I just received your press release regarding fingerprinting of Foodstamp recipients in San Bernardino County.  Although I agree that Foodstamp (and honestly all welfare recipients) should be fingerprinted, you are NEVER going to do anything about welfare fraud in this county unless you first rid this county of Linda Haugen and Nancy Swanson.

I know you don’t want to hear it, but welfare fraud cannot be caught if workers are disciplined for making fraud referrals.  I know from first-hand experience.  I also know from first-hand experience that county welfare statistics are falsified by said Haugen and Swanson.  Larry Walker wanted to bring in external auditors to audit the department when we provided hard-core proof but the CAO put a stop to it.  With the falsified statistics, the county gets more welfare funding which makes for more money that can be wasted on big screen TVs and the like and a bigger empire which means a promotion for those at the top.

Neil, I have offered to have welfare fraud investigators meet with you to tell you the truth.  I have never been taken up on that offer.  TAD employees have also always been willing to meet with you to tell you the truth but no one wants to hear it, especially Devereaux.

Don’t get me wrong Neil.  I support what you are trying to do in this county, especially when you have four colleagues who are just as happy to let the CEO tell them what to do and continue to cover up corruption.  But if you are serious about welfare fraud in this county, continuing with fingerprinting will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem.  Do something that is meaningful.

I have made this offer before and I will repeat it.  I will take a polygraph as long as Linda Haugen and Nancy Swanson also take them.  Whoever is caught lying about this issue loses their job, including all rights to their retirement.  Since you guys want to get rid of me and think I’m lying, why don’t you take me up on it?

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2011/10/11/iepolitics-earth-to-neil/feed/ 3 http://iepolitics.net/2011/09/14/iepolitics-californias-most-corrupt-welfare-department/ http://iepolitics.net/2011/09/14/iepolitics-californias-most-corrupt-welfare-department/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:58:13 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=10514 Continue reading →]]>

Linda Haugan

I spent some time on the phone with those who work with the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations and they told me three things.  First, Linda Haugen is the single most corrupt Welfare administrator in the state of California—and that’s the nicest thing they had to say about her.  Second, San Bernardino County is the worst county in the state for violating the law and the rights of applicants.  Third, this county desperately needs advocates for all phases of the HSS system.

It was suggested to me that a few of us who know the system, and know how corrupt it is, open a non-profit to advocate on behalf of the clients who are getting screwed over by Haugen and her blatantly illegal policies.  I love this idea.  I’ve talked to a few friends about it and it is agreed that such a program is desperately needed here in the desert where the problem is especially bad.  They was the legal aid place really doesn’t have time or the expertise to deal with it.  I think as former TAD employees we could really kick some butt.

I am not sure how to go about doing this but I do know I am not alone in being disgusted at how certain TAD administrators so flagrantly violate the law and people’s rights.  It would also give us a chance to gather data to present to the feds for an investigation into falsifying data that is so badly needed.

If you have any expertise in running a non-profit, getting grants, or are just a former TAD worker who would be interested in doing this kind of work, sent me an email.

Anyway, the winner of the Linda Haugen brown-nosing contest this time around is no other than Diana Alexander.  ESP employees know her as the PERC manager or by her moniker “teeth.”  She is known best for her ass kissing abilities and her phony sickenly sweet disposition.  She was also a favorite of Mark Uffer, which says a lot.  I’m told Diana started her career as an Eligibility Worker for TAD, so I guess we should have seen this coming.

Now, I will say there are those in the know that claim CAO Greg Devereaux knows he has a big problem with HSS, but so far there is nothing to prove it.  Although the fact that Lamberto was a part of the Alexander promotion could be a sign.  Either way, it is too little, too late.

The Board of Supervisors received the first of their long-awaited presents this past week.  They shall pay for the sins of all of the department heads and managers they refused to do anything about.  And rightfully so.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/31/iepolitics-if-it-means-anything-at-all-it-is-still-too-little-too-late/feed/ 0 http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/25/iepolitics-a-question-for-welfare-fraud-investigators/ http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/25/iepolitics-a-question-for-welfare-fraud-investigators/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:16:37 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=9959 Continue reading →]]> I had a chance to speak with a new worker today.  I have been at a loss as to why the county seems so confident in denying my request.  I now know why.

Based on what the worker told me, the form I submitted has been altered by someone at the county, i.e., my signature, date and month have been removed.  When I speaking with her, I knew I had signed the forms but couldn’t argue because I did not have them in front of me.  I have requested that she send me a copy from C-IV and have checked my copies to be sure.

