California, a state with the nation’s highest poverty rate, consistently ranks near the bottom when it comes to enrolling low-income people in CalFresh, the state’s name for the federal food stamp program. CalFresh is fully funded by the federal government, administered in California by the State Department of Social Services (CDSS), and implemented locally by each of the 58 counties. Access to CalFresh varies significantly across the state, leading to major inequities. The counties’ enrollment processes are often burdensome, especially for seniors, non-English speakers, and the working poor. The State does not have adequate metrics to track who is getting CalFresh at a local level and who is not.
The purpose of this analysis is to identify strategies and an implementation plan that CDSS can do to ensure that all low-income Californians have efficient and equitable access to CalFresh—by phone, online, and in person—in a dignified way that supports their health and well-being. Recommendations will focus on how CDSS can better oversee a state and local accountability partnership to increase CalFresh participation and retention, foster continuous quality improvement in the administration of the CalFresh program, and establish specified statewide goals for CalFresh participation and improvement.
STRATEGY DOCUMENT
Prepare a professional quality document (approximately 10 pages double-spaced) that includes the following sections:
• A clear statement of the organizational problem or opportunity
• A brief description of CDSS and its role in the administration of CalFresh
• An analysis of identified strategic issues.
• A description of the options that exist for addressing the strategic issues.
• A description of your recommended course of action.
• A description of the principal obstacles to successful implementation.
• Bibliography of sources
