Probation Celebrates a Year of Change at All-Hands Event

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Chances are you’ve had to tackle big change at some point in your career with the County.  For our colleagues in the Probation Department, intense change has been—paradoxically—a constant for over a year.

Assembly Bill 109, aka Public Safety realignment, took effect in October 2011. Since then, the new set of laws has altered the work and focus of Probation employees— dramatically, for some. (Ditto for the many DA, Public Defender, Sheriff and HHSA employees also affected by realignment.)

Last week at its annual all-hands meeting, the Probation Department finally got a chance to collectively consider its accomplishments and let fly some celebratory and cathartic wooooo-hoos while drinking in high praise from County leaders for the department’s progress so far.

“I’m really proud of the work you do,” a beaming Chairman Greg Cox said to the hundreds of Probation employees gathered at the Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley.

He reminded staff that top officials set the policies for Public Safety realignment and other County initiatives, but it’s the people who do the job every day who really determine whether the efforts succeed.

“Ultimately, it’s not the leaders, it’s the boots on the ground,” Chairman Cox told them. “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank you.”

“It’s really a statement when the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors takes the time out to come and speak with you,” Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins said to his staff after the Chairman’s remarks.

Under realignment, one of the biggest changes for the Probation Department is probation officers now supervise felons released from state prison—previously the exclusive job of State Parole. The department has had to quickly create a new division and bring on new behavioral health services to supervise and help rehabilitate these serious offenders; hire, promote, train  and reassign staff; and of course carry on and excel in traditional efforts like supervising juvenile offenders. All with the incredibly high stakes of protecting the public and helping adults and kids change their lives.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis connected instantly with her audience at the all-hands event with a lighthearted take on the complicated work of implementing AB109, a set of laws that runs hundreds of pages.

“Is there anyone here who really understands AB109?” DA Dumanis cracked. Probation staff laughed and played along, keeping arms at their sides as the DA scanned the room for a single raised hand.

“If you don’t think you know what it is, relax,” she continued. “As I like to say, we’re building the plane while we’re flying it.” 

One of the ways County leaders and the public will judge realignment’s success is by whether the Probation Department can help turn around more career criminals around than State Parole did.

Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Ron Lane, General Manager of the Public Safety Group, said that probation officers and other staff members will ultimately be responsible for the challenge.

“The battle is really in the one on one interaction each of you has with the individual,” Lane said.

Lane, like the other speakers, left employees applauding and enthusiastic about that challenge with his praise of their recent efforts. 

“This has been a big year; last year we didn’t know what would happen,” Lane said. “I’m very proud of the work that’s occurred.”

Chief Jenkins was the final speaker to laud his staff.

“Last year I challenged our department to ‘Rise to the Occasion’ in anticipation of the impact of AB109 and Public Safety Realignment, and we clearly have...”

The Probation Department also honored the following employees with Chief’s awards as Employees of the Year in their respective services areas at the event:

Elainerose Lontoc

Eva Ramos

Tracy Landry

Sharon Moffett

Alejandro Leos

Charlene Cesena

Tabatha Wilburn

Nikki Horton

Additionally two employees, one sworn officer and one non-sworn employee received the department’s Award of Excellence:

Senior Probation Officer Leticia Bombardier

Administrative Secretary Lucy Tatoy

 

 

 

 

Step Up Your Health!

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Human Resources posted a series of graphics at the County Operations Center and County Administration Center to promote the new stairwell exercise program, Dare to Stair.

Doing exercise doesn’t have to mean driving to a gym or putting on a pair of spandex.

It doesn’t require dishing out $10 or $15 for a class.

Adding exercise to your day can be as easy as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Under a new County fitness program, employees can earn prizes based on how many stairs they climb over the next five weeks.

On Tuesday, Human Resources expanded the “Dare to Stair” program to all employees. It kicked off as a pilot program at the County Operations Center last month. Nearly 500 employees have signed up so far. The County is partnering with Kaiser Permanente on the program.

The goal is to encourage employees who may not exercise regularly to take advantage of this highly accessible, free activity, said William Erese, the County’s Wellness Coordinator. Employees can count the stairs they walk to get to their desks in the morning or to go to lunch with coworkers. Employees can move at their own paces, fitting in stairs in whenever they can—at home, at work, in their neighborhoods, on the weekends. They can count both climbing up stairs and down stairs towards their overall totals.

Climbing stairs builds strength because it uses more muscles than just walking. The intensity level is also higher than walking.

“It takes walking to a different level, without running,” said Human Resources Analyst Susan Toner, who helped develop the program.

