San Diego County Grand Jury • 2022-2023

Public Administrator in San Diego

Published: February 27, 2023 21 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 10 findings

F1
The PAPG Policy & Procedure Handbook does not provide sufficient detail to enable staff to verify veteran status or to arrange for a suitable interment of remains at a National Cemetery. Fact: The California State Probate Code mandates hospitals and long-term care facilities notify the Public Administrator when a patient dies with no known next of kin. Fact: Edgemoor Distinct Part Skilled Nursing Facility and other facilities had been referring cases of all deaths, whether or not a next of kin was known, to the Public Administrator for a possible disposition of assets. 10
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Alameda County Social Services Agency, APS
F2
The PAPG Policy & Procedure Handbook does not reflect the provision in the Probate Code that hospitals and nursing homes need to refer in-patient deaths to the Public Administrator only when there is no known next of kin. Fact: Previous estate auction vendors have charged as much as 75% of a sale’s proceeds as a fee for their services.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Amador County Dept of Social Services
F3
The PAPG Policy & Procedure Handbook does not address the subject of auction vendor fees. Fact: Field staff in the Office of the Public Administrator are exposed to a wide variety of potentially hazardous conditions which may require the use of personal protective equipment. Fact: Although N-95 respirators are not mandated by management, some field workers in the Public Administrator’s Office wear them voluntarily. Fact: Medical Examiner Investigators are fit-tested for N-95 respirators even though their use is voluntary. Fact: The Occupational Health Program would provide fit testing of N-95 respirators, and training in their use, for all employees who choose to wear them. Fact: The Occupational Health Program, at the request of County departments, can conduct specialized risk assessments, recommend equipment to mitigate risks and assist in training in the use of that equipment.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Butte County Employment and Social Services,
F4
The Office of the Public Administrator has not requested a comprehensive evaluation of the occupational risks faced by its field staff and the protective equipment required to mitigate those risks.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Calaveras County Health & Human Services Agency
F5
The Office of the Public Administrator does not provide fit testing of N-95 respirators for its field staff who choose to wear them. Fact: Most departments in the Health and Human Services Agency which utilize caseloads for their service delivery model have developed an optimum caseload standard for their case- carrying employees. Fact: The 2022 Business Process Reengineering study recommended standardized work performance goals and objectives and standardized equitable case assignments. Fact: There is no optimum caseload standard for Deputy Public Administrators.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Contra Costa County Health Services
F6
A workload analysis study would aid in determining an optimum caseload for Deputy Public Administrators. Fact: The Public Administrator had a liaison stationed in the Medical Examiner’s Office from 1989 to 2022. Fact: The liaison function was discontinued in April 2022 due to staffing shortages. Fact: Physical proximity facilitates cooperation and efficiency.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Glenn County Health & Human Services
F7
The absence of the Public Administrator liaison to the Medical Examiner’s Office has resulted in increased work for Medical Examiner Investigators and duplication of work and other inefficiencies in the referral process for the Public Administrator’s staff. Fact: Some of the duties of a Deputy Public Administrator overlap with those of a Medical Examiner Investigator. Fact: The computer systems in the Offices of the Public Administrator and the Medical Examiner are not linked.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Imperial County Area Agency on Aging
F8
The absence of access to each other’s computer system often results in duplication of effort in such functions as identifying and locating a decedent’s next of kin and other potential heirs. Fact: Administrative placement of the Public Administrator function in California varies from county to county. Fact: Referrals from the Medical Examiner constitute a significant portion of a Deputy Public Administrator’s workload. Fact: The Deputy Public Administrator acts as a fiduciary for deceased individuals, regardless of age, as mandated by the California State Probate Code. Fact: Aging and Independence Services workers provide needed services, governed primarily by the State Welfare and Institutions Code, to living elderly and disabled individuals. Fact: Duties of Aging Program Specialists do not currently align with duties of Deputy Public Administrators.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Lake County Social Services, Adult and Aging
F9
The duties of a Deputy Public Administrator are more closely aligned with those of Medical Examiner Investigators than those of Aging Program Specialists. Fact: Consistent with a 2022 Business Process Reengineering recommendation, the Deputy Public Administrator title series has been placed in terminal status. Fact: Existing staff in the Deputy Public Administrator title series have been encouraged to apply for approximately equally paid positions in the Aging Program Specialist title series; new hires performing the work of a Deputy Public Administrator will be hired as Aging Program Specialists. Fact: Aging Program Specialist is a professional social work class series found only in the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), Aging and Independence Services. Fact: The Business Process Reengineering report also recommends continuing to evaluate moving the Public Administrator to another County department.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Mendocino County Social Services, Adult and Aging
F10
The Business Process Reengineering recommendation to re-classify Deputy Public Administrators to Aging Program Specialists, which are employed only in Aging and Independence Services, is not consistent with the recommendation to consider transferring the Office of Public Administrator to another County department.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
Merced County Behavioral Health & Recovery

Additional Recommendations 26

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

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