Plan for Welfare Workers Gets Early OK : Fraud: Proposal would transfer investigators to the D.A.’s office in the wake of a scathing grand jury report.

The Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved a plan to transfer San Diego County welfare fraud investigators to the district attorney’s office, Supervisor Brian Bilbray said Wednesday.

However, the proposal needs to be studied further, Bilbray added. He said representatives from the county and district attorney’s office have scheduled a series of meetings to work out a reorganization plan.

There are now 24 welfare fraud investigators, and 24 more are expected to be hired after July 1.

“Right now the proposal looks good. But it needs further study because the board wants to make sure the plan will work, and not look good only on paper,” Bilbray said.

He said he does not know when the change will be implemented. The plan to transfer the investigators was presented Tuesday as part of a package to reform the county welfare system, said Bilbray.

The county Department of Social Services, which administers the welfare agency, was the subject of a scathing grand jury report that was released in April. An eight-month investigation by the panel found that employee and welfare recipient fraud costs the county up to $70 million annually.

Richard W. Jacobsen Jr. was removed as social services director five days after the grand jury report was released. He was reassigned to the office of the county chief administrative officer.

Although Jacobsen was not mentioned in the report, the study put much of the blame for the department’s and welfare agency’s problems on policies instituted by Jacobsen and other managers.

County chief probation officer Cecil Steppe was named as Jacobsen’s temporary replacement.

On Tuesday, Steppe met with the Board of Supervisors and said he has not found evidence of rampant corruption in the department.

Despite the grand jury report and allegations by some welfare fraud investigators, Steppe said there is no evidence of widespread employee fraud.

Last October, five former welfare employees and 15 people were charged with stealing about $1 million from the county. Prosecutors said the five employees opened phony welfare cases and conspired with relatives and friends to pocket the illegal payments. The case was the biggest welfare fraud investigation in county history.