Workplace Security: What to Do if Your Office Is on Lockdown

By Lt. Damon Blankenbaker 

The attack in Great Britain is a somber reminder that we all need to be prepared for any type of emergency or threat. The Houses of Parliament and nearby areas were immediately put on lockdown. What would happen if a County facility was put on lockdown? The County takes your safety and security seriously, and as the head of the County’s Site Security Initiative, I want to share important information with you about lockdowns.

You’ve probably heard the term lockdown. But what does it mean, and what should you do if the building you are inside is put on lockdown?

How would you identify a safe place to go, or a safe room?

Emergency personnel have often used the terms "lockdown” and “shelter in place" when ordering the public to find a safe place in the event of a threat.  These phrases are typically used to quickly communicate a threat or potential threat to your safety. The term lockdown has been used for decades in school systems.

During emergencies, both terms could have several different meanings, but essentially, both mean to take immediate shelter where you are. This could apply whether you are at home, work, school, or even in a public place like a mall.

You may be ordered to lockdown by law enforcement, but if you feel you are in danger, it may be a decision you make on your own.

The most important thing to remember is that during a threat or other emergency, there isn’t a “one size fits all” procedure for locking down a location and securing yourself. Every person, business, and department will need to develop a plan tailored to their location.

Lockdown protocols then must be practiced and debriefed in order to be effective.

Below are some ideas to consider when considering how and when to lockdown:

1. Do not minimize a threat during a lockdown. Over the years, we have found examples where folks have misjudged or discounted the threat.
2. Use plain language when communicating a threat and the need for a lockdown. The use of codes is often ineffective, may cause a delay, and could easily result in mass loss of life.
3. Perimeter doors should be closed and locked at all times. These are doors that provide access to your building but should remain locked, such as a warehouse door or emergency exits. This will help ensure that the majority of our work locations can be secured quickly.
4. Identify rooms within your facilities that can be accessed and securely locked. Ensure that they provide a level of protection to delay a potential threat. Most active shooter events end within three minutes and 60 percent end before law enforcement arrive on scene.

Security at work starts with all of us, and you can get more information about site security by visiting the Employee Security page on InSite.

Meet Your Employee Wellness Champions

San Diego County has 21 Employee Wellness Champions who are both inspirational and great cheerleaders! The champions support the Employee Wellness Program by helping to plan, promote and organize wellness activities at their work locations.

These champions work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure the program, which is committed to the health and well-being of employees, is a success.

“They are one of the backbones of the Employee Wellness Program,” said Employee Wellness Coordinator William Erese. “They are generous in spirit and go above and beyond through volunteering their time to help make our Employee Wellness Program successful.”

The impressive growth of the Employee Wellness Program is representative of the champions’ hard work. They push for program expansion to accommodate interest from employees at numerous worksites and help make wellness a part of our daily County culture.

You may have seen the champions’ spirited outreach in your department’s newsletters, an email about the farmers market, a personal invitation to participate in one of the numerous wellness challenges, onsite fitness classes, lunch-and-learn sessions or behavioral health programs that the Employee Wellness Program offers.

A healthy thanks to all of our Employee Wellness Champions. You get our adrenaline pumping for wellness! Read more about them here.

If you are interested in becoming a champion, contact the Employee Wellness program at DHRWellness.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov

Workplace Emergency Alert System Launches; Confirm Your Contact Info

As part of our workplace Security Initiative, the County is introducing a new notification system that will be used to alert employees of active threats at our facilities.

The system will allow the Sheriff’s Department to send important notifications to your desk phone, cellphone – business or personal – and email with information and instructions, such as sheltering in place or keeping clear of a campus in the event of an active shooter incident.

Since many employees often travel between locations, alerts involving one site will be sent to all employees. Messages will explain which location is affected.

You do not need to sign up for the alerts. However, you do need to review and update your contact information in Employee Self Service (also known as PeopleSoft Self Service). Up-to-date contact information is critical and can make all the difference in a life-threatening situation.

