DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

The Director’s Message

Every day within the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), we have the privilege of supporting Riverside County residents as they work toward greater stability, safety and well-being.

Charity Douglas

Fiscal Year 2024/25 was defined by pur pose, partnership and progress, as the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services served nearly 1.2 million residents seeking support, stability and safety. This report reminds us that be hind every number is a person, and be hind every person is a story that demon strates the heart of our mission and a diverse professional workforce commit ted to elevating each individual we serve. Our strength is reflected in the way we work together. Social workers, eligibili ty technicians, analysts, facilities staff, fiscal managers, contracts and pro curement professionals, administrative teams, data experts, and many others form a single community of service, each role essential to the success of our clients and department. Their com bined expertise turns information into insight, spaces into welcoming places and resources into pathways that help individuals move forward with security, optimism and hope for the future. This spirit of service extends into times of community crisis, when DPSS Mass Care fulfills a critical role in safely shelter ing residents impacted by disasters such

as fires and floods. Trained staff volun teers from across DPSS answer the call to serve their neighbors 24/7 with com passion and professionalism. In these pages, you will meet a former Riverside County foster youth who’s re turned as a residential social worker to reinforce resilience and hope in youth facing complex challenges; an eligibility technician who visits remote commu nities and college campuses to bring health coverage and food assistance to people in need, drawing on her own experiences as a college student strug gling to keep food on the table; families who opened their homes to give children the safety, love and permanence they deserve; Riverside County foster youth who are defying the odds and exceed ing state averages by graduating high school and heading to four-year uni versities; unhoused adults who found homes thanks to grant writers, analysts, and a network of partners unlocking doors behind the scenes. You will meet a father of eight who earned his Information Technology cer tificate through a partnership between our CalWORKs Welfare to Work program

and the Riverside County Office of Edu cation. He now hopes his achievement will inspire his children to pursue their own dreams. Over the past fiscal year, we continued to advance RivCoONE, the county’s integrated model for delivering coor dinated health and human services, to strengthen the pathway of stability for individuals and families. This approach deepens collaboration across programs so residents experience support as a connected system designed to meet their needs. I am grateful to the Riverside County Ex ecutive Leadership Team, Board of Su pervisors and the partners whose sup port reinforces our services. I am deeply grateful to those who have entrusted us to share their stories. And I am especially thankful for the tremendous DPSS work force whose professional compassion lights the way toward a future where every resident of Riverside County can live with dignity, safety and hope. It is an honor to lead this department and to stand alongside a team that is so com mitted to uplifting individuals and com munities.

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Riverside County Department of Public Social Services | Annual Report 2024 - 2025