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Orange County Department of Social Services reports modest monthly shifts; foster-care numbers at historic low
Summary
The Department of Social Services reported steady cash assistance and SNAP caseloads, a large week-to-week intake of HEAP applications, rising emergency housing placements, and foster-care counts the department described as the lowest on record. Officials said return-to-home outcomes for children are favorable.
The Orange County Department of Social Services presented its monthly report showing small month-to-month shifts across benefit programs, higher emergency housing placements and a foster-care population that county officials called unusually low.
Lacey Trimble, commissioner of social services and mental health, reviewed the report. She said combined family assistance and safety-net temporary assistance (TA) cases numbered about 1,475 in October and about 1,479 in November, “so pretty consistent there.” Family assistance was down slightly from September, safety net rose by 58 in October and fell by two in November, the report shows. Trimble said 22 recipients exited cash assistance for employment in October and 24 in November, lower than a September spike.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) caseloads were listed at 18,859 in October and 18,914 in November, a month-to-month increase of 181 and 55 cases respectively compared with the previous months. On heating assistance, Trimble said HEAP payments totaled 79 at the end of the 2023–24 season; the state’s different payment process produced 15,985 fewer HEAP payments year-over-year in the transcript’s comparison, a result Trimble attributed to state-level timing and issuance of checks rather than to fewer eligible people. The department reported very high HEAP application volume, rising from 800–900 to over 2,000 applications per week.
On homelessness, Trimble said emergency housing placements are trending higher than last year with current averages of 20.6 families and 46.3 singles; in October there were 39 singles and 124 families placed in hotels, and in November 151 singles and 130 families. The department served 790 individuals experiencing homelessness in October and 828 in November; the year-to-date monthly average for 2024 was 729, which the presenter said is 242 more than last year’s average. Trimble reminded the committee the point-in-time count is scheduled for Jan. 23 and said she would circulate designated meeting points to the committee.
Child-protective services reports numbered 328 in October (with 190 assigned traditional response and 38 assigned to the Family Assessment Response, FAR) and 254 in November (137 assigned traditional response, 117 assigned FAR). Trimble reported a combined total of 3,328 traditional and FAR responses through November, 192 fewer than the same period last year.
Foster care placements were reported at 196 children in October and a lower number in November; Trimble said the current year-to-date average is 206 children per month and described the November figure as “by far the lowest number” her staff could recall in Orange County. She said the department received state outcome data showing 0% of children returned home re-entered foster care within a year — compared with a goal of 11% — noting that once children were returned home, they were staying home at a rate significantly lower than state and national averages.
Adult protective services had 258 active cases in October and 260 in November, with 44 and 49 new cases respectively. Home-care cases were 325 in October and 327 in November, with a 2024 year-to-date average of 301. The child-support unit served 9,642 cases in October and 9,645 in November and reported collecting and dispersing over $3.2 million in October and nearly $3.9 million in November; year-to-date totals were about $38 million.
The department’s special investigations unit reported 147 fraud and improper-payment investigations in October (32 substantiated) and 166 in November (18 substantiated); combined year-to-date cost avoidance for certain investigations was reported at approximately $8.4 million, and year-to-date savings from fraud substantiations was reported as just under $90,000.
Committee members thanked the department for the work; staff said they will circulate point-in-time meeting locations and continue to monitor the trends in housing placements, HEAP demand and foster-care outcomes.
