The County of Orange Social Services Agency (SSA) is pleased to announce the availability of its annual report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-2019, covering the period from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. The report highlights the agency’s accomplishments and initiatives and shares the positive impacts that SSA has made to the community as a whole, serving over one in four county residents.
The annual report features SSA’s FY 2018-2019 accomplishments, focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children, adults and families, including:
- Provision of family strengthening services, prevention and intervention programs to more than 6,300 families through our 15 Family Resource Centers, helping to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect.
- Successful implementation, effective June 1, 2019, of a new state policy that allows persons receiving Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payments (SSI/SSP) to be eligible for CalFresh benefits. Between May 1, 2019 and June 30, 2019, over 8,200 CalFresh applications for households that include an SSI/SSP recipient were received, with an 86 percent approval rate for CalFresh benefits.
- Countywide expansion of the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), which allows elderly, disabled and homeless CalFresh recipients and their spouses to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to purchase prepared meals from participating restaurants. By the end of FY 2018-2019, approximately 39,000 CalFresh households were RMP-eligible, with 79 participating restaurants and 47 that were pending approval with the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food and Nutrition Services.
- A significant increase in the number of homeless families served by the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, from 66 families in FY 2017-18 to 99 families in FY 2018-19. Of the families assisted with housing support services, 71 were successfully placed into permanent, stable housing, representing a 45 percent increase over the previous year.
According to SSA Director Debra J. Baetz, “We are very proud of the numerous accomplishments made by SSA staff this past fiscal year to help individuals work towardsself-sufficiency, strengthen families and protect our most vulnerable populations in Orange County.” Director Baetz continued, “Looking forward, we will continue the critical work of delivering comprehensive and enhanced services that are accessible and responsive to the community — especially to our residents in hard-to-reach areas.”
