Countywide : Aid Agency May Seek Private Help

The Ventura County agency that provides food stamps to the poor is considering a plan to turn most of the work of distributing stamps over to a private company.

The transfer is being discussed because requests for aid are increasing rapidly and will soon overwhelm the eight county employees, said James E. Isom, director of the Public Social Services Agency.

On Tuesday, Isom plans to ask the Board of Supervisors to seek proposals from private companies to administer the food stamp program. The companies would be asked to describe the services they would provide and the cost.

The supervisors then would decide whether to hire one of the companies to provide the food stamps, Isom said.

The county supplies food stamps valued at $2 million per month to more than 12,000 households. The federal government pays for the stamps, but the administration costs are shared by federal, state and county governments.

County officials believe the number of local food stamp households could rise to 20,000 within five years and could receive $5 million in coupons monthly.

“The existing staff simply cannot continue to absorb the dramatic caseload increases which have been and are being experienced,” Isom wrote to the supervisors. “It is becoming more and more difficult to assure accuracy in the issuance process, thus exposing the county to potential liability issues.”

Isom said the state has agreed to pay for private help with distribution, and the counties of Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Riverside are already using private firms.

Some county food stamp employees might be transferred, but none would be laid off if the work is transferred to a private firm, Isom said.