LEADER Replacement System (LRS)

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) launched its new case management and eligibility system known as the LEADER Replacement System (LRS). One of the largest systems of its kind in the nation, LRS provides a modern, web-based tool for public assistance caseworkers in the County of Los Angeles to help improve service and enhance customer experience. The LRS replaces and integrates the functionality of 17 antiquated legacy systems. The system was designed and developed in collaboration with the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) Consortium-IV (C-IV), one of three welfare systems in California representing 39 counties, to eventually consolidate Los Angeles County and the SAWS C-IV into a single system serving 40 of California’s 58 counties. Los Angeles County’s DPSS is the largest local social services agency in the nation. The Department currently provides benefits and services to over 4 million people, including nutrition assistance in the form of CalFresh benefits, employment services and supportive services via our Welfare-to-Work programs, financial and homeless assistance for families through the CalWORKs program, In-Home Supportive Services for our disabled and elderly population, Medi-Cal and access to other healthcare plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, and financial and homeless assistance for qualifying individuals through the General Relief program. The LRS automates the enrollment, case management, eligibility determination, benefit calculations, and benefit distributions of the aforementioned health and human services programs. The LRS currently supports a caseload of over 2.5 million active cases and distributes over $4 billion in benefits per annum. Once the 39 counties of C-IV are migrated to the expanded LRS application, the LRS application will be rebranded as the California Automated Consortium Eligibility System (CalACES) and the CalACES will support approximately 40,000 users and will serve approximately 8 million Californians.