O.C. Must Curb Automatic Probe of Relief Applicants

Orange County social service workers will no longer be able to require automatic criminal investigations of some welfare applicants as a result of a court settlement Thursday in a lawsuit brought by advocates for the poor.

In a practice believed to be unique to Orange County, applicants for General Relief welfare who are homeless and do not have proper identification have been automatically referred to a district attorney’s investigator who routinely conducted a criminal background check.

Under rules that will be effective in 30 days, welfare applicants will be referred to investigators only if there is a suspicion that they are attempting to commit fraud, according to Robert Newman, an attorney with the Western Center for Law and Poverty in Los Angeles, one of the firms representing the plaintiff.

“This settlement ends the county’s illegal and inhumane policy of treating the homeless like suspected criminals,” Newman said. “We are not forced to undergo a criminal investigation when we apply for a driver’s license or enroll our children in public schools.

“Orange County has no reason to treat a homeless person any differently,” he said.

There were 3,997 General Relief cases referred to investigators in 1988, according to Robert Griffith, assistant director of the Orange County Social Services Agency. He said there is no estimate of how much the caseload might drop under the new rules but added: “We don’t expect a dramatic reduction.”

The case just settled was filed in Orange County Superior Court in August, 1988, on behalf of John Dombrink and his wife who withdrew their application for General Relief because they feared that investigators would arrest the husband on a $170 traffic warrant.

The warrant was eventually paid by Share Our Selves, a Costa Mesa assistance group for the poor, and the couple then began receiving their welfare payment of more than $600 a month.

Thursday’s ruling applies only to the General Relief program, which is intended for childless adults and is completely funded by county government. It is a program similar to the state-funded Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

There are no automatic criminal investigations of AFDC applicants.

Griffith said he does not expect the ruling to have a significant effect on the county’s welfare operation.

“We don’t see this as a dramatic, startling change in the process,” he said. “We are absolutely convinced that our fraud-prevention program will be as strong and effective as it has ever been.”

Griffith said the fraud-prevention system will maintain its integrity because it will still allow a welfare worker to call for an investigation if there is any suspicion of fraud.

“It’s when the answer to one question doesn’t make any sense compared to another answer,” Griffith explained. “Our experienced workers get to have a pretty good ear for picking up stories.”

Newman said he believes that Orange County is the only county in California that had a policy for automatic investigation referrals.

Officials said Orange County is also the only county that uses a team of district attorney’s investigators to conduct the inquiries. Other counties use employees of their social services agencies for the investigations.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the settlement at its meeting two weeks ago, Griffith said. It was approved Thursday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Jack N. Mandel.

The suit named the Orange County Board of Supervisors and Larry Leaman, director of the county’s Social Services Agency, as defendants.

Attorneys for the plaintiff said the settlement was the result of more than six months of negotiations. The plaintiff also was represented by the Legal Aid Society and the American Civil Liberties Union.