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Human Services Management Team
The Sutter County Human Services Department contains three primary operating divisions, and
houses the functions of the In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Staff.
Human Services Divisions
The Welfare Division is composed of Social Services to Children and Elderly Adults, Employment
Services, Food Stamps, eligibility for state and federal aid programs (TANF), and the Sutter
County Conservators Office. The 400 staff of the department are committed to improving the
quality of life for all they serve.
The division of Public Health and Clinical Services provides Outpatient Medical Clinic services,
Public Health Laboratory Functions as well as traditional Public Health Disease Prevention
programs. This division also administers the Women Infant and Children Nutrition programs for
Sutter County.
The Mental Health Division serves both Sutter and Yuba Counties and provides Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention programs.
What is a Public Authority?The Public Authority is mandated by state law to work in conjunction with Sutter County’s
In Home Supportive Program.
The role of the IHSS Public Authority:
- Develop and maintain a Registry of IHSS Homecare Providers
- Match consumers and providers
- Check the IHSS Homecare Providers background and qualifications
- Provide Training to Providers and Consumers
IHSS Public Authority Providers offer personal care-domestic services to those who are elderly,
disabled or blind, which allow persons to remain safely in their own homes.
An IHSS Homecare Provider is a person who provides personal and domestic services to In Home
Supportive Services eligible Consumers. Duties may include personal assistance with dressing
and bathing, as well as other household tasks.
An IHSS Consumer is a qualified, (usually SSI client) eligible elderly, blind or disabled person
unable to remain safely in his or her homes without the assistance of a Homecare Provider.
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Joan Hoss - Director of Human Services
Joan Hoss, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, has worked for Sutter County since 1977.
She earned a Bachelor of Art's degree at the University of California, Davis and a
Master's of Social Work at Portland State University. She worked in the Mental Health
Division for 30 years. For over eighteen years she provided clinical services and
managed programs that served adults with serious psychiatric disabilities until
she became the Director of Mental Health in 1996.
Joan was promoted to Director of Human Services in December, 2007. Joan is a founding
member and remains active in the Sutter County Family Intervention Team (FIT).
FIT promotes client and family directed and outcome-oriented services, coordination
between providers and the use of evidence-based practices. Joan is also a Commissioner
for the Sutter County Children and Families Commission.
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Amerjit Bhattal - Assistant Director of Human Services - Health
Division
Amerjit Bhattal, RN was recently appointed to the position of Assistant Director of Human Services
for Health. Amerjit is a local person having graduated from Franklin Elementary School, Sutter High
School, Yuba College and Chico State University where she received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing.
She began her career with Sutter County in 1987 as a Field Public Health Nurse and then worked for
several years managing programs and supervising staff in the Immunization Program, Maternal Child
Health program, TB Control, Child Health and Disability Prevention program and Clinic management.
In 2005, she was appointed as the Director of Public Health Nursing where she supervised nursing
staff in Public Health and Clinic. The Health Division is responsible for the administration of
several Federal, State & County Public Health programs. Programs included are: Children’s Medical
programs, Communicable Disease programs, Field Public Health Nursing, Health Education programs,
Clinical services, Public Health Laboratory, Women, Infant, and Children’s program (WIC), Jail
medical services, Vital Statistics program, and Emergency Preparedness programs.
Amerjit is an active member of Marysville-Yuba City Soroptimist International Organization and the
Shots for Tots Executive Committee. She served in the Yuba City Education Foundation, the American
Cancer Society, Yuba Sutter National Sikh Women’s Group, Business Community and Health Partnership,
and the Yuba Sutter Child Care Planning Council. She is married to Gurdeep Bhattal and they have two sons.
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Kent Yeargin - (CHC) Compliance Officer and Information Security Manager
Kent was born and raised in Sacramento and joined the Navy in 1977, serving 20 years
as a Cryptologist and Intelligence Specialist. He was honorably retired in October
1997, and went to work at the Superior Court of California, Yolo County in Woodland.
Kent was hired as the Information Systems Technician and promoted to IT Manager and
finally as the Deputy Court Executive Officer for IT and Operations. Leaving the
Court in September, 2003 for the private sector, Kent came back to the Superior
Court System in Monterey County to implement a new Court Case Management System and
run Court operations once again. Kent also worked as a Systems and Business Analyst
but realized he enjoyed working for the government. In October of 2005, Kent was
hired by Sutter County's Human Services Department as the Compliance Officer for
Mental Health and the Information Security Officer for the Department.
Kent is a Certified Healthcare Compliance Professional (CHC) and member of the
Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). As Compliance Officer, he chairs the
Human Services Department Compliance Committee and the divisional Compliance
Committees. Kent participates in local roundtable groups such as the California
Privacy, Security and Compliance Officers, and the Northern Counties Privacy,
Security, and Compliance Officers.
Kent says "Information security and compliance work offers many challenges and is
always changing as privacy and data security are becoming more and more important to
people." He enjoys working with computers and systems to enhance a job or task.
