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/2011/07/31/iepolitics-if-it-means-anything-at-all-it-is-still-too-little-too-late/ http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/31/iepolitics-if-it-means-anything-at-all-it-is-still-too-little-too-late/#comments Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:28:17 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=10037 Continue reading →]]> Well we hear that San Bernardino County Transitional Deputy Director Michael de la Rosa got passed over for the Assistant Director position, a job everyone thought was created just for him.  Now this may very well have something to do with the documentation I was sent.  I haven’t been able to get it scanned in, but will.

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/2011/07/23/iepolitics-here-is-my-question-for-the-piu/ http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/23/iepolitics-here-is-my-question-for-the-piu/#comments Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:14:42 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=9924 Continue reading →]]> California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 10850(a) reads:

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?

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.

The ideal background for this position consists of a combination of experience, which should include at least three years of progressively responsible administrative or management experience within a large social service organization to include responsibility for multiple programs and directing a significant number of staff through subordinate supervisors, and education which is commensurate with the responsibilities of this position.

The ideal candidate will be an organized results-oriented manager who has a commitment to customer service, along with excellent interpersonal skills, being a team player and creating a positive and fair work environment.  In addition, this person must be able to embrace new ideas and effectively implement them in order to help customers achieve self-sufficiency.

Note:  There are no minimum education requirements. In other words, the position was created for Michael de la Rosa.  All of us except those who run HSS understand that completing MLA and reading the liner notes of the latest book on business strategy does not replace an MBA.

Linda Haugan and Nancy Swanson, however, have been able to get away with promoting their cougar-type conquests with little oversight.  We have to wonder what has happened.  I’ve heard they are simply waiting for there to be a minimum number of applicants so that this looks like a real recruitment before they hand the job to our former embezzeler MDLR.  After all, only in the county of San Bernardino do we reward crooks with promotions.

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.

• Facebook is NEVER okay on county time.  Likely, over the period of the last few years, there have been dozens, if not hundreds of employees disciplined, if not fired, for such usage.
• There seems to be a different standard for acceptable behavior depending on whether one is line staff or one is a TAD supervisor.  The problem is that the Code of Ethics and the county’s computer usage policy does not differentiate between who is allowed to abuse the system and who is not.  Everyone is supposed to be treated the same.
• Anyone who thinks that because someone complains about a hostile work environment and nothing is done about it likely means there isn’t one in the first place is SMOKING CRACK.  This county is famous for creating hostile work environments and then claiming there is none.  Here are some examples I have personally witnessed in TAD and other departments I have worked for:
  • I was asked to pull arrest warrants on African Americans so that the deputies could go on a “coon hunt.”
  • I was told by the Division Commander that he would never hire an African American employee because they “smell funny.”
  • I was told that “boys will be boys” and that the clerks in the department are paid more than in other departments to put up with it.
  • I was told to never bend over to pick something up in front of the Lieutenant.  I soon learned why as one clerk did just that and he went up behind her and rubbed himself between her buttocks, all in full view of the entire office.
  • I have been asked by a supervisor to discuss a director’s sexual preference on the blog.
  • I witnessed employees referring to the African American employees in our office as “the Sister Act” and the “Black Caucus.”
  • I watched as our manager explained to an employee that her carpel tunnel was not from typing all day, but from giving her boyfriend hand jobs.  He proceeded to give a demonstration.
  • I have had sent to me on county computers every form of porn imaginable with the exception of child porn.
  • I posted some of the racist emails sent out from Sheriff’s computers.  Here is the link:  Email
  • I have personally witnessed a TAD supervisor/manager use his authority to get his subordinates to have sex with him.
  • I have been told that employees in their 50s tend to be slackers and need to be replaced.
  • I have been asked for a list of my medications and details of counseling by my supervisor.
  • I have personally spoken with employees who have had their own welfare cases discussed with them by TAD management.
• TAD is the epitome of hostile work environment.  It is known by county administrators as “The TAD Mentality.”  I was in a meeting with Gerry Newcomb several years ago and those are his exact words. That is what everyone calls it.
• TAD is run by a crazy women who surrounds herself with young svengali’s.  If you aren’t Mexican, young, and male, forget it. They are treated very differently than everyone else.
• TAD abuses the civil rights of employees and recipients EVERY DAY.  They take pride in the fact that they don’t follow the law.

I do not know Jerry, the employee in question.  I do know several people who know the supervisors in question. I trust their judgment.  These supervisors should be fired.

Not long ago the positions were all reclassified, with some employees being given large raises.  That has done little to promote productivity or integrity.  Very high-placed sources tell us that, if anything, things have gotten worse.

