Schillo Calls for Transfer of Car Loan Program

A year after launching a car-loan program for welfare recipients, the Board of Supervisors is considering turning it over to a nonprofit agency.

Supervisor Frank Schillo will ask his colleagues Tuesday to allow the private organization Many Mansions, based in Thousand Oaks, to take over the county’s welfare-to-work program, launched a year ago to help usher welfare recipients off the dole and into self-sufficiency.

In establishing the program, the county set aside $7,000 to guarantee car loans to three local CalWorks participants.

The three single mothers selected have not missed car payments, and the county has not been forced to dip into the pot reserved for defaulted loans, said Jim Becker, the administrative officer in the county’s Human Services Agency, which coordinated the pilot program.

The Ventura County Federal Credit Union is handling the loans for the three cars--a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity, a 1988 Toyota Corolla and a 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier.

The county will remain liable for the three initial participants throughout the four-year life of the loans. If supervisors endorse the transfer Tuesday, the county would pitch in $300 for any new loan that defaults within a transitional period of about three years, Schillo said.

The county had planned to turn over the program to a nonprofit agency, Schillo said. Officials at Many Mansions said they have been working with the county on the takeover for the past year.

“We’ve created a program that is successful, now we’re handing it over to someone else,” said Schillo, who founded Many Mansions in 1979 to help provide affordable housing to low-income residents.

“We knew from the very beginning that the county would not run the program,” he said. “It’s not a function of government to get into the car business. Our function is to help people get a job; if they can’t get to work, then we’ll refer them to Many Mansions.”

If it takes over the operation, Many Mansions would begin hunting for individuals or companies to donate cars to the program. The organization would also work with CalWorks officials to identify people who have no transportation to work.

Selected individuals would receive a loan from the Ventura County Federal Credit Union. If any new car loan becomes delinquent, Many Mansions would take over the payments and cover the cost to repossess the vehicle.

“We have no illusions about this being easy,” said Many Mansions board member Ron Cuff. “We’re on the hook for the loans so there is some risk here.”

Cuff added that helping poor people with transportation was consistent with the agency’s mission. According to CalWorks, there are about 5,200 adults receiving cash assistance in Ventura County--96% of which are single mothers.

“It’s actually a nice fit,” Cuff said. “If someone has a hard time paying some of the higher rents in Ventura County, they probably have a hard time paying for a vehicle to get to work. If this does work, it will be very gratifying for us.”