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Social Services director warns IHSS maintenance‑of‑effort will constrain hiring; department seeks ad hoc support
Summary
Department of Social Services reported improvements in leadership stability, compliance work and family services while warning the IHSS maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) obligation is projected at about $8.1 million for FY 2025‑26 and is limiting hiring; staff will meet the ad hoc committee Oct. 27 and return to the board Nov. 4 with budget requests.
Denise Parker, director of Mendocino County Department of Social Services, gave an informational budget and performance report at the Oct. 21 supervisors meeting and said staffing and service improvements are underway while an increasing county IHSS (In‑Home Supportive Services) maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) obligation is placing pressure on hiring and budgets.
Parker said leadership positions previously filled on an acting basis were made permanent in the past year and that the department has implemented new procedures and compliance training. In family and children’s services Parker reported reductions in children entering foster care, increases in timely reunifications and ongoing quarterly case reviews with a state contract; the county’s system improvement plan is due April 2026.
Nut graf: The fiscal problem singled out was IHSS MOE — Parker told supervisors the county’s IHSS MOE is projected at about $8.1 million for fiscal year 2025‑26 and that realignment (1991) revenues are essentially flat; that MOE limits the department’s ability to hire the additional social workers it says it needs.
Budget and staffing details
Parker reported an approximate need for 31–35 full‑time social workers based on current case volumes; the department currently has 28. She said the county earlier approved an IHSS wage supplement that now pays providers $2.81 above minimum wage and that this county now ranks tenth highest in IHSS pay statewide. Parker said CDSS quarterly case review and other federal/state processes are ongoing and scheduled dates were given for internal milestones.
On finance, Parker said the county’s 1991 realignment revenue for FY 2025‑26 is projected at roughly $12.7 million, of which about $8.1 million is required for IHSS MOE; the remainder covers child welfare and CalWORKs, leaving limited funds for other staffing needs. Parker said leadership and fiscal staff have been modeling options and would meet the board ad hoc on Oct. 27; she said she hoped to return Nov. 4 with a request to approve budgeted positions if a funding path is found.
Ending: Parker asked for continued board support while staff pursue modeling and ad hoc coordination; the board thanked the department and scheduled follow up work with the ad hoc committee.
