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Office of Community Services seeks new social‑work hire as rental and utility assistance demand remains high
Summary
Office of Community Services staff told the Finance Committee high demand for rental and utility assistance is continuing, and the department is seeking to hire social‑work case managers to increase capacity and improve long‑term stability for residents.
Ayesha Young, Community Engagement Administrator with the Office of Community Services (OCS), briefed the Finance Committee on April 21 about high demand for rental and utility assistance and staff plans to increase outreach and case management capacity.
Young told the committee that ongoing demand for rental and utility help remains high and that many residents are unsure what services OCS provides. "A lot of people don't know who OCS is or they confuse us with other departments," she said, explaining the office’s outreach and visibility plans.
OCS plans and performance
- Outreach and partnerships: OCS plans financial literacy workshops and tenant‑rights workshops delivered with community partners such as ACDS and Community Legal Services, and distribution of an updated resource guide in English and Spanish. Young said pop‑up resource events and flyer distribution (including QR codes linking to service pages) will increase visibility.
- New social‑work position: The department plans to hire an additional social worker/case manager to strengthen case management capacity and reduce repeat reliance on emergency assistance. Young said two social‑worker care coordinator positions were budgeted for FY‑25 and FY‑26 but were not both filled in FY‑25; hiring paperwork has been submitted to HR and the department hopes to have at least one hired before July 1.
- Target metrics: Young said OCS currently approves about 56% of applications for rental assistance and aims to raise approvals to 60–70%. She also reported distributing about 550 resource guides so far and set a goal to increase distribution by 35%.
Why it matters
Committee members pressed for clarification that social workers should perform professional outreach and case management while other staff focus on events and administrative tasks. Several members emphasized using social‑work staff in their professional capacity to address residents’ needs directly.
Ending
Young said the new case manager will assist with case management, maintain records and evaluate program effectiveness while the office continues to strengthen partnerships to reduce duplicated services among providers. Quotations in this article come from the Finance Committee transcript on April 21, 2025.
