DATE: June 18, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kari Gilbert, Director, Department of Child Support Services
SUBJECT: Department of Child Support Services Salary Resolution Amendment
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve Amendment to the Salary Resolution adding 50 positions to the Department of Child Support Services Org 5110, effective July 1, 2019 as reflected in Appendix C.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will amend the Salary Resolution adding fifty positions to the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) Org 5110 to be filled as dictated by operational needs. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action, the allocated positions within the DCSS will remain unchanged.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The Department is funded 100% by the State; 66% funded through Federal Welfare Administration and 34% funded through the State Aid Support Enforcement. The estimated salary and benefits cost for the proposed positions total $3,871,248. Starting in FY 2019-20, the California Department of Child Support Services will be allocating an additional $5,821,381 in augmentation funding to the Fresno County DCSS which will allow for funding of the requested positions and associated equipment and supplies costs. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues to fund the additional positions will be included in the Department’s FY 2019-20 Org 5110 Recommended Budget and will be included in future budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
As a Child Support program, the Fresno County DCSS has historically been considered underfunded. In an effort to provide additional money to underfunded counties, the California DCSS has developed a new funding methodology based on a specified case-to-employee ratio. The State’s intended target for all counties is 188 cases per employee. The Fresno County DCSS currently has a ratio of 286 cases per employee, one of the highest in California. As a result, the Department will receive an additional $5,821,381 in augmentation funding in their FY 2019-20 budget as allocated by the California DCSS.
The additional funding is to ensure that the Department has adequate staffing levels across all areas in order to meet program and departmental needs. The amendment to the Salary Resolution will add the following 50 positions to the Fresno County DCSS: 1 Deputy Director, 1 Program Manager, 1 Senior Staff Analyst, 1 Staff Analyst I, 1 Business Analyst I, 3 Supervising Child Support Specialist, 6 Senior Child Support Specialist, 30 Child Support Specialist I, 2 Child Support Assistants, 3 Account Clerk I, and 1 Program Technician I.
The Deputy Director will assist in administering departmental goals and manage operational activities related to mandated child support functions. The Program Manager will oversee several case management teams and evaluate child support programs for compliance. The newly created case management teams will consist of Supervising Child Support Specialists, Senior Child Support Specialists, and Child Support Specialists, who will monitor caseloads for compliance, enforce child support orders, and communicate program policies to the public. The Senior Staff Analyst position will provide lead support while the Staff Analyst I position will manage contracts, prepare procurement requests, and provide analytical support to the Department’s IT unit. The Business Systems Analyst I will be assigned to the IT unit acting as a technical liaison and providing support for departmental applications and information systems. The Child Support Assistants will be assigned to the Call Center and provide customer service. The Account Clerk I positions will be assigned to the Accounting Unit and process case financial transactions. The Program Technician I will be assigned to the Legal Support unit and assist in the processing legal documents.
These additional positions will assist in reducing the managerial oversight and work among these classifications and are necessary to the Department as core staffing vacancies are filled. In consultation with the Department of Human Resources, Fresno County DCSS will continue to evaluate workflow processes, classifications, and functions to increase operational effectiveness, better serve customers, and overall meet the desired outcomes set forth by State DCSS.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Salary Resolution Amendment - Appendix C
CAO ANALYST:
Yussel Zalapa