Once I get it, how do I report this?  It has to be a crime to alter a form that a client submits in application for a public assistance program but I don’t know where to report it.  I know the Sheriff’s Departments isn’t going to take the report and I seriously doubt the Thug Squad will do anything for me so I don’t know where to turn.  As I have said before, I don’t think Ms. Locy has done this on her own.  I strongly suspect the orders came from on high because I am definitely being treated very differently than the average client.

Linda Haugan

To the person who sent me the documents:

I have not been able to pick up my mail for over a month.  I finally able to get my mail today  and your package was among the mail I picked up.  It will take me a day or two, but I will get a story up.  Thank you.

If anyone else has information on unethical/illegal behavior by Linda Haugen/Andrew Lamberto or any other government official, you can send it to PO Box 2722, Apple Valley, California 92307.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, all applications and records concerning any individual made or kept by any public officer or agency in connection with the administration of any provision of this code relating to any form of public social services for which grants-in-aid are received by this state from the United States government shall be confidential, and shall not be open to examination for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of that program, or any investigation, prosecution, or criminal or civil proceeding conducted in connection with the administration of any such program. The disclosure of any information that identifies by name or address any applicant for or recipient of these grants-in-aid to any committee or legislative body is prohibited, except as provided in subdivision (b).

California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 10850(d) reads:

Any person, including every public officer and employee, who knowingly secures or possesses, other than in the course of official duty, an official list or a list compiled from official sources, published or disclosed in violation of this section, of persons who have applied for or who have been granted any form of public social services for which state or federal funds are made available to the counties is guilty of a misdemeanor.

So when the county of San Bernardino, aka Linda Haugen, Michael de la Rosa and Nancy Swanson, enacted a program where every employee would be checked against the welfare data base to determine if they or anyone in their household was connected with a welfare case anywhere, why were they not prosecuted?  It would seem those involved with cross-referencing employees and the welfare data base would be guilty of maybe 1000 misdemeanor counts or more.

Are one, two or all three sleeping with Mikey?  What is the story here?  This seems like a clear-cut case of selective prosecution not to mention civil rights violations and more.  These are real crimes and should be prosecuted as such.  What gives?

I received information a couple of days ago that Children’s Services had been called to the home, perhaps multiple times, and nothing was done for the children.  I’m wondering if anyone can confirm or deny that.

As a mandated reporter who has personally made referrals that resulted in children being permanently removed from the home and parent(s) sent to prison, I know how much crap Linda Haugan can put employees through over taking action even when you personally witness abuse, such as a beating.  She did it to me.

I also know that politics can play a larger role in whether children are removed or not than actual abuse.  I have seen that with my own eyes as well.  Don’t piss off the wrong person in the county if you have children.  They can be used as a weapon against you and your whole life and family can be turned upside down.

This is not meant to be disparaging to the good social workers who are just trying to do their job.  But as with any profession, there are bad apples.  And it is San Bernardino County after all.  More is done in some offices for revenge than for justice, and more often than not, decisions are made by manager and administrators based on politics rather than line staff that know what is going on.

Linda Haugan

Well this is the day for exposing corruption . . . or for the guilty to face the music.  Today a case we have been talking about for over a year here at iePolitics finally made it to mainstream media and it doesn’t even involve cops.

Two former county welfare workers have been indicted, having stolen over $500,000 combined.  Of course the Linda Haugen’s and Nancy Swanson’s of HSS said we were full of crap.  Well members of the Board of Supervisors, I told you so!  And if you would conduct an audit of HSS departments you would find tens of millions of dollars in fraud and corruption, much of which is purpetrated by Linda Haugen and Nancy Swanson themselves.

One of the most interesting facts in the Sun story is that one of the former eligibility workers is also a convicted felon.  What have I been telling you guys for years about the TAD hiring process?  No one ever believes me about the number of convicted felons working for San Bernardino County.  Well here is one good example.

Well this is embarrassing! Not for us but for the idiot who runs TAD. You see, Ms. Swanson, who belittles ESP employees who are required to have more education than Swanson and her band of ignoramuses, didn’t bother to check Lucy’s claims of being a college graduate.   Why should she?  She is of such low-level intelligence herself, she would not be able to tell the difference between a college graduate  and a high school drop out.

