LAGUNA HILLS : New Welfare Office to Serve S. County

A new welfare office to serve poor and elderly residents in South County will open April 1 near La Paz Road and McIntyre Street.

Financing the office became a priority in September after an attempt by county officials to close down the small welfare office in San Juan Capistrano caused a public outcry. Those opposing the closure said it would force the poor to make the long trip to the county welfare office in Costa Mesa. The San Juan Capistrano office was closed for less than a week.

According to budget documents, the net cost to establish the new office will be $120,000. Ten new staff members will be needed.

The action for the additional tax funds for the office came Tuesday during the County Board of Supervisors midyear review of the 1989-90 budget.

County welfare officials said they originally decided to close the Capistrano facility because the three staffers were overwhelmed by the workload and the welfare recipients could be better served at the larger Costa Mesa office.

“This board action provides for the reorganization of the Social Services Agency staff, so services can be provided at the South County facility,” said Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose 5th District includes Laguna Hills.

The new office will offer Medi-Cal services for disabled, elderly and low-income residents. It also will offer assistance to Aid to Families with Dependent Children recipients, those receiving food stamps and immediate help for the homeless and their families. The office will include child abuse response workers.

The 6,000-square-foot facility has already been leased by the county and will be ready to open in about 60 days.

“The voluntary agencies and many of the South County cities have been strong advocates for a regional county facility to which they could refer residents needing help,” Riley said. “I am excited that we will now have a permanent program in place.”

County figures show that more than 600 welfare recipients live in the southern part of the county.

In another matter, supervisors said that in two weeks they will tackle the financial problem of trying to increase the number of sheriff’s deputies patrolling unincorporated areas of South County.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said he is confident a plan will be worked out to add deputies in South County, which has experienced an 18% population increase in each of the last four years.

Hiring 54 more deputies could cost $3.6 million a year, an earlier report said, although a less expensive option would be to hire eight unsworn officers and 20 sworn deputies at an annual cost of $1.2 million.