Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ehsd topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
EHSD warns HR1 will sharply increase workload; officials ask board to prioritize staffing
Summary
Employment and Human Services Department Director Dr. Marla Stewart told the board HR1 will require hundreds of additional eligibility staff to avoid coverage losses and recommended advocacy to secure state funding; EHSD proposed six budget asks and options to mitigate the workload.
Dr. Marla Stewart, director of the Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD), told the Board that EHSD’s recommended FY26–27 budget is $739,039,479 and that the department centers its work on a social vulnerability index to target services. Stewart warned that changes from HR1 will substantially increase eligibility workload for Medi‑Cal and CalFresh and that EHSD would need an estimated 294–445 additional eligibility workers depending on automation assumptions.
Stewart described how EHSD is triaging the work: prioritizing safety‑critical mandates, automating processes where possible (for example, automated call summaries going live in June), expanding mobile eligibility teams and working with community‑based organizations to aid application and renewal completion. She said some IHSS renewals backlog was being cleared this year but cautioned that capacity remains constrained.
Stewart outlined six state budget advocacy priorities and said the board’s letters and legislative outreach matter. She closed by saying the first priority is enough eligibility staff and that the department will return with budget amendments if state allocations change after the governor’s May revise.
Board members pressed on hiring timelines and training (Stewart said an eligibility worker takes roughly six months to train) and agreed on the need for rapid workforce steps, community partnerships, and continued board advocacy to seek state and federal backfill.