Stair climbing can also take participants to some scenic spots around San Diego County, from the Secret Stairs of La Mesa, to Torrey Pines State Reserve and the San Diego Convention Center downtown, Toner said.

To participate in the County’s program, sign up through LMS. Go to the County’s Quarterly Wellness Challenge web page and print out the log sheet. Simply record how many stairs you have climbed a day over the next five weeks and then submit it to Human Resources’ Benefits Division by email at FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov or by inter-office mail to mailstop O7.

Depending on how many stairs employees climb, they can win three levels of prizes. Achievement levels are based on the number of stairs it takes to climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty in New York: 354. If a participant climbs 3,540 steps, or the equivalent of 10 Statues of Liberty, they will earn a t-shirt. If they climb 7,080 steps, or 20 statues, they’ll get a calorie counter jump rope and flat water bottle. And if they climb 10,620 steps, or 30 statues, they will win a gym bag and flashlight.

Erese said the County hopes employees will feel encouraged by their accomplishments. Next time an employee has a chance to actually climb the Statue of Liberty—or a similar challenge—hopefully they will have the confidence to go for it!

For more information, visit the County’s Quarterly Wellness Challenge web page on Insite.

Daffodil Days Bring Hope

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Organizers are hoping County employees will give “hope by the bunches” and make this year’s American Cancer Society annual Daffodil Days fundraiser the most successful one ever.

Every year bright yellow bouquets start popping up on work stations across the County. Donors can make contributions of various amounts and receive a bouquet of daffodils or the flowers and a vase in exchange for their donation.

Even though it’s been a very successful campaign, this year is slated to be the last year of the popular fundraiser and organizers want to top previous efforts.

“Sadly, 2013 is the last year for the campaign, and so we really want this year to be the most successful ever,” said Stephanie Gaines, one of the County organizers. “As one of the first flowers of spring, daffodils have come to symbolize hope for cancer patients and their loved ones for a renewed life free from cancer.”

Funds raised through Daffodil Days are used to fund cancer research, education, early detection, advocacy and support a host of free programs for patients and their families, such as "Road to Recovery" where patients are provided rides to and from their appointments.

Besides purchasing daffodils for yourself, you can make a donation of a Gift of Hope, which delivers a bouquet of to patients in local hospitals, treatment centers and hospices around the county. Bears of Hope are also available and are provided for pediatric patients. 

Donations can be made online, or in person through coordinator through 4:00 PM Friday, Feb. 22. The daffodils will be delivered on March 19th.

Please contact Stephanie Gaines, Stephanie.Gaines@sdcounty.ca.gov, for information on how to donate, or where your nearest coordinator is located.

County Employee Recognized at White House

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Hours after Hurricane Sandy touched down and devastated the East Coast in November, Leslie Luke with the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services answered a call to join FEMA’s Innovation Team. He was honored for his service this month at the White House.

“It was an honor to be selected for the team and provide input on disaster recovery that will hopefully make a difference to disaster survivors in future emergencies,” said Luke.

Last Wednesday, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, thanked the FEMA Innovation Team members in the nation’s capital and spoke to them about the Hurricane Sandy challenges and outcomes. The team was later recognized for their contributions in a ceremony at the White House.

As a FEMA Innovation Team member, Luke was given full access to the disaster, recovery centers and FEMA operations. He was tasked with critiquing services offered to disaster survivors. His job was to come in and spot when things weren’t working and to help redesign FEMA’s disaster recovery centers if necessary. The recovery centers are similar to our Local Assistance Centers where disaster survivors can get assistance and information from government and nonprofit groups in one place.

The day-long meeting in Washington D.C. also included a FEMA “think tank” discussion about the response to Hurricane Sandy and about connecting formal to informal channels to provide faster relief to survivors in the future. Key White House staff and FEMA administrators were among the participants.

Overall, Luke said deploying to Hurricane Sandy has given him valuable knowledge and experience which he can apply to emergency management planning in San Diego County.

“It was really interesting to look at a disaster of that magnitude in an area that has the same challenges that we would have in San Diego in an urban setting,” Luke said.

 While a hurricane would be a rare occurrence, some of the resulting damage from flooding, debris management and emergency housing are problems we could encounter and have encountered on a smaller scale during the 2007 wildfires.

Kaiser, Anthem Launch Mobile App, Smartphone-Friendly Websites

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You never know when you may need to find a doctor, urgent care center or hospital.

Being able to locate services that accept your health care insurance? Even better.

