Job Training Costs Prompt Review of Social Service Agency

Costs associated with retraining unemployed workers have prompted an administrative review of a social services agency that serves four cities in southeast Los Angeles County.

The board of directors of the Southeast Area Social Services Funding Authority began scrutinizing its job training operations last week in response to concerns raised last month by the Santa Fe Springs City Council.

City officials pointed to a report that the authority spends an average of $12,000 for every worker who finds employment through its job training program.

Agency administrators, however, have contended that their cost for job placement is closer to $7,000 per worker. “I think [Santa Fe Springs officials] got their figures a little confused,” said longtime agency board member John Chavez, who also is mayor of Pico Rivera.

Founded in the late 1970s, the agency relies on county and federal money--as well as $100,000 a year from Santa Fe Springs, La Mirada, Pico Rivera and Whittier--to support services such as a senior citizens lunch program.

Don Powell, city manager of Santa Fe Springs, said the agency was never intended to provide services, but rather to oversee contracts with other agencies. He said the agency’s attempts to retrain workers independently have proved inefficient.

“It’s costing too much money to be a direct service agency,” Powell said.