CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 1, 1999 | CAITLIN LIU, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Despite dramatic changes that have overhauled California's welfare system, the county welfare department is still not adequately serving recipients, according to a report released today--the one-year anniversary of CalWORKS in Los Angeles--by the Welfare Reform Coalition.
NEWS
January 30, 1999 | CARLA RIVERA, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Bolstered by a vigorous job market that has sent welfare cases tumbling, Los Angeles County expects to amass a windfall this year of more than $300 million in surplus funds for public aid. The county's good fortune has raised a thorny issue often faced by those blessed with an embarrassment of riches: what to do with all of the extra cash.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 17, 1998 | NICHOLAS RICCARDI and GREG KRIKORIAN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
The state official once charged with monitoring California's child support program said the state never fully investigated claims that Los Angeles County had falsified documents to reap millions in incentive funding. Rather than investigate those allegations in 1993, Vivienne DuFour said state monitors concentrated on their routine review of whether the county was complying with technical performance guidelines. Even that review found problems.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 6, 1998
Los Angeles County faces penalties of nearly $1 million for errors in its food stamp program and could face even stiffer fines at a later time, officials said Thursday. A review of food stamps issued for last year found that the county's Department of Public Social Services erred in 10.92% of its allocations. The national average is under 10%. As a result, the county faces a possible $948,000 sanction, part of $2.8 million in penalties that may be levied against the state, officials said.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 14, 1998 | MARTHA L. WILLMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A social worker assigned to the Canoga Park office has been arrested and charged with embezzling an estimated $600,000 in welfare funds during the past four years, and more arrests are expected, county officials said Thursday. Jennifer Castillo, 41, of Van Nuys, was arrested in June after a joint investigation by the Department of Public Social Services and the district attorney's office, said Sandra Semtner, spokeswoman for the social services department.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 25, 1997 | CARLA RIVERA and JOSH MEYER, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Reacting to criticism from some quarters that Los Angeles County's proposed welfare reform plan lacks sufficient detail and a strategy to achieve its goals, welfare officials now say they want the Board of Supervisors to consider key measures over a period of several months rather than all at once.