Anyone who knew Lucy knew there was no way in Hades she was educated much beyond the sixth grade.  So when someone saw the masterpiece above, they checked it out.  And Lucy was given the choice of resigning or being fired for making false statements on her employment application.

We do have one question though.  Since we all know MLA is exactly the same as receiving a Master’s Degree—just ask Nancy and Linda—that should have covered Lucy, should it have not?  We don’t understand that part.

We hear she may now be working for the city of Ontario.  Sounds like a good fit to us.

Be sure to tell them you are being discriminated against based upon your current or previous status as a pubic assistance recipient (or whatever applies to you).  My understanding is that the project TAD is undertaking to determine which employees have received benefits in their past is so large it is being done by region.  I have only heard of Region 1 employees being fired so far.  Remember, up to now there are at least 100 employees being fired or suspended over this.  You could be next!

Let’s say, for instance, 10 years ago you were an18-year-old unmarried woman who could not care for your newborn and allowed it to go into the foster care system.  The baby qualified for AFDC/TANF.  Even though you eventually relinquished your parental rights, you will forever be linked to that child in the C-IV system.

Or let’s say your ex-wife decides to go on welfare to sock it to you.  You are in the C-IV system as an absent parent whether you like it or not and even if you have paid every dime of child support on time.

Let’s say your daughter is going through a divorce and moves back home with her child because her husband refuses to pay child support and she needs CalWorks until she can get back on her feet.  Your address is in C-IV.

Let’s say your elderly parents live with you and the only form of medical insurance they can afford is Medi-Cal.  Your address is in the C-IV system.

Let’s say you are a foster parent and your foster children qualify for TANF.  Even though the money you receive is for the children, you are in the system.

Let’s say you are a single mom who is a TAD receptionist and you have four children.  You qualify for subsidized child care and you are in the system.

Let’s say you are a Welfare-to-Work success story and are now a TAD case worker.  You are in the system.

So what is the county doing?  The county is taking your San Bernardino County personnel records that are confidential, i.e., name, social security number and address, and cross-referencing them with the Welfare Database, i.e., C-IV, to determine if you, your spouse, parent of a child not living with you, any current or former dependent, or anyone living at your address has ever been on CalWorks, Food Stamps,  Medi-Cal, in foster care, been a foster parent, or has received subsidized child care in San Bernardino County.

Then they are auditing that case back for four years to see if you ever looked at it. If you have five years of service or less, you are being fired.  If you have over five years of service and own up to it, you are being suspended.

In at least one instance an employee accessed a relative’s record when she was employed by the county in 2006.   She quit her job a couple years ago but returned to TAD this year.  She has received good WPEs.  They audited her and fired her for what she did when she was an employee in 2006 even though she has not done anything like that since she returned to county service.

No one is arguing that an employee should not be accessing confidential information.  But neither should the county be cross-referencing your confidential personnel information to determine if you have ever been on welfare, given a child up for adoption, received emergency Medi-Cal for an abortion, or have a significant other receiving TANF for a child you brought into this world.  It is not only an invasion of privacy, but I suspect it is illegal.

First, many cases include medical records, drug, alcohol and domestic violence counseling records, copies of your income tax returns, your bank statements and a variety of other documents.

Second, welfare records are CONFIDENTIAL.  Clients have a right to privacy and their employers do NOT have the right to this information.

So far over 100 employees are in trouble.  Forty have been fired and another 60 terminations are expected.  And they have only just begun this witch hunt.

We are not suggesting that if an employee is suspected of accessing records they should not be looking at, they should not be disciplined. However, for example, anyone on welfare has the right to review their own case.  And there is a difference in auditing an employee thought to be doing something against policy and checking every employee to see if they have ever been on state aid.

Second, if a client calls me to check on the status of their case and I am not familiar with that client, I will not know until I get into that case that the person is somehow related to a family member.  Anyone who has ever used C-IV knows how easy it is to accidentally discover someone’s relative is on aid.

And, this witch hunt doesn’t address the real abuse such as when someone has a neighbor they don’t like and checks out their case to keep tabs on them.  Or runs the ex-wife of a spouse who had no common children.  Or runs someone they meet in a bar.  Or many other real abuses of the system.

It is interesting that there is no money to fund fraud so they can go after welfare cheats, but there is money for this.  Also, the database can no longer be run against the criminal warrants system to find felons collecting welfare, but it can be run against the county’s personnel system to find employees who have received welfare benefits.