Kent likes working for the government and making his contribution because he
believes we all have a stake in how things are done.
He lives in Galt with his wife and two daughters. He loves baseball, swimming in
the summer time, RV camping and NASCAR.
Don't forget the Compliance Hotline number is (530) 833-7408!
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Lori Harrah - Assistant Director of Human Services-Welfare & Social Services Division
Lori Harrah, Assistant Director of Human Services-Welfare & Social Services Division, began
her career with Sutter County in 1979 at the Sutter County Hospital. Upon the closure of the
County Hospital in 1983 she transferred to the Welfare & Social Services Division. She began
by managing a caseload in Cash Assistance and Food Stamp public assistance programs and then
worked for several years in the Welfare Fraud branch determining overpayments. Later she
supervised eligibility case managers in all assistance programs, planned and assisted with the
implementation of the automated welfare system in Sutter County known as ISAWS and was a Program
Manager for five years in the Income Maintenance and Social Services branch.
The Welfare & Social Services Division is responsible for the administration of several
Federal, State & County Welfare & Social Services programs. Programs included are:
Children's Services such as Child Protective Services, Foster Care and Adoptions; General
Assistance; CalWORKs cash assistance and Employment Services Programs designed for low-income
parents to assist in moving from dependency to work; Medi-Cal and County Medical Services Program
(CMSP) for medical assistance; Food Stamps for low income adults and families; Public
Guardian / Conservator services; Adult Services such as In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) for
the elderly and disabled and Adult Protective Services.
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Dr. Michael Kinnison - Sutter County Health Officer
Dr. Kinnison has been with the County Health division since 2002. A graduate of the University
of Nevada, Reno (BS) and the University of Colorado (MD), he came to Sutter County in 1978 following
completion of Internal Medicine training in the Air Force. After 18 years of private practice in
the area, he entered public health first as Medical Director of Fremont-Rideout Hospice and Peach
Tree clinic.
“Work with Sutter County Health has been challenging, exciting and fun. Both the clinic and
public health staff have a high degree of professionalism and expertise, making the job of Health
Officer a pleasure.”
Dr. Kinnison is married with two sons and 2 grandchildren. Hobbies include reading, theater,
spending time with the grandkids and travel to the beach.
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Steve Marshall - Deputy Director of Mental Health - Administrative Services
As Deputy Director of Mental Health - Administrative Services for the Human Services Department, Steve is responsible for
preparation, administration, and maintenance of the department’s budget and programs. He assists
the department head with administration and management of interdepartmental, countywide, and
bi-county programs and / or projects. He plans and conducts studies and provides analytical
support as required.
Steve is also responsible for coordination of efforts to comply with the provisions of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) on a countywide basis. This
includes development of policies and procedures to ensure the privacy and security of health
information. He serves as the county’s Privacy Officer, co-chairs a statewide workgroup
concerning the implementation of HIPAA in California counties, and serves on the statewide HIPAA
Steering Committee.
Steve is married and glad to be living closer to family in California after completing a career
in the Air Force. He has Bachelor of Applied Science in Resources Management and Master of Public
Administration degrees from Troy State University, Alabama.
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Sue Hickey - Personnel Analyst
As Personnel Analyst for the Human Services Department, Sue provides Sutter County Rule / Policy
interpretation and guidance on personnel matters; consults with managers and supervisors regarding
Employee Relations issues, investigations and disciplinary actions; and provides support on Personnel
related issues the department takes to the Board of Supervisors or its Health Committee for action.
She manages all phases of the personnel recruitment process and conducts classification and salary surveys,
reviews personnel payroll transactions, consults regarding establishment of alternative work schedules, and
participates in negotiations.
Prior to coming to Sutter County, Sue completed a very successful career in the United States Air Force.
She has a Master of Administration degree in Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University, San
Francisco.
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Tonya Rhoades - Public Authority Manager
Being a long time resident of Sutter County, Tonya is very familiar with the issues facing many of
our seniors and persons with disabilities living in Sutter County. She has brought personal
experience in dealing with issues affecting the disability community as her daughter has severe
disabilities and has utilized community programs to ensure that her daughter remains living at
home with her family.
Tonya started her career with Sutter County Schools as a Vocational Counselor in the Supported
Employment program assisting developmental disabled and mentally ill adults find employment.
From there, she was hired by FREED Center for Independent Living as the Director. She served as
the Director of FREED for eight years; and from there she was hired by the State of California
working for the Department of Developmental Services as a federal auditor for the Home and
Community Based Waiver programs serving the Regional Center system. In July 2003, Sutter
County IHSS Public Authority hired Tonya as the Public Authority Manager to implement the Public
Authority program.
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The opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the individuals and should not be
construed in any way to represent the opinions of the County of Sutter.
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1445 Veterans Memorial Circle Yuba City,
CA
95993 (530) 822-7327 |
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