Janet Nguyen Explains Her Field Office Idea

This is from the "Janet Journal" e-mail newsletter, which was sent out today:

Many people are talking about my proposal for a County Community Service Center (CCSC).  The CCSC proposal is a one-year pilot program and will be re-evaluated by the Board next year.  It does not add any additional personnel or increase the district budget. Instead, this proposal seeks to take, for a few hours a week, a few staff members away from the cubicle jungle directly to the people and reduce the barrier between the service providers and the clients they serve.

This proposal will use bilingual staff members from the Health Care Agency and Social Services Department to hold office hours at the CCSC where they will be able to answer questions and direct the clients to the appropriate county departments.  Currently, the county facilities in the First District outside of the County Civic Center area are mostly for substance abuse treatment, medical evaluation and prevention clinics.  These facilities do not address other county social services assistance needs that the CCSC will provide.   
 
It is difficult to serve constituents with limited English ability over the phone.  Often at times, they are unable to describe the government forms that they receive from the county; they also have difficulty locating our office.  An ability to communicate with these constituents face-to-face would allow us to provide our services better and more efficiently.
 
So for all the reasons above, the County Community Service Center will better serve the people of Orange County.

Comments

[calwatch]

But couldn't this be easily held as office hours in the field? Why trumpet this idea? Borrow a room at the library or at a city hall and just do it, out of your own budget. Most cities will let you do such public service things for free. Why does this need to be a "pilot project" and why do you need to issue press releases about it?

[calwatch]

But couldn't this be easily held as office hours in the field? Why trumpet this idea? Borrow a room at the library or at a city hall and just do it, out of your own budget. Most cities will let you do such public service things for free. Why does this need to be a "pilot project" and why do you need to issue press releases about it?

[Flowerszzz]

Calwatch - exactly!!! I call BS. She does not need a board action to do this. She can make her staff go to the local mall 2x a month and set up shop without any cost to anyone nor any board action.

[H. Roark]

This, of course, helps her "constituents" much more than stressing the importance of fluency in english does.

Kudos! Imagine all the "Si!" votes she'll get in 08.

[Lam Pho]

Calwatch, excellent point. Agree with you all the way.