(August 19)  The county board of supervisors this week approved providing another $2 million in funding to provide county welfare recipients with gasoline purchasing cards.
What was formerly referred to as the county welfare department has been transformed into several different agencies, including county human services, the transitional assistance department, welfare-to-work services, children and family services and the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program. The transitional assistance department and the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) divisions  provide eligible clients  with transportation assistance by means of gas debit cards, which are  intended to enable recipients to attend school, obtain therapeutic counseling and medical care, seek employment or travel to work.
Since July 2002, child and family services and the transitional services department have been providing transportation assistance to eligible clients. Because the transitional assistance and child and family service departments receive federal funding, they are mandated to provide supportive service, including transportation assistance, that allow clients to participate in employment activities. The state and federal government also have accounting and auditing requirements relating to the use of such funding. As a consequence, the county in 2011 as part of a formal procurement process  entered into a $7.5 million arrangement with SVM, LP  for the provision of gas debit cards to qualified recipients for the period of December 1, 2011 through November 30, 2014. On November 5, 2013, the board of supervisors approved a first amendment to the contract with SVM, LP, increasing the total contract amount by $1,000,000 from $7,500,000 to $8,500,000.
On April 22, 2014, the board approved a second amendment to the contract, increasing the total contract amount by $1,500,000, from $8,500,000 to $10,000,000.
Of the 269,027 cards issued during fiscal year 2013-14, approximately 90 percent were issued by the transitional assistance department.
According to Linda Haugen, the assistant executive officer of county human services, “To maintain required internal controls, the transitional assistance and child and family services departments strictly follow established procedures, including, but not limited to, receipt and inventory control of gas debit cards, as mandated by the auditor controller and both departments are monitor human services auditing.”
Haugen said that “As a result of regulatory changes, the total amount of the contract has been increased twice since November 2013. Effective January 1, 2013, 4,500 transitional assistance department clients were required to become re-engaged in work activity agreements, thereby increasing program participation and increasing the demand for transportation assistance. At the time the first two amendments were presented, the recommended increases were based on growth projections relating to an estimated 15 percent increase in the caseload eligible for gas debit cards through the welfare-to-work program.”
Moreover, Haugen said, “Since April 2014, however, caseload and participant usage continues to increase beyond these projections. During this last quarter of fiscal year 2013-14, for example, the active welfare-to-work caseload increased approximately 8 percent while the number of cases receiving gas debit card assistance grew approximately 14 percent. In addition, gasoline prices climbed approximately 10 percent during the same period.”
This week, On August 19, the board of supervisors approved a third amendment to the SVM, LP contract, effective August 20, 2014, increasing the total contract amount by $2,000,000, from $10,000,000 to $12,000,000, for the total contract period of December 1, 2011 through November 30, 2014.
Cards are issued in $15 or $25 increments to eligible clients and can be used only for the purchase of gasoline. The cards register declining value with each use and are tracked to register specific card usage. Issuances are specialized to a client’s supportive services needs in order to attend school, obtain required therapeutic counseling and medical care, seek employment and/or report to work. The average number of cards issued to transitional assistance department clients is five per month, and eligible child and family services clients is three per month.