About Us and History

The Department of Social Services

The Department of Social Services directly administers more than 70 programs that daily serve an estimated 60,000 residents of Monterey County. These services include a variety of public assistance programs, employment services, family and children's services and programs for disabled adults and older individuals.

The department employs more than 700 individuals in Salinas, King City and Seaside and works with three free-standing agencies and nine boards, councils and commissions. The department has several offices throughout Monterey County.

The department funded the development of this Web site and continues to support the maintenance of the site.

The Community Action Partnership of Monterey County

The Community Action Partnership (CAP) is part of a national network whose mission is to serve low-income people and address the causes of poverty. In Monterey County the CAP is a public entity under the auspices of the Department of Social Services. The CAP engages in planning and coordination of community services for low-income people, and contracts with community-based entities to provide services to this population. The kinds of services provided through our funding include food access; support services for the homeless; prevention, education and intervention related to issues of domestic violence; youth education and recreation; adult literacy services, and more.

In 1993, CAP staff joined with Shelter Outreach Plus to convene and facilitate a group of nonprofit and public agencies that provide information and referral services to Monterey County residents, and that wanted to help improve access to current and accurate information on available community and social services. The Collaborative has been instrumental in identifying the strengths and challenges of information and referral services in the county and in advising regarding the development and maintenance of this database. Participation in the Collaborative is open to all. For more information regarding the Collaborative, please e-mail Ellen Correa at correaec@co.monterey.ca.us.

Shelter Outreach Plus

Shelter Outreach Plus is the largest provider of services and housing for the homeless and victims of domestic violence in Monterey County. Shelter Outreach Plus operates seven programs throughout the county focusing on outreach, emergency housing, transitional housing, case management, emergency food, and domestic violence emergency shelter. Additionally, Shelter Outreach Plus operates the Family Helpline, a toll-free, 24-hour bilingual Information and Referral Hotline. Shelter Outreach Plus has been a leader in Monterey County for more than 10 years in information and referral and is pleased to have been a key partner in this exciting collaboration. For more information about Shelter Outreach Plus, feel free to e-mail us at info@shelteroutreachplus.org.