DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Self-Sufficiency Division

New Centralized Unit Delivers Consistent and Timely Support for Customers

Residents in Riverside County are receiv ing timely and reliable general assistance services thanks to the focus and cus tomer service of the new General Assis tance Centralized Unit. After launching in November 2024, the unit immediately confronted a substan tial backlog of applications and moved quickly to stabilize operations. Staff streamlined workflows, resolved delays and built a more dependable process for managing applications and eligibili ty support cases. Their disciplined ap proach restored consistency and set a stronger operational foundation. Strategic recruitment accelerated the momentum, said Regional Manager for General Assistance, Kimisha Rowles. Newly hired staff brought their exper tise, energy and a collaborative spirit that elevated performance across the unit, she said. Their resilience and shared commitment shaped a culture centered on precision and service excellence.

“This team’s commitment to quality and accountability has transformed our op erations and strengthened the support we provide to the community,” Rowles said. “The unit’s continued momentum reflects a clear standard of excellence and deep pride in serving residents with consistency, care and professionalism.”

Expedited Service Average

97% Riverside County of Riverside

Kimisha Rowles, Regional Manager for General Assistance

By April 2025, these collective efforts resulted in the establishment of the District 85 General Assistance Central ized Unit, a milestone that Rowles said reflects the team’s professionalism and dedication. Since then, the unit has con tinued to strengthen its structure, en suring the integrity of applications and eligibility support cases with accuracy and timeliness.

90% State Target

Teamwork Ensures No Lapses in Medi-Cal Coverage Thousands of Riverside County resi dents maintained their health coverage during California’s Medi-Cal unwinding after Self-Sufficiency staff completed every renewal application on time, pre venting avoidable gaps in care and keep ing families and individuals connected to essential services during intense state wide demand. 2023, the “unwinding” required counties to restart annual Medi-Cal redetermi nations while also managing a surge in Medi-Cal and CalFresh applications. Cal ifornia faced one of the largest renewal workloads in the country, and state offi cials urged counties to complete reviews quickly to limit unnecessary disenroll ments. RIVERSIDE COUNTY’S ASSIGNED WORKLOAD • State directive required completion of January 2025 redeterminations. • Riverside County was assigned 64,037 January cases.

Continuous Medicaid (Medi-Cal) cover age had been in place nationwide during the COVID-19 emergency to make sure vulnerable people did not lose their cov erage while facing widespread health, economic and employment disruptions.

Riverside County delivered. Medi-Cal eligibility technicians, Quality Assurance staff, Jurupa strike teams, redetermina tion teams, support teams, DART (Data, Analytics, Reporting and Tracking) and DPSS leadership worked in coordinat ed fashion to clear the full assignment ahead of the state deadline.

• An additional 7,954 overdue cases June 2023 -May 2024 were added. • Total workload by June 30, 2025: 77,389 redeterminations.

When the federal protection ended in

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

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