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Orange County Social Services Agency Records
MS.SEA.015
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: Orange County Social Services Agency records,
Creator:
Orange County Social Services Agency
Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.015
Physical Description:
7 Linear Feet
(8 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1981-1991
Physical Location: University of California, Irvine.
Library. Special Collections and Archives. Irvine, California 92623-9557
Abstract: This collection of records of the
Orange County Social Services Agency (OCSSA) includes documents related to the
administration of government refugee assistance programs. The materials consist of
administrative papers, correspondence, data and statistics, reports, legislative documents,
memoranda, notes, proclamations and resolutions, and program plans, and document refugee
assistance activities at the county and state level. Among the programs and agencies
included as topics in this collection are: OCSSA Central Intake Unit, Greater Avenues for
Independence (welfare program), Mutual Assistance Association, Refugee Employment Assistance
Program, Refugee Demonstration Project, Refugee Employment Social Services, Refugee
Resettlement Project, and Targeted Assistance Program.
Language of Material:
English .
Collection open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Southeast Asian Archive Librarian.
Orange County Social Services Agency records. MS-SEA015. Southeast Asian Archive, The UC
Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Gift of Hao Duong, former Orange County Refugee Services Coordinator, 1994.
Processed by Anna Liza Posas, 2002.
The Orange County Social Services Agency (OCSSA) has been providing refugee services since
1975. However, the bulk of the materials in this collection relate to those programs
impacted by the United States Refugee Act of 1980. The Act increased the country's refugee
quota from 17,400 to 50,000, established Congressional control over the entire process of
admitting refugees, and appointed an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). ORR administered a full range of federally
funded programs that assisted in the resettlement process at the state and county levels.
OCSSA, under the direction of Deputy Director Dolores Churchill, became a County Refugee
Coordinator (CRC). OCSSA literature explains that "CRCs are responsible for implementing
strategies, funding and operating procedures for refugee services and programs. They provide
advocacy with elective officials regarding refugee issues. The CRCs have knowledge and
experience in naturalization, immigration and refugee program laws, policies and
procedures."
Orange County, as well as California as a whole, experienced the greatest impact of refugee
admittance from the 1980 Act and the Vietnam War. During this time, refugees were primarily
from South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. According to a 1981 report prepared by the National
Association of Counties Research (NACoR), California's refugee population increased by
83,000 and those refugees on cash assistance increased by 55,000 in one year. In 1981 alone,
Orange County saw an increase of 16,296 refugees over its 1978 figure, and 32.1% of OCSSA
recipients were refugees. Compared to the rest of the nation, California had the highest
refugee population and the highest proportion on cash assistance. Orange County experienced
the nation's second highest county increase (Los Angeles County was ranked first). A report
prepared by the OCSSA Financial Assistance Division and Office of Program Information
indicated there was a 238.9% increase in the number of refugees receiving cash assistance
from January 1979 to September 1981.
As of April 1, 1981, federal Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) -- which allows 100 percent
reimbursement to government agencies, voluntary agencies (Volag), and community based
organizations (CBO) involved in the refugee effort-- was limited to refugees who have been
in the US for less than 36 months. "Time-expired" refugees who were in the US longer than 36
months became eligible for state and locally funded programs. The expected costs from
time-expired refugee cases added to the existing high concentration of refugees in the area
and the fear of welfare dependency prompted OCSSA to concentrate on self-sufficiency
programs through vocational and job training.
OCSSA developed the Refugee Plan for Resettlement, or Refugee Resettlement Plan (RRP),
which included the Refugee Demonstration Project (RDP). The purpose of RDP was to remove
refugees from traditional welfare programs, ensure accessibility for all refugees to
employment programs specifically designed for refugees, and reduce long-term government
costs.
Federal refugee extension acts in the mid-eighties allowed the continuation of RCA funds.
RCA, General Relief (GR), and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) funds enabled
OCSAA to continue to develop services for refugees. The longest running refugee plan was the
Targeted Assisted Plan (TA or TAP). TAP provided vocational training, job placement, and
health services from 1984-1990. Other OCSSA refugee services included the utilization or
implementation of the Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program, Mutual Assistance
Association (MAA), Refugee Employment Assistance Program (REAP), and Refugee Employment
Social Services (RESS).
As of the year 2002, California has approximately one million refugees who have entered the
state since 1979. The largest incoming refugee groups are from the former Soviet Union,
Southeast Asia, and the former Yugoslavia.
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program replaced the AFDC
and GAIN programs with a single integrated, employment-focused program. The OCSSA's
1999/2000 fiscal report indicated that approximately 24% of OCSSA clients received
assistance from CalWORKs, 5% from RCA, and 1% from GR funds.
The Orange County Social Services Agency continues to operate under the direction of the
Board of Supervisors and the California Departments of Social Services (CDSS) and Health
Services (CDHS). The CDSS supervises the Refugee Program in California.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection of records of the Orange County Social Services Agency (OCSSA) includes
documents related to the administration of government refugee assistance programs. The
materials consist of administrative papers, correspondence, data and statistics, reports,
legislative documents, memoranda, notes, proclamations and resolutions, and program plans,
and document refugee assistance activities at the county and state level. Among the programs
and agencies included as topics in this collection are: OCSSA Central Intake Unit, Greater
Avenues for Independence (welfare program), Mutual Assistance Association, Refugee
Employment Assistance Program, Refugee Demonstration Project, Refugee Employment Social
Services, Refugee Resettlement Project, and Targeted Assistance Program.
Subjects of internal and published report include the characteristics, cultural history,
demographics, progress, rights and/or trends of the Agency's refugee population and
programs, as well as of the Orange County refugee community at large. Although the majority
of the materials in this collection deal with Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee
populations, Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, and Romanian populations are also mentioned.
The collection is arranged by OCSSA program or administrative unit and therein by topic
area. Except where it is noted, records within individual files are arranged
chronologically. Top-level administrative documents and materials unrelated to the
management of major programs or units are found within the file "General institutional
records and documents."
MS-SEA021, Robert Walsh Files on Southeast Asian Refugee Resettlement and Education,
1975-2001.
This collection is also supplemented by materials in the SEA Archive's newspaper clippings
file.