Child Support Services presents balanced FY2016 budget; emphasizes family-centered approach

Karen Roy, director of the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services, told the Budget and Finance Committee the department submitted a balanced budget for FY2016 and FY2017 that relies on federal and state funding only and includes no county general fund support. Roy said FY2014 collections totaled $26,500,000, with $22,500,000 (85 percent) distributed directly to families; the remaining 15 percent reimbursed federal, state and local governments for welfare costs.

Roy described a long-term reduction in caseload from about 28,000 cases in 2004 to roughly 13,000 cases supported by 104 budgeted positions as of early 2015. The departmentsaid it has no new positions in the budget, no overtime budget, and is using vacancy management to create salary savings that could be filled if caseloads increase. The presentation emphasized a shift from punitive enforcement toward family-centered, holistic case management, stronger language-access services (about two-thirds of caseworkers are bilingual), lease renegotiation savings and the pursuit of grant funding with a 66 percent federal match.

Supervisors thanked staff for the department's language-access capacity and holistic approach and asked whether caseloads were stabilizing; Roy said the caseload is generally trending down, with some higher-income families newly using child-support services.

There was no public comment. Supervisor Tang moved to file the department's budget update and the committee took that motion without objection.