The County’s health insurance providers, Kaiser Permanente and Anthem Blue Cross, recently launched new mobile-friendly tools to help you do just that using smartphones.

Kaiser’s new app can be downloaded for free onto your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch through Apple’s App Store or onto your Android phones through Google Play.

The app allows Kaiser members to access their medical test results, email their doctor’s offices, schedule or cancel routine appointments and refill most prescriptions.

Also available now is Kaiser’s new secure, mobile-friendly member website, available through smartphone Internet browsers.

Anthem Blue Cross, meanwhile, also launched a mobile-compatible website. Anthem members can log on through their mobile devices and locate in-network doctors, urgent care centers and hospitals too. They can look up information about the doctors, automatically call the medical facilities or add the doctor or facility to their contact lists.

In a news release last month, Kaiser cited statistics from the Pew Internet Project showing that 40 percent of American adults access the Internet through mobile phones, and 25 percent of smart phone owners go online primarily through their phones. Of those, roughly one third have no high speed home broadband connections.

County employees can use their work-issued phones to access these tools. Rather than using personal accounts to download the apps, employees should set up a work account using their work email address. Credit card information shouldn’t be entered into work phones.

For more information, contact the Human Resources Department’s Benefits Division at 888-550-2203.

Like It or Not, You’re Being Honored!

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Oh, you know the type. Quiet, unassuming and definitely shuns the limelight. Yet that same person makes it work, gets things done and delivers the goods, so to speak. Rick Ayres is that kind of guy and now Parks has caught him at it. The parks maintenance worker won Parks’ annual Unsung Hero Award.      

“I was surprised, I don’t really see myself as an unsung hero,” said Ayres.

Naturally! But Parks Director Brian Albright sees it differently.

“He is a do-it-all type of guy and in particular his welding skills have proven extremely valuable for us,” said Albright. 

Funny thing is; Ayres learned how to weld about 25 years ago in hopes of getting a job at the shipyards. That idea washed out with the rains in 1993. The Tijuana River Valley near Imperial Beach flooded. The City and the County needed clean-up crews. Ayres said to himself, I’d like to work with the County and the rest is, well you know.

He’s worked all over the County Parks system since then; local parks in the East and South County, Heritage Park, open space areas and El Cajon. Mowing, gardening, sprinkler repair, trails maintenance, new construction and more. Basically, if a County park needs some type of maintenance that can’t be handled at the site, Ayres is the go-to-guy.

Parks Maintenance Worker Rick Ayres“The hardest jobs are the ones with the quickest deadlines. They are the most challenging and the most rewarding,” said Ayres. “I get to do what I want to do. I’m not stuck anywhere and I get to meet people,”

His favorite part of the job, though, is welding.

“Ayres has repeatedly demonstrated a creative mind and has successfully designed and fabricated various site improvements,” said District Manager Matt Bohan.

Basically, Ayres can look at something and figure out how to improve on it. He designed, fabricated and welded a new entry gate that combines a vehicle gate and a horse gate into one unit. The original gate stuck two separate gates together and brought complaints that it bothered horses’ hooves. Ayres came up with a way to prevent that and save money. His new and improved vehicle and horse gate requires sinking two posts, instead of four and the structure is now much lighter yet just as sturdy.

Another example involves Iron Rangers. At unstaffed parks, these boxes collect fees from visitors. Each one costs about $1,500 to $2,000. The problem is some people try to break into them.

“I think we can come up with something better and cheaper,” said Ayres. He designed and welded a tamper-proof unit. With labor and materials, Ayres is saving the department $500 per collection box.

Ayres is the only welder at Parks and he currently works out of the El Cajon Operations Center which is right off of- appropriately enough for him - Weld Drive. But soon that will hold true for others in his department. Ayres is sharing his expertise on the intricacies of welding with his co-workers.

Albright says Ayres operates behind the scenes doing great work and deserves the Unsung Hero Award.

Ever modest, Ayres had this to say.

“I couldn’t have done this alone. A lot of people helped me along the way,” said Ayres. “I got the award but it was a collective effort.” 

Those shipyards will never know what they missed. One thing’s for sure, Ayres certainly won’t say anything!       

 

County Expands Free Yoga, Zumba Classes for Employees

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An instructor leads County employees at the first free yoga class offered at the County Administration Center this week.Like so many people, Denisse Macias struggled to carve time out of her busy schedule for exercise.

An imaging technician in the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s office, she stopped going to yoga classes and the gym.

 “I’ve always had an excuse to not go,” she said. “I have so many things to do after work.”

