Top Fresno County officer: At no time was the West Fresno Regional Center set to close

The County of Fresno has leased the West Fresno Regional Center (WFRC) for 11 years to house multiple departments: Social Services, the Fresno County Public Library, Public Health, and Behavioral Health. WFRC assists residents in the southwest community with many of their applications and benefits needs.

In March 2020, due to COVID-19 and state guidelines, some WFRC employees were allowed to telework for part of the week and the facility also added COVID-19 testing for the southwest area, which had no other central locations for testing.

In August 2020, the county started meeting with southwest Fresno residents to address their concerns about services and a false rumor about WFRC’s permanent closure. At the time, information about obtaining services was available on the exterior doors and windows of WFRC.

In the initial conversation, Delfino Neira (director of Social Services), District 1 Supervisor Brian Pacheco and I assured three residents we met with that WFRC was not closing permanently, and the same services that were available in March 2020 would still be available when it reopened.

There were additional meetings to ensure open communication — we appreciated that the residents brought their concerns to our attention. In the final meeting with the three residents in July 2021, three deputy directors from Social Services, Paul Nerland (chief operating officer), and Supervisor Pacheco ended the conversation by asking if the residents were satisfied with the answers and meeting. The residents answered, “Yes.”

The deputy directors handed out their business cards, encouraging residents to call if they had any other concerns about client services. The residents assured county staff they would call, if necessary.

A month later, the county learned from the California Department of Social Services about a letter, sent by two of the three residents who attended the meetings, requesting an investigation about the county closing WFRC. A week later, a Fresno Bee reporter began questioning county officials about the closure of WFRC.

Today, the facility remains open. There are still no plans to close it.

At no point in the discussion with the residents was relevant information given to the county regarding identities of those having problems with WFRC and its services, just vague inferences about job specialists, office assistants, and not seeing familiar faces of workers.

We explained to the community members that due to COVID-19, the state changed requirements and limited personal, face-to-face interaction for the safety of employees and clients. Also, some services expanded because of newly increasing needs in the community, but that the same services were available.

The county now sees a larger demand at WFRC for health insurance benefits and In-Home Support Services, which provides families opportunities to care for loved ones at home instead of placing them in nursing facilities. The previously highly used services requiring job specialists and eligibility workers are showing diminishing caseload numbers in the west Fresno community.

To meet the new personal interaction guidelines, job specialists and eligibility workers are available by a direct phone line at WFRC, and all applications can be filled out at a self-help kiosk with staff available to assist, if needed. All documents are available at the kiosk or outside the building and can be placed in a 24-7 drop box. Those requiring personal interaction can use the phone system to have their file reviewed by a Social Services staff member if one is not physically on-site at WFRC.

In addition, job specialists are able to conduct in-home visits or meet residents where they prefer, instead of the office.

Another question was about the changing faces of those working at WFRC, including office assistants. For years, the number of employees at WFRC has generally been around 70 to 75. Those working at WFRC and all county sites are regularly changing due to leaves of absence, new hires, transfers, promotions and retirements. The Department of Social Services has 2,700 employees; to rely on the same people for years at a time in the same locations is not only impractical, it’s impossible. Before the pandemic, there were 24 employees who worked at WFRC who still work at that location. Those wanting to work there again will get serious consideration.

As for The Bee’s story, the question was asked about WFRC closing. Again, it’s not closing.

At that point, the story became about individual services out of the dozens available to clients at WFRC. As mentioned above, those services are available in new ways, in large part due to new state regulations and improved technology. Other services are expanding to meet growing needs.

There are also questions about sending residents to Clovis. The receptionist who suggested to clients that they go to Clovis made an honest mistake. The county has openly acknowledged the mistake and counseled the employee. The employee wasn’t dismissed, retaliated against, or negatively affected in any way, as The Bee suggested could happen.

The county does take seriously — and does not tolerate — retaliation against clients, which The Bee said clients mentioned. This is an issue that is addressed each time it comes to the county’s attention and will exist as long as the human element is part of this equation.

When meeting with the three residents, the county was never provided other names of those who had issues or exactly what their issues were. The county discovered the names of those mentioned in The Bee’s article, although The Bee said there were dozens of others interviewed who are dissatisfied with WFRC. The county would like to know specifics to address and resolve their issues.

The county offered a tour of WFRC to The Bee to show how the building and its workers operate in a post–COVID — and still existing — environment. The Bee turned down that tour. Other media representatives took the tour. The county and Social Services’ top leadership met with The Bee for a 90-minute interview on Sept. 10, but little information provided was added to The Bee’s story.

Upon learning residents were concerned that an eligibility worker was only available once a week, and despite shrinking caseloads, the county placed an eligibility worker at WFRC every day. As for any other client problems, the county would like to address them directly and promptly.

Lastly, The Bee reported 100 protesters were at the WFRC on Sept. 15. Photos taken during the protest show about 30 adults and children, many holding signs. Another media outlet said “dozens” attended and a third reporter estimated less than 50 but more than a dozen.

There are new ways to access services at WFRC due to new state rules in effect aimed at limiting face-to-face interaction at WFRC and other county facilities. The county remains committed to providing the best service possible to its clients in the most convenient way. Unlike the statements of a few residents and the article in The Bee, WFRC is open for business and will stay open for years to come.

The county’s Department of Social Services will conduct community forums to listen to residents’ concerns. It is our sincere hope that community members will attend, share their feedback, and work collaboratively with the county to better serve everyone. With open, transparent communication, everyone wins.

Editor’s note: The Bee and Fresnoland stand by the reporting of the issues affecting the West Fresno Resource Center. The Bee’s Editorial Board offers its views on the county’s handling of the center in an editorial.

This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.