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Yuba County HHS reports growing caseloads, highlights high-school mentorships
Summary
Health & Human Services reported rising program caseloads and service volumes for 2024, including nearly $6 million in veterans retroactive payments and outreach that placed 70 households in permanent housing; staff also described a mentorship collaboration with Marysville High School CTE.
John Cornille, assistant director of Yuba County Health & Human Services, told the Board of Supervisors that the department’s 2024 activity shows a sustained rise in demand for core public-assistance programs and community services.
Cornille said HHS is managing roughly 28,000 program cases across Medi-Cal, CalFresh and CalWORKs, with Medi-Cal covering about 45% of county residents and CalFresh about 22%. He told supervisors the department handled almost 39,000 phone calls through its call center and processed more than 15,000 program applications during the year. Cornille also highlighted veteran services outcomes, saying the office secured nearly $6,000,000 in retroactive payments for claimants.
The report included public-health and social-services outcomes: 70 households were permanently housed last year, HHS distributed over 700 Narcan kits to staff and community partners, and the department handled 255 child placements with more than 1,300 family visits. Cornille said the department uses census-based population figures (about 85,722 residents) as context for those metrics.
Michelle Ledesma, a public-health program specialist, described a developing partnership with Marysville High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. "Since the beginning of the school year, we've had the privilege of mentoring three very talented students so far," Ledesma said, outlining four mentorship tracks—public-health nursing, communicable-disease work, community wellness, and communications/engagement—and noting student feedback that the experience supported job-readiness and real-world learning.
Supervisors asked clarifying questions about terminology (Cornille explained the distinction between "program" and "case"), staffing levels (Cornille said HHS currently employs 252 people), and the department’s general-fund support (Cornille described a modest county allocation for general assistance). The board also praised staff for quickly addressing a Meals-on-Wheels disruption that affected 66 clients.
Cornille closed the presentation with public-health monitoring priorities: vaccination and outreach metrics, continuing Narcan distribution, and surveillance of avian influenza (H5N1) cases and related agricultural impacts in the Yuba–Sutter region.
