Home Contra Costa County County Workers to Confront Board of Supervisors on the Loss of $21 Million for Public Assistance Programs

County Workers to Confront Board of Supervisors on the Loss of $21 Million for Public Assistance Programs

by ECT

Employees in Contra Costa County to Present a Report Card to the Board of Supervisors Exposing Failures in Safety, Services, and Retention

(Martinez, CA) – Contra Costa County employees will confront the Board of Supervisors and expose the County’s failure to spend $21 Million dollars allocated to protect children and elderly against abuse, and assist families in need. According to memos from the Employment and Human Services Department Director to the Family and Human Services Committee, the County has failed to spend funds slated for nutritional programs, crime victims assistance and sexually exploited children. With 10.5% of people in our county living below the poverty line, many of these programs and services provided by county employees are matters of life and death.

“When delays occur in the delivery of public programs, it has devastating consequences. It means someone goes hungry or goes without the health assistance they need. It means someone who’s trying to get the necessary training to get a job misses a life-changing chance. It means a missed opportunity in the fight against poverty in our County,” says Champagne Brown, a Contra Costa County Social Service Program Assistant.

County employees, in a report card evaluating Supervisors’ performance, gave Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors a failing grade based on the following reasons:

  • Vacancy rates at the county have reached as high as 40% in some departments causing delays in critical services our communities need. The services range from mental health to support for children and elderly and many other services throughout the county.
  • Multiple violent incidences including shootings take place every year in front of County facilities, but the safety procedures in place were originally created in 1976 and do not reflect the current day realities when at work in an office or when employees are on house visits.
  • Contra Costa has one of the lowest salary and benefit packages in the entire Bay Area. Many employees work two jobs to afford basic necessities and healthcare. Many individuals that remain are forced to access County healthcare services similar to their own clients due to out-of-reach costs.

Contra Costa County employees represented by SEIU 1021 are currently in bargaining to address these serious issues that directly impact their ability to provide quality care to Contra Costa communities. As Contra Costa County EHSD Director Kathy Gallagher’s states in an August 2014 memo to the Family & Human Services Committee:

“When we are unable to fill funded positions we forego up to 100% of the Federal/State revenue that had been dedicated to Contra Costa County… We cannot claim funds for vacant positions.””

  • Who: Contra Costa County Social Workers and Eligibility Workers
  • When: September 13, 2016
    • 8 AM – Rally/Informational Picket – 651 Pine Street, Martinez
    • 9 AM – Speakout @ the Board of Supervisors

For more information about the SEIU 1021, visit them online at www.seiu1021.org

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1 comment

Julio Sep 13, 2016 - 11:59 am

If many county employees are working two jobs to cover their basic needs they need to go to money management classes. I don’t know one county employee personally that doesn’t make one heck of a lot more than I ever made. I know, this will bring tons of remarks but I stand my ground. I will never feel sorry for county or state workers. They are people who think in terms of entitlements and as a tax payer supporting them I am sick of it.

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