DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Administrative Services Division

Strategic Planning and Analytics Branch

Government Affairs Office Makes Impact Through Advocacy and Policy Leadership

The Government Affairs Office (GAO) advanced department and Riverside County priorities in Sacramento by help ing secure major state investments, strengthening protections for vulnerable youth and elevating the department’s voice in key policy discussions. GAO’s coordinated advocacy helped restore $81 million for Home Safe and $83 mil lion for Bringing Families Home in the governor’s Fiscal Year 2024/25 budget, preserving critical housing support for families involved in Foster Care and Adult Protective Services. The team worked with Adult Services and statewide part ners to deliver testimony, briefings and data-driven impact analysis that demon strated the programs’ value. GAO also advanced efforts to strength en protections for complex care-depen dent youth, one of DPSS’s highest pri orities. Working with Children’s Services leadership, the Executive Office, County Public Records Act requests and con ducted 131 General Assistance hearings, giving customers timely decisions and strengthening compliance. Policy modernization was another stand out. The team crafted the department’s first AI Policy Framework to guide safe, responsible and ethical use of emerging technology. The updated Dress Code Policy brought a more inclusive, practi cal standard that supports both field and teleworking staff. Aligning with Lean and continuous qual ity improvement principles, the team

Counsel and statewide partners, GAO led development of a formal inquiry to State Legislative Counsel to clarify the role of human services agencies during key points of intervention. The submis sion through the Office of Senator Rosili cie Ochoa Bogh establishes an important foundation for long-term policy clarity for counties across California. To expand staff engagement in public policy, GAO introduced the DPSS Legis lative Insights Submission Form. The tool captures real-time perspectives from across the department and surfaces ac tionable ideas that reflect the day-to-day realities of DPSS programs and custom ers. GAO remains focused on advancing thoughtful, evidence-based policy, pro tecting essential safety-net programs and strengthening outcomes for the communities DPSS serves.

Administrative Policy Team Delivers Modern, Efficient and Staff Friendly Updates

Enjoy wearing denim to the office these days? You can thank the Administrative Policy Team for that one. In Fiscal Year 2024/25, the unit pushed forward a series of up dates that made DPSS policies clearer, more contemporary and easier for staff to navigate while improving efficiency across the department. The team delivered major operational im pacts by improving Public Records Act processing through AI assisted redac tion tools that cut turnaround times and reduced errors. The unit completed 142

streamlined internal workflows and improved turnaround times on policy products. By year’s end, the unit com pleted 59 policy deliverables, including Department Memorandums, Policies, Program Announcements and CalSAWS announcements. To strengthen consistency and collabo ration, the unit merged in January 2025 with the Children’s Services and Foster Care policy teams, forming the Office of Policy Management and creating a single hub for departmentwide policy support.

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

85