To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: (CFS/AAS) 20-067-14 Social Service Staffing & Recruiting, Inc. Amendment
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to execute a contract amendment, effective November 1, 2025, with Social Service Staffing & Recruiting, Inc., to increase the payment limit by $1,200,000 to a new payment limit of $2,200,000, to provide additional qualified temporary social workers for clients of the Children and Family Services and Aging and Adult Services Bureaus with no change to the term July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
54% Federal, 38% State and 8% County; $800,000 which will be included in the FY 25/26 mid-year budget adjustment (50% CFS and 50% AAS), and $400,000 which will be budgeted in FY 26/27 (100% CFS).
BACKGROUND:
Employment and Human Services (EHSD), Aging and Adult Services (AAS): Contra Costa has a caseload of 17,477 In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) consumers, 9,474 of whom are categorized as Community First Choice Option (CFCO) cases. Effective July 1, 2025 the California Department of Social Services is penalizing counties three percent of provider salary for each overdue CFCO annual reassessment. Currently, EHSD AAS has approximately 3,000 overdue CFCO cases, due to an increasing caseload without equivalent increasing staffing and which has an estimated penalty of approximately $320,000 per month. EHSD will use these temporary social workers to resolve the backlog.
In addition, Children and Family Services (CFS) has experienced delays with implementing new positions and continued difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified social workers. Currently, there are approximately thirty (30) vacancies in addition to staff on Leave of Absence (LOA), Family Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA), and other absences...
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