Much has been said lately regarding waste, fraud, and abuse in social services programs.  Counties are staunchly committed to operating high quality and efficient programs, rooting out fraud and abuse, and ensuring that only people who are entitled to services receive them.  There are numerous existing state and county efforts in all programs to achieve those goals and we stand ready to work with the Legislature and Governor to further them.

However, there been much misinformation and inaccuracies provided in statements made to the press, which paint a distorted picture of the success of these programs.  Attached is a document that debunks the myths and fallacies in recent press articles. This document was shared with the Legislature and the Administration today. It may be helpful in the event your county receives press calls.

CSAC reiterated our willingness to work with the Legislature and the Administration to build upon our current efforts to maximize efficiencies and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in social services programs, while maintaining program quality and access.  However, these efforts should be based in facts and reality rather than anecdotes and misinformation.

CSAC Uses Twitter to Convey County Message on Budget, Other Issues

CSAC is using the popular social networking service known as Twitter to convey to legislative members, the media and others how the various budget proposals will impact counties. Twitter is a free blogging Web site that allows users to send out brief updates to a wide audience. Not only are Capitol Press Corps members using this to keep people updated on budget negotiations and minute-by-minute action during floor hearings, but legislators are also using it to express their concerns, questions and positions on budget proposals.

In the last week alone, Twitter has been very useful in CSAC immediately responding to how the Controller’s issuance of IOUs will impact counties as well as directing people to fact sheets on the proposed local gas tax raid and possible suspension of Proposition 1A. Our updates, or “tweets,” have educated our Twitter “followers” – which include media and legislators – on the challenges counties face under current budget proposals and the state’s overall fiscal environment.

You do not need to sign up to access the CSAC Twitter page. You can simply follow by clicking on the following link: https://twitter.com/CSAC_Counties. If you have any questions about CSAC’s Twitter page, contact Sarah Jimenez at sjimenez@counties.org or Cara Martinson at cmartinson@counties.org.

Paul McIntosh
Executive Director
California State Association of Counties
www.csac.counties.org