5716

James Semmes, Director – Welcome
Text Box: “Welcome to Imperial County Department of Social Services” Welcome to Imperial County Department of Social Services. I am pleased to present our first annual report on services provided to Imperial County residents through our department. The following pages provide an overview of those services and their impact on our county. Since I became director in 1985, I have seen our department grow to meet the demands of a growing community and I have also seen our programs go through enormous transformation as a result of changes in federal and state laws governing our operations. In 1998, our department implemented welfare reform. As a result, CalWORKs, one of our largest programs serving our county’s disadvantaged and needy families, was totally revamped. Through the efforts of our staff and our partners, welfare caseloads have been cut in half and those parents still on aid are engaged in work activities at least 32 hours/week. The recent economic and housing boom in the county has translated into jobs for our participants, thus enabling more families to move towards self-sufficiency. We have seen our elderly and disabled poor population grow with many of those individuals relying on federal and state assistance (SSI/SSP) to meet their needs. As this population has expanded, we have seen tremendous increases in our In-Home Supportive Services program, a program originally designed to keep eligible individuals at home and avoid unnecessary placement in convalescent care. One of the challenges of the future is to address this growth through programs and fiscal reforms so that it does not create such an unbalanced demand on local fiscal resources. Under part of a major reorganization of our department in 2005, the Child Welfare and Medi-Cal programs began addressing major reforms in both areas. Child Welfare Redesign under SB 636 establishes major benchmarks for improved child welfare outcomes. Periodic state review will monitor progress made by counties. As part of an effort to improve Medi-Cal services, the State has provided additional funding to lower caseloads and increase accuracy and processing time. This is an exciting and challenging time for our department. It is my intent to ensure that our department provides the very best in quality and service to those individuals and families who find themselves in need. Jim Semmes, Director James Semmes, Director Imperial County Department of Social Services,

James Semmes, Director

Imperial County

Department of Social Services