Macias said she’s run out of excuses, and she’s glad. The County has made it too easy to fit in exercise now. This week, a series of free yoga and Zumba classes began at her office building—the County Administration Center. She attended the first yoga session on Tuesday night and said she loved it.

“I just thought it was great,” she said. “It’s right there. It’s free. Just change one thing on your schedule and you can make it.”

In the coming weeks, the popular, 60 minute classes will launch at four more County locations: Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility in Santee (655 Park Center Dr.), HHSA’s North Inland Regional Center in Escondido (600 East Valley Pkwy.), HHSA’s South Region Center in Chula Vista (690 Oxford St.) and the El Cajon Public Library (201 E. Douglas). To sign up, visit LMS.

The classes began in mid-January as a pilot project at HHSA’s Health Services Complex on Rosecrans (3851 Rosecrans St.) and the County Operations Center (5520 Overland Ave., SD). They will run until Feb. 22 and March 19 respectively.

Classes are taught by professional instructors arranged through health insurance carrier Anthem Blue Cross.

At the first session at the CAC this week, instructor Tara Eby asked the nearly 40 participants if any had tried yoga before, and only a few hands rose.  She encouraged participants to move at a pace they were comfortable with and to pay attention to their bodies. She led the group in a lot of stretching moves, breathing and taught basic poses such as downward dog, bridge and warrior.

Turnout has been good at the classes, averaging around 40 employees per class at the COC and 20-25 at Rosecrans, said William Erese, the County’s Wellness Coordinator. A waiting list was set up for every COC class, he said.

Erese said interest was so strong in the new set of classes that within a half an hour of letting employees know, 30 people had already signed up for every class at the CAC.

Some employees want to exercise but by the time they get home, their motivation levels have waned, Erese said.

“That obstacle is gone,” he said. “They don’t need to leave the premises now. They can just go change, and the class is three or four minutes away from their workstation.”

Other employees haven’t ever exercised regularly and are drawn by the camaraderie with co-workers. Still others already work out regularly and see the classes as a convenient way to fit in exercise.

After the initial pilot program ends in March, Human Resources staff will reassess how it went. They will look at which locations to continue to offer the classes, and whether to tweak class subjects. Boot camp or meditation classes could be possibilities, Erese said.

Macias said she already had her own gear for yoga, including a mat. She just had to “shake the dust off of it” after two years of no use. But it all came back, just like riding a bike, she said.

An unexpected benefit Macias discovered? When she left work after class the other night at 6:15 p.m., there was no traffic.

“I only got home a half hour later” than I normally do, she said.

 

Child Support Services Recognized as Top Performer in California

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Jeff Grissom, County DCSS director and Marie Girulat (right), County DCSS chief deputy director accept the award from Kathy Hrepich, interim director of the State DCSS. For the third time in four years, the County’s Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) has won both the “Most Improved” and “Top Overall Performance” awards among county child support services departments in the state.  

DCSS aims to establish and enforce orders for financial and medical support for children. The overarching goal is to increase child support payments to help families be self-sufficient.

The California Department of Child Support Services announced the 2012 awards at the California Child Support Directors Association meeting in Sacramento. San Diego County was in competition with other “very large” counties with a similar caseload size. DCSS ranked above Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside, in all federal performance measures.

Overall, San Diego County DCSS total collections went up by 2.5 percent this year to $182.4 million from $177.8 million the previous year. In the previous three years, San Diego County collections increased by nearly $7 million. In three years, the percentage of child support cases with a payment due within 60 days of the case opening increased from 8 percent to 43 percent.

“Obviously, we are extremely proud of this recognition. Our staff members are the ones that make this possible and it is great recognition for their efforts,” said Child Support Services Director Jeff Grissom. “Without their ingenuity and caring about what they do, we would not have made the progress and improvements this award recognizes.”

The state measures and monitors the performance of DCSS and other child support agencies on five federal performance measures, such as the percentage of cases in which the agency successfully establishes paternity or a child support order.  San Diego County improved in all five performance measures in 2012 compared to the year before.

Grissom said as a department they take a hard look every year at how they can continue to improve from the previous year.

 “It’s really a cumulative effect of some of the strategies we’ve employed over the last few years,” he said.

One of the biggest changes the department has implemented is taking a more focused look at case management, Grissom said. Before, the department operated in a functional model, each unit doing their part of the process and then passing it along to the next to do their part. Now every case is assigned to one caseworker so it becomes more personal for staff and there is satisfaction in the progress made in each case.

DCSS has also improved its customer service by developing newsletters, webinars and videos to educate the public about the child support process.