Sayori Baldwin: COVID-19 and Availability of Social Services

In this episode, Director of Public Social Services in Riverside County, Sayori Baldwin, talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about the many programs considered social services and their role in society both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.About Sayori Baldwin:Sayori Baldwin is the Director of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS); consisting of over 4,200 employees who are responsible for administering the following programs: Children’s and Adult Services, Medi-Cal, Cal Fresh, CalWORKs, Employment Services, Homeless and General Assistance. Sayori comes with a wealth of experience within the Health and Human Services field having spent the last 30 years in a wide variety of programmatic and administrative roles that serves the most vulnerable children and adults in our communities. Sayori holds a master’s degree in Public Administration.Podcast Highlights:“The Department of Social Services employs approximately 4,200 employees and serves over 750,000 customers throughout the year.”-       Sayori Baldwin on the scope and reach of the Department of Public Social Services in Riverside County.“In social services, if money were reallocated, what we've been looking at is preventative and supportive services programs...”-       Sayori Baldwin on the topic of what the future would look like if counties reallocated part of the budget to increase funding for social services.“I really do think that community service and preventative services should always be key in order to alleviate the problems of society.”-       Sayori Baldwin on the topic of how to help citizens and build a better society in the United States.Guest:Sayori Baldwin (Director, Department of Public Social Services, Riverside County)Interviewer:Maddie Bunting (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador)Music by:C Codainehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/PhaseCommercial Links:UCR Water Seminar Series - Maura Allaire Registration Pagehttps://spp.ucr.edu/mppResources:http://dpss.co.riverside.ca.ushttps://c4yourself.com/c4yourself/index.jspApply for Social Services Programs: (877) 410-8827Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline: (800) 442-4918Elder/Dependent Abuse Hotline: (800) 491-7123This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the interviewers and guests alone and do not reflect the official positions of the UC Riverside School of Public Policy or the University of California, Riverside.Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.