So, I keep wondering why we don’t put the investigators over in the District Attorney’s office or the Sheriff’s Office where arresting criminals doesn’t get you written up or fired.  I’m guessing that at least part of the fraud unit receives federal funding, but I don’t know that for sure.  If it does, it seems some of that budget magic could be worked so that it somehow becomes a win-win situation for the General Fund.

Am I the only one who remembers the days when the welfare rolls were cross-referenced with a warrant database and the fraud investigators would clear hundreds of warrants and lock up lots of bad guys?  I don’t understand why that isn’t still done.  It was a win-win situation for the taxpaying citizens of the county.  Any answers?

Hi, Sharon not sure if this is ethical, but I am sure you can research. I heard that PID has been looking for new building to lease as the one they are in is falling about. That is good they should all employees should have a nice place to work in. They have looked at many buildings . Well I heard that a representative for Mr Derry has/was trying to steer them into a building Mr Derry has a financial interest in. Well when the arrests took place on Tuesday ,guess what the rep pulled all communication with PID regarding that building.

My question is should a BOS be trying to lease to county departments ,and if these arrests did not take place how much pressure would have been exerted to have it leased by PID or for that matter any other county dep looking for office space. As nothing was finalized guess it doesn’t matter.  But does Mr. Derry have interests in current county leased buildings?

Thank you for your time ,this in no matter alleges PID has done any thing wrong ,but Mr Derry has some questions that need to be answered.

I pretty much knew the answer to this writer’s question before I even made the call to the Third District.  But I have dealt with the fraud investigators and Linda Haugen enough to know there was more to this than meets the eye, and I was right.

I’ve had the fraud investigator issue on the back burner because of my lack of time, but I know every time we print anything about them Linda Haugen and Virginia Lugo go into meltdown.  They know the day will come when we show them for the liars and connivers they are.  And they know the one supervisor on the Fifth Floor who will listen to employees and act upon concerns that appear to be founded is Neil Derry.  So Linda found her way to discredit Neil.  This is her MO.  This is the kind of BS she pulls with regularity.  I wonder if she will get Greg Devereaux to sleep with her too to keep herself out of trouble, but I digress.

Anyway Linda, your crap didn’t work.  Here is part of Neil’s response:

For the record, I was contacted by a property owner who owns buildings off of E street near hospitality lane in SB.  Apparently, Welfare Investigators are looking for  a new facility and had taken a look at two buildings on Hospitality Lane that were rather expensive.  I spoke with Linda Haugen to see if the department would at least take a look at this other property.  That was my only involvement, and I would do it for anyone.  If the county can get a better deal, great.  If not, it never hurts to look at other options to make sure we are getting the best deal possible.

Peter Drucker

Interesting changes are being made in San Bernardino County’s Transitional Assistance Department’s (TAD) management structure.  Unless Assistant Administrative Officer Linda Haugen and TAD Director Nancy Swanson are even more stupid than we already know, they have to be very nervous about the new head honcho in town, County Administrative Officer (CAO) Greg Devereaux.  Linda Haugen was able to . . . um “charm” . . . her way out of trouble with former CAO Mark Uffer but those who have worked with Devereaux say he cannot be “persuaded” by the same means.  We know that neither Linda nor Nancy are capable of producing anything resembling a well-thought-out and intelligent work product, so they have a lot to worry about.

Before being devoured by TAD, the Jobs and Employment Services Department (JESD) was considered one of the best departments to work for in the county.  Employment Services Specialist positions were highly sought after.  The department was known for treating its employees and the public very well.  It had a positive work environment for employees and did an awesome job of helping the less fortunate in our community.

When JESD became a division of TAD, known as the Employment Services Program (ESP), it became the department to leave.  Line staff, supervisors and managers alike couldn’t get away from TAD’s despot management style fast enough.  Morale plummeted.  Hostile work environment became the name of the game.  Racial and sexual harassment became commonplace.

Jackie James, a regional manager for JESD, became the Deputy Director for ESP.  But she didn’t last long.  Another Deputy Director, Michael De la Rosa, known more for his embezzlement from the San Bernardino Public Employees Association than for any valuable contribution to TAD, quickly targeted Jackie.  He helped to have her demoted so that he could take that position for himself.

