Supervisors Order S. County Welfare Office Reopened

Under fire from local elected officials and private social service workers, the Orange County Board of Supervisors has ordered the reopening of the only welfare office in South Orange County by the end of the week.

The branch office of the Social Services Agency in San Juan Capistrano was closed last Friday after county welfare officials determined that they did not have the funds to properly staff the facility.

The closure, however, sparked the anger of many South County residents, who complained that county officials were ignoring the needs of welfare recipients who live south of Irvine.

County welfare officials said that more than 300 welfare recipients a month--many of them young, single mothers--have been signing up for welfare benefits at the South County facility at 32118 Paseo Adelanto, half a block from the San Juan Capistrano City Hall.

For the past week, many of them have been forced to travel to the nearest welfare office in Costa Mesa, a round-trip journey by bus of up to five hours.

Administrators of several private agencies that provide services to poor South County residents have been scrambling to provide transportation for recipients.

But after receiving calls and hearing complaints over the week, Board Chairman Thomas F. Riley urged fellow supervisors on Tuesday to order the reopening.

The board voted unanimously to restore the facility, which could be reopened by Friday, said Riley, who has been spearheading a drive to establish a large welfare office in Laguna Hills.

“Praise the Lord,” exclaimed Ellen Gilchrist, head of the Episcopal Services Alliance in San Clemente, when she heard the news Wednesday. “I’m so happy they worked this thing out.”

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Riley said that he was “so concerned that the need was not being met” in South County. “I’m very excited that this went through.”

County welfare officials had said that they decided to close the San Juan Capistrano office because the three eligibility workers assigned to the storefront facility could not provide many follow-up services.

Since 1985, the office has been staffed by two case workers for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and one Medi-Cal specialist. The three workers signed up new applicants and provided basic services.

The move to restore welfare services in South County was applauded by local elected officials, who have been fighting to open a full-service welfare office in a 6,000-square-foot facility on La Paz Road in Laguna Hills.

“I’m extremely pleased,” said San Juan Capistrano Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer, who spent Tuesday morning lobbying Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez. “I think it’s a real service not just to residents of San Juan Capistrano but to all South County residents,” Hausdorfer added.

“I think it’s just wonderful,” added San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Kenneth E. Friess. “It’s certainly reflective of how hard Riley has worked to push this through.”

He added, however, that the “fight isn’t over yet,” referring to the proposed Laguna Hills facility.

The supervisors, after ordering the San Juan Capistrano office to be reopened, also asked for a detailed report on the cost of the Laguna Hills facility, which would be staffed by 25 welfare workers.

That report is scheduled for completion before the board’s Oct. 24 meeting. The supervisors will vote then on opening the office by Jan. 15, Riley said.

Robert A. Griffith, chief deputy director of the county Social Services Agency, said last week that the supervisors would consider financing the Laguna Hills office during their mid-fiscal year discussions in January.

But, he said, the supervisors decided not to wait until January because of heavy criticism over the closure of the San Juan Capistrano office. He said that his office received dozens of calls from residents and some staff members from the Costa Mesa welfare office.

Griffith said that supervisors of the Costa Mesa office have already identified enough volunteers to staff the small office in San Juan Capistrano. “It looks like all we need is a truck to take the furniture back,” he added.