In times of financial uncertainty, knowledge is power

Each year, California's county human services agencies are forced to do more with less money. Providing essential services to millions of children and families has become an enormous challenge as a result of shrinking government funding and increased client caseloads.

UC Davis Extension's Center for Human Services was recently awarded a contract from the California Department of Social Services to offer training to financial and program managers who work in county child welfare agencies throughout the state. The training teaches county agency staff how to leverage funds, identify revenue streams and collaborate with others to help execute and pay for needed services for the children and families in their communities.

"It is important to bring the fiscal [financial] and program specialists together in one training because the fiscal managers have to figure out how to fund the programs that the program managers create and want to implement," explains Larry Lobre, director of professional services at UC Davis Extension's Center for Human Services.

"This is the only training of its kind available for social services agencies on fiscal issues," says Eileen Stern, lead instructor for the Center for Human Services fiscal training programs. "There has been an overwhelming response to the trainings offered because there is no other venue except on-the-job training in which to learn this information."

The Center began offering fiscal training five years ago, and participation has grown steadily each year.

Sean Munns, deputy director of administration for Glenn County Human Resources Agency, participated in a weeklong fiscal institute last summer at UC Davis. His county—like all other counties in the state—is trying to live on a "fixed income" with ever-increasing costs. "We have to determine how to maintain a high level of service despite severe financial constraints," Munns says.

"Not only has the [UC Davis Extension] training material been extremely useful, but networking with other county agencies who also participated in the training has enabled us to not reinvent the wheel in finding creative ways to manage our money," Munns adds.

In addition to the state-sponsored training sessions for child welfare services departments, UC Davis Extension provides a weeklong fiscal institute in the summer as well as customized, on-site fiscal training for other public human services departments who serve elder, disabled and underserved members of the community.

In a time of widespread financial uncertainty, UC Davis Extension's fiscal training programs teach county staff critical skills in maximizing revenue and identifying which funding streams can be "braided" together. As part of the curriculum, participants learn about pending legislation and federal updates that impact county agency funding. Given the complexity of social services funding—with multiple government agencies imposing diverse and changing regulations and policies—many county managers attend the training sessions year after year.

For more information about the fiscal training programs, visit the Center for Human Services website at http://www.humanservices.ucdavis.edu/fiscalacademy/index.asp or call (530) 757-8643.