The County of Orange Social Services Agency (SSA) is pleased to announce the availability of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020 Annual Report, covering the period from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The report highlights the Agency’s accomplishments and initiatives and reflects on SSA’s efforts to ensure continued accessible and responsive services to the community during the pandemic.
Key accomplishments in response to COVID-19 include:
- Maintained connections with vulnerable clients during the pandemic to ensure their overall health and well-being, assessing and addressing immediate unmet needs. SSA staff across all divisions worked to conduct welfare calls to:
- CalWORKs / Children & Family Services mutual clients: 22,000 cumulative calls made
- Adult Protective Services: nearly 8,700 cumulative calls made
- In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): approximately 65,500 calls made
- Established an innovative drive-through benefits issuance solution for clients to safely pick-up new or replacement Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and Medi-Cal Benefit Identification Cards. Over 10,000 customers were served through this offering in the last fiscal year.
- Expanded SSA’s online portal (www.mybenefitscalwin.org) to ensure coverage for Medi-Cal, CalFresh, General Relief and CalWORKs applications and/or inquiries on existing cases; extended SSA Call Center hours for evening and Saturday coverage to meet increased call volumes.
- Activated the County’s critical Emergency Operations Center Mass Care and Shelter Branch to coordinate essential connections with schools, cities, food banks and elder residential care sites.
The County of Orange Social Services Agency (SSA) provides Adult Services, Aid Programs, eligibility for public assistance benefits, Children & Family Services and Family Self-Sufficiency programs to the County’s residents. SSA employs more than 4,000 staff across Orange County.
For more information, visit us at ssa.ocgov.com.
According to SSA Director Debra J. Baetz, “I am extremely proud of the numerous accomplishments made by SSA staff amid the tremendous challenges brought about by the pandemic.” She continued, “Our SSA team is to be commended on their ability to remain focused during a unique and difficult time and continue the charge to help individuals work towards self-sufficiency, strengthen families and protect our most vulnerable populations in Orange County.”
Click here to read the full report.
