Agenda

Return

C. 77

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Kathy Gallagher, Employment & Human Services Director
Date:	June 11, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Expanded Contra Costa Works (CCWORKS) Program

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 06/11/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Elaine Burres,608-4960

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 11, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to enter into worksite contractual/financial agreements with employers participating in the Expanded CCWORKS (Contra Costa Works) Subsidized Employment Program, whereby participating employers are reimbursed no more than $13 per hour (and no more than $20 per hour if employer pays above minimum wage), for targeted CalWORKS (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids) clients worksited with employers during the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Funded with $857,533 Expanded Subsidized Employment Allocation, which is 96% Federal and 4% State, for the Expanded Employment Program wages for CalWORKs participants.

BACKGROUND:

Based upon the success of subsidized employment programs in response to Senate Bill (SB) 72 which extended the State reimbursement to counties for subsidized employment programs as authorized by Assembly Bill (AB) 98 (now AB 74), the Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) developed and implemented the subsidized employment program known as CCWORKS (Contra Costa Works) for CalWORKs participants.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Following the guidelines and funding options of AB 98 and building upon the success of previous Subsidized Employment and Training (SET) programs operated under the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act, the Expanded CCWORKS program has been designed very similarly to other programs operated in the Bay Area. Expanded Subsidized Employment targets Welfare to Work clients who are limited English proficient, challenged by domestic violence, have a criminal or arrest history, disabled veterans, pregnant and parenting youth, and those completing the family stabilization component. CalWORKs participants will be screened into the Expanded CCWORKS program and placed with local employers (for-profit, non-profit, and public agencies) who will have the responsibility for, under a contractual/financial worksite agreement, the payroll, associated taxes, and workers compensation for each Expanded CCWORKS program participant approved and worksited within their organization.

Employers will interview eligible Expanded CCWORKS participants and, if they meet the criteria for the position, will hire and train them in skills appropriate for the position in which they are placed. Expanded CCWORKS participants will receive a wage comparable to those workers performing the same or like duties at the worksite.

The worksite agreement will be signed with the employer or each participant placed at the employer's worksite. Under the Expanded CCWORKS program, EHSD will reimburse up to $13 per hour to employers that pay minimum wage and no more than $20 per hour to employers that pay above minimum wage, for a minimum of 20 hours per week to a maximum of 40 hours per hours week. No overtime will be subsidized. The individual contracts with each employer will state the reimbursement process and those reimbursements will be paid on the contractual timeline of six months.

Monthly reimbursement invoices will be submitted by participating employers for each client employed through the Expanded CCWORKS program. The invoices will be reviewed by EHSD CCWORKS staff and submitted to the EHSD Fiscal Unit for payment.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Without approval, the Expanded CCWORKS Program participants will have fewer employment opportunities and will continue reliance on public benefits.