Here’s how to update your contact information:

1. Log in to PeopleSoft Self Service. If you forgot your password, call the HP Help Desk at (858) 573-3938 or (888) 298-1222. (Sheriff and DA staff should call their respective help desks.)

2. From the Main Menu, click on “Self Service.”

3. From the drop down menu, click on “Personal Information.”

4. Select “Phone Numbers” from the drop down menu and update your business (work landline), business cellular and personal cellular phone numbers. Save the changes.

5. Next, from the same “Personal Information” menu, select “Email Addresses” and verify both your business and personal email addresses and update them if necessary. Save the changes.

The notification system is the latest component of our County Security Initiative. Last month, CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer sent us a video message with an update on the initiative’s progress.

Remember, safety starts with you! Get involved by learning more about the initiative–visit the Employee Security page on InSite, review the County security policy, or register for Active Shooter training in the Learning Management System (for Sheriff, DA, and SDCERA, click here). In addition, departments can request County Security Coordinators to present tailored training for your facility.

Over 100 County Employees Win Bicycles

Aubrey Sheetz with Child Welfare Services

Congratulations to the 102 County employees who won mountain bicycles for their participation in the 2016 Employee Wellness program.

In order to be eligible for the bicycle drawing, these dedicated employees had to complete three quarterly wellness challenges, five lunch-and-learn sessions, and one cooking demonstration, and submit a biometric screening with online health risk assessment.

The winners were wheelie wheelie excited about the bikes and all of the Employee Wellness program activities.

Aubrey Sheetz, with Child Welfare Services, said she most relished the cooking demonstrations and making strides in HealthTrails.

“The bike was a huge motivation for me to participate in last year’s wellness challenge,” said Sheetz. “I made sure I completed all of the 2016 wellness requirements in hopes of being entered into the drawing. So, when it actually happened, I was excited!”

Daniel C. Rerucha, a social worker at Aging & Independence Services, not only completed all of the requirements for the drawing but he encouraged his co-workers to participate in the various Employee Wellness activities.

“The team activities are always exciting because my unit really motivates each other to get more steps, eat more fruits and veggies, or drink more water,” said Rerucha.

He plans on taking his bike to various trails at Mission Trails Regional Parks, which he knows well.

Myra Desquitado-Prado

Myra Desquitado-Prado, an occupational therapist for California Children’s Services, –HHSA, will start her new bike adventures with “training wheels.” Desquitado-Prado said she will begin with rides with her husband and kids along the J Street Marina in Chula Vista and progress to trails.

“In the previous years I never completely participated in all the Wellness activities because I thought it would be too difficult for me with my busy schedule,” said Desquitado-Prado. “But thanks to the support of the County and of my co-workers in my office, I realized that I could definitely fit in what I needed to in order to make healthier life choices.”

Catalina Pierce

Catalina Pierce, a district attorney investigator, said she loves the variety of programs offered by Employee Wellness including the quarterly challenges such as Maintain Don’t Gain and stress relieving yoga and meditation sessions.

“This program tells me the County cares about our employees,” said Pierce. “...  I really enjoy participating in the quarterly challenges. It is fun to challenge other employees and work on our goals together. It is a positive way to stay on track with your health and have fun at the same time. 

Pierce said she looks forward to riding her new bike with her children around Mission Bay, Coronado and San Diego County.

Now’s your chance to win big by participating in the 2017 Employee Wellness Program! Review requirements for this year’s drawing to compete for stationary exercise bicycles.

See where Employee Wellness can take you, visit them on InSite.

County Social Workers Honored

HHSA Child Welfare Services Director Cathi Palatella, 2017 Jay Hoxie Award Winner Belina Chapman and HHSA North Regions General Manager Chuck Matthews

The focus for San Diego County social workers is on strengthening families. Every day they are out in the community working to ensure that foster children are able to stay with or reunite with their families or relatives.

It’s a job that doesn’t always fit nicely into an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. And even beyond their job duties, many of our social workers volunteer in their communities doing everything from one-on-one mentoring to a variety of efforts with organizations that touch on every segment of our society.

