Overview of Cal WIN CCWRO 1901 Alhambra Blvd

Overview of Cal. WIN CCWRO 1901 Alhambra Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95816 -7012 Tel. : (916) 736 -0616 Fax: (916) 736 -2645 Cell: (916) 712 -0071 e email: kevin. aslanian@ccwro. org ATTENTION : This Power. Point presentation is intended to be presented with an oral presentation to fill in the blanks left vacant. If you want a presentation, please contact CCWRO at 916 -736 -0616 or complete our “training request form” at: http: //www. ccwro. org/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=55

Why Do Advocates Need to Know About Computer Systems Garbage in – Garbage Out Programmers have to understand welfare regulations in order to program the computer system Most of the programmers understanding ccame from counties County interpretations of the regulations are not always correct

California’s Welfare Computer Systems LEADER in Los Angeles – LEADER II coming soon Cal. WIN – C-IV- All remaining 40 counties Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Tulare, Ventura & Yolo (17 counties)

Cal. WIN Consortium 2. 5 million cases 43% of the State’s caseload Cal. WIN was fully functional in December 2007

Cal. WIN History Ross Perot Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Deloite Consulting Colorado Welfare Computer System LEADER in Los Angeles

Cal. WIN Start 1 st County Placer County January 2005 2 nd County Sacramento March 2005 Thereafter 1 county each month

Why is This History Important? Workers introduced to Cal. WIN knew the welfare regulations Workers knew that the applicant/recipient was entitled to benefits, the amount of benefits and when the benefits should be issued Worker did not understand Cal. WIN To get the computer to issue benefits, workers had to input information to get Cal. WIN to issue proper benefits

Why is This History Important? Cal. WIN is programmed to reevaluate information automatically going back several years Recipients and applicants have been receiving notices of overpayments due to the false information submitted to the computer

Cal. WIN Releases Periodically new releases modifying the computer programming are issued to comply with new legal requirements and procedural improvements Each new release can cause new problems When Advocates identify a new pattern of client problems they must evaluate to see if it is Cal. WIN caused Advocacy activities are important in resolving Cal. WIN problems

What is wrong with Cal. WIN? Cal. WORKs based system ◦ Different rules for different programs within Cal. WIN ◦ Sometimes Cal. WIN applies Cal. WORKs requirements to Food Stamps and Medi-Cal Acts on each individual reported change NOA language problems Not allowing the computer to be a computer

Workers’ Level of Competence Many good workers retired as a result of Cal. WIN Post Cal. WIN workers, training consists of mostly Cal. WIN trainings and little training on regulations Workers defer to Cal. WINs determinations and don’t independently determine eligibility

General Cal. WIN problems Bad NOA Violates Turner v. Anderson that standardized NOAs- ACL 86 -57 Applicant not allowed to complete SAWS-1 Paperless - Impact on Due Process Not getting benefits on time Delay in application Cal. WIN overrides manual instructions ◦ School attendance-immunizations

General Cal. WIN problems (con’t) Infringes on Recipients’ Right to Privacy ◦ Cal. WIN tracks EBT usage ◦ Use of EBT card outside of county may trigger termination for “whereabouts unknown” Cal. WIN does not track recipient entitlement to Wt. W transportation Cal. WIN miscalculates Cal. WORKs 0 -month time limit

General Cal. WIN problems (con’t)

Cal. WIN Bureaucracy (con’t) Cal. WIN is administered by WCDS Consortia consists of representative of 18 CWD that use Cal. WIN It is governed by: WCDS Board of Directors By-Laws WCDS Policy Board By-Laws WCDS Integration Oversight Committee By-Laws WCDS Information Technology Agreement for the Cal. WORKs Information Network ◦ WCDS Manual ◦ CSAC Agreement ◦ ◦

Advocacy Activities Meetings with local CWD Meetings with DSS Demand letter meetings

Cal. WIN Bureaucracy Who is in charge? ◦ The State? ◦ The County? ◦ The Consortia?

Who Controls Changes in Cal. WIN? Change request derive from state, federal or county mandated policy or regulations, changes in county business practice needs, or technology changes WCDS consortia operates and administers Cal. WIN The consortium issues instructions for the issuance, continuance and termination of public assistance benefits

Who Controls Changes in Cal. WIN? (con’t) Change request are presented to the Change Control Board (CCB) without DSS involvement CCB prioritizes requires changes to Cal. WIN. Lower rated changes may not occur for years DSS has no role in determining what gets priority