DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Strategic Plan Offers a Road Map to Excellence in Integrated Service Delivery and Outcomes Strategic Plan

Since adopting its current strategic plan in late 2023, DPSS has used the five-year roadmap to make measurable progress toward the department’s strategic priori ties of Operational Excellence, Workforce Development and Customer Service Partnerships. “The strategic plan was developed with input from across the department and gives us a clear line of sight on where DPSS is heading and how we are going to get there,” said DPSS Director Charity Douglas. “It also allows room for adjust ments so our strategies stay relevant and responsive to the needs of our communi ties, partners and staff.” By the final quarter of Fiscal Year 2024/25, DPSS had achieved well over half of the plan’s 33 early objectives and reached milestones that included a 10 percent increase in employee satisfac tion compared to surveys from 2022. Much of the plan’s initial aim was to equip all DPSS staff to become problem solvers and build systems that support contin uous quality improvement and the de partment’s role as a cornerstone in the RivCoONE initiative. RivCoONE is Riverside County’s inte grated services delivery initiative that connects DPSS and other county de partments through shared systems, coordinated processes and a unified ap proach to serving residents. The platform streamlines how Riverside County resi dents access services by reducing dupli cation, improving communication among partners and ensuring residents receive timely, connected support. The Whole Person Health Score is a shared tool that county departments use to help identify an individual’s needs and navigate them to the right resource for help. With nearly 1.2 million residents accessing at least one DPSS service each year, DPSS programs serve nearly half of Riverside County’s growing population.

“Every day we are empowering our staff to look beyond a single need and under stand the full picture of what a person or family may be facing,” said Douglas. “That is the spirit of RivCoONE. This shared commitment among county partners strengthens our community and work force and reflects a purpose that has guided DPSS for generations.” The Office of Strategy and Project Man agement (OSPM) continued leading the department’s strategic initiatives to im plement Continuous Quality Improve ment (CQI) and expand Lean Six Sigma (LSS), key principles that underpin the objectives. CQI provides staff with a clear way to identify what hinders their work and equips them to test and deploy solu tions that streamline workflows, improve outcomes and reinforce partnerships across programs and county agencies. OSPM also launched departmentwide LSS White Belt training in July and Green Belt training in October, with the long term goal of preparing all 4,700 employees to streamline processes and enhance both internal and external customer services by the end of Fiscal Year 2025/2026. The department’s strategic road map outlines a range of objectives, including strengthening internal and external com munications, expanding workforce devel opment and training opportunities, and establishing feedback loops, dashboards, and performance metrics that enable ev ery program and division to deliver con sistent, high-quality services. “When problems are identified and solu tions are implemented by staff who un derstand where the department is going, those solutions are more sustainable and more likely to improve how we serve our colleagues and our communities,” Doug las said. “Each one of us is important in a customer focused, high performing orga nization and it’s exciting to see the strides we are making in this direction.”

Learn More! Visit:

• 2023-2028 DPSS Strategic Plan on the DPSS SharePoint Home Page • RivCoONE Integrated Service Delivery at www.rivcoone.org

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE Strengthen and stabilize individuals and families through timely, quality, and efficient delivery of programs and services. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Build a learning organization with a high-per forming and engaged workforce focused on customer centered outcomes. CUSTOMER SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS Compassionately meet our customers’ com plex needs through a coordinated delivery system.

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

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