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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Nevada County Grand Jury • 1998-1999

Human Services Agency Reason for the Investigation The Human Services Agency was recently formed by a consolidation of

Published: January 02, 1998 13 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 8 findings

The Deputy Director of Mental Health, the Deputy Director of Public Health and the Deputy Director of Social Services all report directly to the Director of Human Services Agency who in turn reports to the County Administrative Officer.

The agency was formed by the Board of Supervisors in 1997 to incorporate the Public Health, Mental Health and Social Services departments under one director. The reason given for the consolidation was to provide improved service to the clients of each department. Many of the mandated programs in the agency are administered by two or more of the departments.

The agency Director has been in the position since January 2, 1998. She also acted as the Deputy Director of Social Services from January until October of that year.

There are about 200 employees in the agency. The number of employees fluctuates with the amount of funding provided each year by the state and federal governments. The budget is about $22 million, mostly from the state and federal governments. 26

The three departments in the agency are located at six separate geographical sites. The agency has no formal plan for permanent physical consolidation of the departments. Modular buildings are being installed at the Health Education Welfare site to house the fiscal division for all three departments of the agency. Another modular building will be installed for Mental Health.

The Director, with the approval of the Board of Supervisors and the County Administrative Officer, has a two-step plan for organization of the three departments. The re-organization of the agency is now in the first step with completion of step two expected within three years. When the transition is completed, the agency will be comprised of Central Intake Managed Care, Adult Services, Child and Family Services, Community Programs and Fiscal Administration divisions.

There is a new task force concept in place for addressing problems in the county. The purpose is to involve all three departments in each case as required. The agency is also developing Central Intake, where clients can have all their initial needs addressed at one place. MENTAL HEALTH

The department has a new Deputy Director, hired in October of 1998. The prior deputy retired in December 1997. The nine-month delay in hiring the replacement was due to difficulty in locating candidates that met the Director's standards. CONCLUSIONS HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

Recommendations 3

R1

The Grand Jury recommends that the agency produce a formal, comprehensive plan for physical consolidation of the departments. The plan should be made available to the Board of Supervisors within an acceptable time line not to exceed one year.
R2

The Grand Jury recommends that morale problems in Public Health be addressed by the Director and reported through the CAO to the Board of Supervisors within three months.
R3

The Grand Jury recommends that the staff turnover issue in Social Services be addressed by the Director and reported to the Board of Supervisors within three months.

Conclusions 4

CL1 Page 4

The agency works with a complex system of regulations and duties, almost all of which are mandated by the State and Federal governments.
CL2 Page 4

The Director's organizational consolidation plan is in transition. Because it does not address the physical location of the three departments there is little chance that the plan could be totally effective within three years. Locating fiscal personnel into modular buildings apart from the balance of the employees seems to separate rather than consolidate the agency. The Health Education Welfare building does not meet the needs of the departments located there.
CL3 Page 4

The community should be well served by the task force concept and Central Intake. MENTAL HEALTH The department is faced with a complex variety of responsibilities and a heavy caseload. The staff performs well under the heavy caseload. 63 The Deputy Director is involved with her staff and is addressing the department's needs.
CL4 Page 5

The department has a complex State and federally mandated program load and little flexibility in how to administer the programs. SOCIAL SERVICES

No Responses Found 1

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

Nevada County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office