During 2001, we were engaged to assist the Department with the Regional Child Support Agency Project. The focus of the project was on consolidating smaller, county-level child support service departments into larger, regional-level child support service organizations. The scope of the project encompassed departments in about 20 smaller counties located throughout Northern and Central California. It was anticipated that these county departments would be consolidated into about seven regional organizations. Initial efforts focused on assisting the targeted counties in reaching consensus agreements to regionalize their child support service programs. This involved identifying the benefits and costs of regionalization, and helping the counties to identify and assess alternative governance structures, organization and staffing plans, and business processes necessary for successful implementation of a consolidated service delivery program throughout each region. Over an 18-month period, the child support agencies in five of the seven targeted geographic areas were consolidated into regional child support service organizations.
Services Performed: Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Budgeting and Accounting
During 2001, we were engaged to provide assistance in developing collaborative relationships between the State of California and local government agencies for the purpose of making it easier for businesses to become certified as small businesses and, thereby, achieve a higher level of small business participation in public sector contracting opportunities.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation
During 1989, we completed an assessment of the CEC's Power Plant Compliance Monitoring Program. At the time, authorized staffing of the Program consisted of about twenty (20) professional positions in the Compliance Unit and the Engineering and Environmental Protection Offices. The assessment was authorized because of beliefs among management and staff alike that alternative approaches to performing compliance monitoring could substantially improve effectiveness and efficiency, and that outside assistance was needed to identify and objectively evaluate these alternative approaches. Recommendations were developed regarding statutes and regulations governing the program, program goals and objectives, compliance monitoring procedures and practices, compliance submittal tracking and filing procedures and systems, and organization and staffing of compliance monitoring processes.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Workload and Staffing Analysis, Business Process Reengineering
During 1989, we performed an assessment of ten categories of support (shared) services provided to eight allied health licensing programs by the Board of Medical Quality Assurance. The shared services encompassed within the study scope included (1) supplies and equipment procurement, (2) mail service, (3) licensee renewal processing, (4) cashiering, (5) initial processing of consumer complaints, (6) licensee verifications, (7) name/ address record updates/changes, (8) word processing, (9) staff analyst services, and (10) non-cashiering services within the Cashiering Unit. The assessment was authorized because of high levels of dissatisfaction among allied health licensing program officials with the level and cost of shared services provided to their programs by the BMQA. Major tasks performed during this study included (1) definition of user needs related to the provision of shared services, (2) evaluation of current service levels, (3) evaluation of shared service costs and allocation methodologies, (4) identification and review of comparable services and associated costs provided by other California State Government organizations, and (5) development of recommendations for improvement. An analyses of staffing requirements for the BMQA's Consumer Services Unit also was performed.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Workload and Staffing Analysis, Business Process Reengineering, Budgeting and Accounting
During 1989, we completed a business process review and workload standards development study. Over 200 employees in two regional offices and fourteen district offices were included in the study scope. The assessment was authorized because of continuing problems being experienced involving reducing complaint backlogs and achieving desired service levels with respect to investigating complaints. The principal goals of the assessment were to (1) evaluate existing field office processes related to the handling of complaints, and (2) develop a complete set of formal, valid, objective staffing standards. Major tasks included (1) a review of current operations and procedures, (2) development of a comprehensive list of clearly defined tasks and activities performed, (3) collection of detailed data on workload, workflow, and staffing, (4) development of standards for determining staffing requirements and for monitoring workload and employee productivity, and (5) development of recommendations for staffing and process improvements.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Workload and Staffing Analysis, Business Process Reengineering