After the county attempted to force me to go to work in the Business Resource Center in Rancho Cucamonga at the first of the year, I wrote a column or two about a certain individual who had a propensity for goofing off, having sexual relations on the job, and other issues.  That, of course, was Gustavo Cisneros, the former Employment Services Manager at the Victorville Transitional Assistance Department (TAD).  Cisneros was demoted and transferred out of that office after it was discovered he was creating a hostile work environment for female and African American employees among other charges. Numerous victims came forward.

Cisneros was later demoted and transferred again for similar behavior.  Accusations included that he could never be found, which was an issue since he was a supervisor.  The second time he was demoted back to Employment Services Specialist and transferred to the Rancho Cucamonga TAD office.

Cisneros had been fast-tracked to his position as Employment Services Manager because he was a favorite of both Linda Haugan and Sandy Harmsen.  Haugan, as well as TAD Director Nancy Swanson, are known for their Cougar-like affinity for young, Hispanic males, and both have a propensity for promoting unqualified young men to keep by their side. Cisneros was one such example who backfired as he had issues keeping it zipped up with any female in the office that took his fancy.

‎

When Cisneros finally realized his career at TAD was finished, he called upon his former ally Sandy Harmsen to come to his rescue, and rescue him she did.  Despite his issues with female and African American employees and his piss-poor case management skills, as well his extracurricular activities on the job, Harmsen gave him a position as a Workforce Specialist at the Business Resource Center in Rancho Cucamonga.  As we reported back in January, it took no time whatsoever for Cisneros to resort to his philandering ways with female employees.

Now we learn that Cisneros is not the only employee who is not exactly performing up to speed under Harmsen’s tutelage.  It seems there is no oversight on contract or permanent employees.   Management does not verify any employee’s actual workday, or what they are actually doing during their workday.  There is an overall lack of accountability.  These days employees are moved from one office to another to cover up indiscretions or bad work performance,.

One such case involves a contract employee who has been been moved three times to offices in Chino Hills, Rancho Cucamonga and now Fontana.  What little secrets are in his person’s close that would warrant one’s supervisor to tke such a special interest?  Who does he know or what does he know that would allow one’s superiors to overlook multiple indiscretions?

Employees have left to go to the gym during the workday, have met up with co-workers and outside members of the public at motels for sexual encounters, and have frequented movie theatres for early matinees on county time.  Lengthy lunches and group outings where more than one employee is going out to the same employer under the guise of training just to hang out are common.   Employees coming in late and leaving early but collecting a full day’s pay is also acceptable.  Porn, YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook are routinely accessed using county computers during the work day.  Employees are misusing county cell phones for personal use.

We have reported extensively at iePolitics about the falsification of statistics  for the purpose of obtaining federal funding being not only condoned, but required, under Harmsen, Gene Eisenbiesz, Nick D (?) and others.  It was common for TAD Employment Services Specialists to contact job leads developed by WDD Job Developers only to find out the employer had never been contacted by the county and had no idea their information had been entered into the system.  Sometimes job leads were for jobs that had been filled months earlier or never existed to begin with.

One common scam was for the job developers to drive around the community and look for “help wanted” signs and then enter the information into the database without actually ever contacting the employer.  Yet, on their falsified stats they would indicate that they had actually made contact and developed the job.  Another scam was to go through the newspapers and enter jobs, again without ever contacting the employer and again falsifying their stats.  They would also falsify mileage reports to make a little extra money on the side.

One of my favorite examples of the above was Murphy’s Garage in Victorville.  Murphy’s was the old Sheriff’s tow yard and had the contract for years.  However, they fell on tough times.  The business was sold and the new owners were arrested in high profile fashion for selling drugs out of the establishment.  Six months after it had been closed down, with no new business started at the site, the job developers were still claiming they contacted the employer each and every month and listed new jobs for the site.  Of course, it was all falsified.  Everyone knew it but no one would do anything about it.

The money for the contract employees is from stimulus funds and the contracts have been extended until June 2011.  It might behoove the county to determine how many actual businesses have been assisted or helped by the creation of these positions but we know that will never happen.  As with TAD, our CAO and Board of Supervisors prefer to look the other way because it is free money.

Of greater concern, by allowing the padded job creation statistics, BOS members such as Mitzelfelt, Biane and Ovitt, can brag to their constituency about all they are doing for the local economy, knowing full well these new jobs are nothing but a scam.  That fits into the overall practice of using smoke and mirrors to cover up the real budget scenario, a scam practiced by former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer and continued by Devereaux.

But then again, what’s a little fraud by county employees and elected officials?  After all this is San Bernardino County.

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.

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.