DATE: March 24, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreement with California Department of Social Services to Provide Quarterly Wage Base Data
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with the California Department of Social Services for access to quarterly wage base data provided by the Employment Development Department, effective July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022 ($0).
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Indemnity Agreement (Exhibit E, Attachment 2) with CDSS, effective July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022 ($0).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will allow the Department to receive employment and earnings data for clients who have recently participated in, or are currently participating in Welfare-to-Work (WTW), CalFresh Employment & Training (CFET), and General Relief (GR) employment services, for the sole purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of various employability interventions 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 actions are not approved, the Department will not receive the data necessary to measure the effectiveness of employment services in Fresno County.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT
The recommended agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2019 due to a delay in obtaining the final agreement from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). Data processing may begin upon approval from your Board and CDSS.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The recommended Agreement requires no monetary exchange between CDSS and the Department.
DISCUSSION:
The recommended Agreement will allow the Department to better measure the outcomes and effectiveness of employment services efforts provided to WTW, CFET, and GR clients in Fresno County. Matching client data with quarterly wages would provide the Department with robust employment and earnings data that could be tracked over time for benefit recipients. County-level data does not currently provide any information on employment or earnings of former program recipients, and Employment Development Department (EDD) quarterly base wage files are the only accessible source for tracking the earned income of clients after receiving employment services. Several files produced by the EDD are the only source that will allow accessibility to track the employment and earnings of welfare program recipients after leaving public assistance. The earnings data will help the Department better understand longer-term outcomes for its continuum of employment services, in addition to providing insight on how well this continuum prepares clients for long-term employment and self-sufficiency.
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 an acknowledgement that the information must be kept confidential. The Department anticipates granting 20-25 employees access to this information.
The recommended Agreement utilizes CDSS’s contract boilerplate and differs from the County’s standard contract boilerplate. This agreement may be terminated without cause by CDSS upon providing 30-day advance written notice.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with CDSS and EDD
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander