DATE: June 10, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Sanja Bugay, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Memorandum of Understanding with California Department of Social Services to provide Quarterly Wage Base Data
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the California Department of Social Services for access to quarterly wage base data provided by the Employment Development Department, effective upon execution by both parties until terminated with 30 calendar days’ written notice by either party ($0).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Fresno County Department of Social Services (DSS) to receive employment and earnings data for clients who have participated in California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Welfare-to-Work (WTW), CalFresh Employment & Training (CFET), and General Relief (GR) employment services, for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of various employability programs at no cost to the County. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose not to approve this item. If the recommended action is not approved, the Department will not receive Employment Development Department (EDD) wage data to measure the effectiveness of employment services in Fresno County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. There is no cost associated with the recommended Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
DISCUSSION:
On February 28, 2023, the Board approved an agreement with CDSS for the provision of confidential wage and unemployment insurance claim information. This agreement facilitates a data exchange between the Department, CDSS, and EDD, enabling the Department to access wage data for program participants.
As part of an Agreement with EDD, this data is made available to California counties for program evaluation needs. By correlating client data with quarterly wage information, the Department is able to monitor employment and earnings metrics for benefit recipients over time. These analyses serve as valuable resources for forecasting caseloads and tailoring employment services programs to address labor market trends.
The Department’s County-level data does not currently provide information on employment or earnings of former program recipients; EDD quarterly base wage files are the only accessible source for tracking the earned income of clients after receiving employment services and potentially leaving public assistance. This data is utilized for program monitoring and evaluation including the County CalWORKs WTW Self-Assessment, as well as the Cal-Outcomes and Accountability Review to measure the Work Participation Rate of clients.
The information provided by CDSS and EDD is confidential in nature. Upon approval of the recommended Agreement, the Department will instruct all assigned personnel of the confidentiality requirements. Each employee with access to the confidential information will sign a confidentiality acknowledgement.
The recommended Agreement utilizes CDSS’s contract boilerplate and differs from the County’s standard contract boilerplate. This Agreement does not have a specified end date; however, either party may terminate it without cause by providing 30 days' advance written notice. The Agreement also contains a provision allowing either party to terminate this MOU immediately in the event of any violation of its terms.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #56, February 28, 2023
BAI #52, March 24, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - MOU with CDSS
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander