HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-29-2009 - Attachment 5 Attachment 5
Orange County Department of Social Services Economic Impact Report
January 2009
In Orange County over the last ten years, the number of families receiving Federal Food
and Nutrition Program benefits, or Food Stamps, has increased more than 120%. The
population has increased about 4% in the county for the same time period. The Orange
County Department of Social Services and its clients, along with other organizations
across the state and country, are seeing the sharp effects of not just the current economic
downtown but the residual impact of the recession and correlating downtown that
occurred in early 2000. Poor and lower-middle class working families are typically the
first to suffer in a downturn and the last to recover during a rebound. While the media
has focused a lot of attention on wild stock market fluctuations and the trouble of banks
and other large corporations over the last six months, these families have been feeling the
effects of this crisis without the benefit of the recovery and housing boom of the mid
2000s. For many of these families, intensive social work services combined with public
assistance are needed to struggle through this mounting crisis.
In Orange County, most low-income earners are employed in the services sector in hourly
positions. As the economy stagnates and businesses lose money, many of these people
have their hours reduced or jobs eliminated. Lower-middle class earners are next to feel
the strain as prices increase and wages remain the same. With limited savings, most in
these circumstances find themselves in dire financial condition. These types of situations
are contributing to the increasing numbers of people reliant on public assistance programs
and needing social work services throughout the state and in Orange County.
A third Orange County population is just beginning to see the impact of this economic
crisis. As layoffs begin to hit RTP area businesses and government entities, this segment
of Orange County's population may find themselves facing difficulty. Job searches are
taking longer and the competition is stiff for high paying jobs. Once savings are
depleted, many of these families will need help. Based on these factors, Social Services
is anticipating increases in all areas for at least the next 12-18 months.
The charts below show the unadjusted unemployment rate in Orange County since 2000-
2001 and the Food and Nutrition Program increases over the same time period.
Unadjusted Unemployment Rate in Orange County 2000-2008
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Food and Nutrition Services-Households Sewed Monthly from 2000-2008 \
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The client increases that are already being seen are causing significant strain on the
staffing and financial resources of the Orange County Department of Social Services. If
the middle class in Orange County becomes widely impacted, the numbers of clients
could skyrocket.
Public Assistance Increases
The Federal Food and Nutrition Program serves families at or below 125% of poverty.
The program provides a debit card loaded with a monthly allotment of funds that can be
used by an individual or family to purchase a variety of foods at local stores. The
allotment depends on income and family size. The number of program recipients serves
as an indicator for the overall welfare of the economy, especially the working poor.
What happened in Orange County is indicative of what has happened across the state in
the last ten years. The number of families receiving eligibility services such as Medicaid
and Food and Nutrition Benefits began a dramatic increase between 2000 and 2001,
during a brief recession. In 2006-07 the number of FNP cases actually declined slightly
as low-income earners began to fully recover. By July of 2007 the numbers began
moving upward again and by June of 2008 the number of FNP cases had hit a new high.
Every month since then has resulted in yet another high in the number of FNP cases in
Orange County.
The chart below shows the number of Food and Nutrition Program recipients in Orange
County from 2000 to 2008.
Average Number of Food Stamp Cases per Fiscal Year from 2000-2008
3500- 3276
2987 2928 3057 l
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3000-' 2763 ,""
250D-� 2335 >� ?`-
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e 1987 i+ a'
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Fiscal Year
In November of 2008, over 7,100 Orange County residents were receiving Food and (
Nutrition benefits, which marked the highest number of recipients of the program in
Orange County to date.
Medicaid numbers have never had an annual decline and are also at a high. The
Medicaid program has seen a 79% increase in the number of cases over the last ten years,.
Average Number of Medicaid Cases per Fiscal Year from 2000-2008
5975,
6000- 5623
5299
5057
l k
,
5000- 4685
- 4
4215 ! ,
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. 4000- ..3
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Fiscal Year
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It is clear from the charts above that the increase in both of these programs has been
significant and steady over the last ten years. The chart below shows the number of
program recipients in the last six months. While the numbers fluctuate from month to
month, the chart shows an increase in both programs.
Month Medicaid Recipients FNP Recipients
June, 2008 7,679 6,554
July, 2008 7,656 6,585
August, 2008 7,644 6,770
September, 2008 7,745 6,846
October, 2008 7,910 6,944
November, 2008 7,861 7,108
December, 2008 7,903 7,274
The number of Medicaid recipients has increased by more than 7% in the last twelve
months and the number of FNP recipients has increased by more than 11% during that
time. These are significant increases added to the already large numbers of people
receiving public assistance.
(
Energy and emergency assistance programs have also seen increases in recent months.
Social Services provides assistance with heating, cooling,rent, gasoline, medicine and
other emergent needs for clients meeting income guidelines and other eligibility criteria.
The chart below shows the number of clients served in these programs in December of
2007 and December of 2008.
December 2007 December 2008
Emergency Programs 326 People 374 People
This correlates to an almost 15% increase in the number of clients served in these
programs.
The increase in caseloads has triggered workload management problems for the agency.
The number of clients visiting the agency on a monthly basis has also increased. This
trend is particularly noteworthy given that the agency is now accepting applications in a
number of programs through the mail. The following chart lists the number of clients
visiting the agency during the months of October-December in 2007 and 2008.
Month 2007 Clients 2008 Clients
October 2172 2394
November 2253 2259
December 2331 2593
There has been an 11% increase in the number of clients visiting the agency from
December 2007 and December of 2008.
As numbers have increased, staffing levels have not kept pace. One new staff member
was added to the Orange County Department of Social Services in 2001-02 and another
was added in 2007-08. A new document management system was installed in 2008, but
staffing needs remain a concern.
Social Work Services
In an economic crisis there are more stresses placed upon families requiring an even
greater need for community social work services. Many of the families that present for
public assistance during difficult economic times actually need social work services to
help them find and afford child care, secure housing, and find employment. Prevention
social work services significantly reduce instances of child abuse and neglect and
episodic homelessness by providing counseling services and helping families pay rent,
light and heat bills.
Since increased stresses on families create higher potential for child endangerment, good
prevention services are critical to protecting this vulnerable population. With an increase
in demand and with the increased board rate and changes in the payment process for
foster placements, the agency is already anticipating a net increase of$100,000 between