County reports operational changes at DEBS and commits to monitor HR1 impacts and language access

Department of Employment and Benefits Services Director Ilona Betzkoy Giverges and program staff gave an update to the Finance & Government Operations Committee on Jan. 20, 2026, on implementing recommendations from a management audit of the department’s eligibility function.

DEBS staff described recent operational changes and a negotiated framework with labor partner SEIU Local 521 that staff said addresses many of the audit’s underlying issues around application processing. "We were able to very successfully negotiate in partnership with our labor partner, SEIU Local 521, that pretty squarely addresses the underlying situation," a county official said. Staff noted the changes aim to eliminate backlog and shorten wait times and that HR1’s twice‑annual redeterminations and new work‑reporting rules will increase workload.

Supervisors praised the shift. Vice Chair Ellenberg called it a "seismic shift" in how the department operates. The committee discussed language access: staff said they are reminding DEBS employees to use all approved interpretation vendors rather than defaulting to a familiar vendor to avoid longer waits for languages such as Cantonese. "We're reminding our staff of all the vendors that are available," DEBS staff said.

Committee members did not request further immediate action and the committee voted to receive the report. Staff said they will continue to track disposition status, timelines, backlog elimination, and future iterations of the report.