Patient Resources
What Does Social Services Actually Do?
The phrase covers a dozen different agencies and programs. Here is what sits behind it, who runs which piece locally, and the parts we can help you with directly.
Start Here
What do you need today?
Written by the Health Service Alliance care team. Updated September 2026.
It is not one office
Most people say social services meaning one building with one queue. In practice it is a group of separate public programs, often run by different agencies, that exist to keep a household stable: health coverage, food, cash assistance, housing help, and protective services for children and vulnerable adults.
They rarely share a front door, which is the single most frustrating thing about them. Knowing which program handles your question saves the most time.
The pieces most families need
- Health coverage: Medi-Cal, run through the county and the state, is the one most of our patients are asking about
- Food assistance: CalFresh, plus WIC for pregnant people and young children
- Cash assistance: CalWORKs for families with children, and General Relief for adults without children
- Housing and homelessness services, coordinated countywide rather than by any single clinic
- Child and adult protective services, which are investigative and separate from everything above
Get Help
What do you need today?
A few quick taps, completely confidential. Answer right here on the page.
Where a community health center fits
We are not the social services department, and we cannot approve a benefit or change a case. What we can do is the part that stops people in their tracks: understanding the health coverage piece and getting it started.
Our front desks help people apply for Medi-Cal, renew it when the county letter arrives, and work out what a plan covers before an appointment. That help is free, and you do not need to be an established patient to ask for it.
If you are not sure who to call
Start with the question rather than the agency. If it is about seeing a doctor or paying for care, start with us. If it is about food, cash aid or housing, San Bernardino County's Transitional Assistance Department is the right first call, and BenefitsCal is the state's online front door for several programs at once.
If you land at the wrong desk, ask them to name the right one before you hang up. It is a reasonable question and it saves a week.
We accept Medi-Cal, Medicare, and most plans
No insurance, or not sure what you have? You are still welcome, and our team helps you apply for Medi-Cal.
Sliding-fee scale available based on household income.
- Medi-Cal and Medicare welcomeAlong with IEHP and most major plans.
- Free coverage checkWe confirm your plan on the phone, at no cost.
- Sliding-fee scaleCosts adjusted to your income when you are uninsured.
- We help you apply for Medi-CalFree enrollment and renewal help, at any center.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Anything else? Call us during business hours.
Is Medi-Cal part of social services?
Yes. Medi-Cal is the health coverage piece, administered through the county and the state. It is the part we help with directly, at no cost.
Can you enroll me in CalFresh or CalWORKs?
No. Those run through the county's Transitional Assistance Department, and BenefitsCal lets you apply for several programs online. We can point you there, but we cannot process those applications.
Do I need to sort out benefits before I can be seen?
No. Come in first. We see patients with Medi-Cal, Medicare, most commercial plans, and no insurance at all, and our sliding fee discount prices care by household income.
Your family deserves good care, close to home.
Call us to get seen, or check which plans we take. Medi-Cal and most plans accepted, and nobody is turned away for inability to pay.