Jackie was the first in a long-line of JESD African-American employees who were targeted by De la Rosa.  Since his hostile takeover of ESP, he has systematically eliminated almost all former JESD African-Americans in leadership rolls within ESP.  Under his dictatorship numerous Equal Employment Opportunity complaints have been filed, with Human Resources staff usually covering for De la Rosa’s racist and sexist actions.

So we find it very interesting that now that we have a “professional” CAO, who is said to be a bit of a stickler for the law, De la Rosa has been reassigned to “special projects” and Jackie James has been re-instated to her rightful position.  We have never been a Jackie fan, but at least she understands the clientele we serve and the purpose of the program.  Unfortunately, as with any prisoner of war, after three years of torture, brainwashing, and beating down, it is likely she has become one of them.  Time will tell if this change will offer any relief for the beleaguered masses.

Unlike Michael (or Nancy or Linda), Jackie is well educated and intelligent and can project a professional image for the department.  Michael, on the other hand, who is poorly educated, terribly simple-minded, and mean-spirited as hell, is said to be going to spend much of his time in Sacramento trying to save Welfare to Work.  That is rather humorous since he single-handedly ran the program into the ground here in San Bernardino County.  Before Michael we had Work Performance Rates exceeding 50 percent.  They are now down in single digits even with all the falsified record-keeping TAD management is so good at.

Knowing what an embarrassing fool Michael presents himself as, we have to think that the Sacramento gig is simply a way to keep him under Devereaux’s radar.  No one who sees him in action would think he deserves his $100,000 a year salary and it will provide a way to keep him from embarrassing Haugen and Swanson.  I feel sorry for the poor legislators who have to deal with this incompetent simpleton.  On second thought, maybe they deserve one another.

“Cautiously optimistic” and “nervous” are two of the phrases I have heard repeatedly about San Bernardino County’s new head honcho, County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux.  Even before assuming office, Devereaux has ended a decades-long policy of 9-80s for county management, a move that makes line staff very nervous as many depend on “flex time” to survive in these hard economic times.  But it is also a sign that Devereaux is not going to be afraid to lead.

After six years of despot leadership by former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer and his band of thugs, it is easy to understand why line staff are wary of our new leader.  I’ve been asked my opinion repeatedly by everyone from the lowest level employee to managers to newspaper reporters.  Here is my standard response:

Seeing Devereaux’s close, personal relationship with the Fourth District makes me nervous on a personal level, especially when considering what the Fourth District recently did to me.  That being said, I have two friends who are long-term city of Ontario employees who have nothing but respect for Devereaux.  They are rank-and-file and are allowed to work 9-80s.  Ontario employees, most of whom are represented by San Bernardino County Public Employees Association, have the best contracts of any governmental agency in San Bernardino County.

From what I hear from those that know Devereaux, he is tough but also fair.  I also hear he will not take the crap from county managers that Uffer not only tolerated, but encouraged.   He will not play the games Uffer played and will not tolerate bad managers.  Unlike Uffer, he is consistently described as a ‘professional.’

Line staff will figure out Devereaux in his first 60 days.  We have been tormented by some of the worse possible managers for the past six years.  This is the time of the year when they can all be forced into retirement.  His actions will tell us if he is another Uffer or if he is a real County Administrative Officer.  Those that he leaves in management positions will say everything we need to know about him.  We can all only hope that the change that has been made is a change for the best that will finally turn this county around.

Here’s our list of those that need to go:

1. Ruth Stringer
2. Dean Arabatzis
3. Steve Hall
4. Kari Verjil
5. Doreen Boxer
6. Virginia Lugo
7. Nancy Swanson
8. Michael de la Rosa
9. Jim Lindley
10. Dr. Dev
11. Andrew Lamberto
12. Deanna Thompson
13. Keith Lee
14. Sandy Harmsen
15. LINDA HAUGEN

Who do you pick as “Managers that need to be booted”?

The reporters I’ve spoken to so far seem incredulous that the classification has been so decimated and the reason for it.  Everyone knows welfare fraud is rampant in this county and getting worse.

I know we have no support in the Fourth District or the Fifth District.  Both districts support either Linda Haugen or the  decimation of the unit.  The other three districts all have employees who have experienced directly or through a family member the “TAD mentality” and even if the supervisors themselves don’t get it, at least there is someone in each district who may listen if enough people come forward with hard, cold facts.

I think we all agree Linda Haugen and Virginia Lugo need to be shown the door.  Now, we just need the proof that their actions rise to the level of criminal activity.  We may very well have that proof.