State to Reimburse O.C. for Welfare Diligence

Orange County will receive about $96,000 from the state as a result of the county’s successful efforts to recover overpayments to welfare recipients.

The county stepped up collection of overpayments in 1994, after Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation authorizing the state to reimburse administrative costs to counties that have effective collection programs.

“Before the new program there was little incentive for counties to attempt to recoup overpayments to welfare recipients because it ended up costing us more to pay for the staff than we actually recovered,” said Angelo Doti, director of financial assistance for the Orange County Social Services Agency.

The state funded three positions in Orange County and Doti said the extra help ultimately will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.

“We got started a little late in this process because of staffing issues that arose because of the bankruptcy,” Doti said. “But we’re going to be even better next year.”

As a result of the legislation, counties throughout California collected nearly $70 million--an increase of 16% over the previous year. Paperwork errors account for up to 70% of overpayments, and the remainder is attributed to cheating by recipients. Overpayments typically occur when recipients mistakenly or deliberately give incorrect information when applying for welfare or from county administrative errors.