Every year during Social Worker Appreciation Month, the County’s Child Welfare Services honors a social worker with the Jay Hoxie Award for demonstrating a compassionate commitment to others through volunteer work in the community.

The award is named after social worker Jay Hoxie, who died in a tragic car accident in 1990 while on the job.

The 2017 recipient was Belina Chapman, who specializes in work with local Indian tribes.

Chapman volunteers several hours a month with the Juvenile Diversion Program which serves first-time juvenile offenders and youth at risk for gang involvement.

She is a “go to” person for churches in Escondido looking for assistance for immigrant families. You will also find Chapman volunteering with Interfaith Community Services during the holidays as a food bank worker, food server or greeter at holiday events.

“They tend to trust me a lot because when they see me serving at Interfaith during the holidays or when I’m taking people to food distribution lines or showing them where to sign up or who they need to see. They see me so regularly that they trust me.”

Chapman also spends time contacting various agencies and local recreation programs to obtain scholarships to allow local youth without the financial means the opportunities to participate in activities such as karate or dance.

“I have kids as well so I’m a family person,” said Chapman. “Because of that, the community gets to see me a lot.

“I think I’m approachable and it’s made me easy for people in the community to ask me questions and seek assistance.”

The four other nominees for the award were:

• Dena Stoltz established an outreach program known as “Kidz Club” to target at-risk youth. She’s volunteered at her church for the past six years, plans ongoing fundraisers and events so children are able to attend camps and takes the time to obtain school supplies for the children on her caseload.

• Aseel Ross actively sought opportunities to work with the Middle Eastern community by joining the Newcomers Collaborative. Last year, she participated in the International Child Maltreatment Conference in Kuwait and will be a speaker at the San Diego International Conference on Children and Family Maltreatment in 2018.

• Shameka Clark volunteers her time with the Black Military Wives Club helping new spouses arriving in San Diego County with resources and support. Clark is also involved in the Casa Colina apartments for the disabled and seniors, transporting residents to the grocery store, reading to and baking for them and providing household assistance.

• Jonathan Ogle and his wife love dogs and wanted to give back to the disabled community and veterans experiencing PTSD, so they have been providing service dogs to those in need for the past 15 years. They raise the dogs to 18 months, training them along the way until they are ready for their new owner.

Kelly Barron and Joanna Khurshid were recognized from the CWS foster care eligibility for outstanding customer service.

Janna Khurshid, left, and Kelly Barron, right, were honored for their customer service. CWS Director Cathi Palatella is in the middle.2017 Jay Hoxie Award nominees Deana Stoltz, Aseel Ross, Belina Chapman, Jonathan Ogle and Shameka Clark.

Happy Employee Appreciation Day!

Wonderful job, County employees! You work hard, have HEART and make San Diego a great place to live and work. For Employee Appreciation Day we are giving thanks to you.

While there are countless ways to recognize your peers, the simplest is to write a “thank you” note. Share your thanks as a comment below.

With much gratitude, here are some videos, photos and notes of appreciation:

“I would like to thank the Behavioral Health Services, Quality Improvement, Performance Improvement Team for not only doing a fantastic job, but for making it enjoyable to come to work every day!”

-Chris Strows, Admin Analyst III, Behavioral Health Services, Quality Improvement, Performance Improvement Team

“I would like to post my heartfelt appreciation for ALL employees that dedicate their skills, their heart, their compassion and commitment to our SDCPH patients. Our inpatient units and emergency room staff serve 24/7 some of the most severely mental ill individuals from within the county and beyond. Each day the staff face complex decisions and dangerous circumstances. It is their dedication and humanity that provides solace and safety to these individuals and their families and ultimately the community as a whole. I am so proud and grateful to work with this staff, as part of our mission to serve.”

-Izabela Karmach, Deputy Director Departmental Operations, San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital

“I just want to thank all of my staff for continuing to provide excellent customer service not only to their customers but among themselves. I have never seen a more cohesive, strong, transparent team than DPW HR Team. I can’t thank them enough everyday but they know that I sincerely appreciate and recognize all their unselfish contributions to the department. They concentrate more on what unites them than divides them; they set aside their differences in order to advance the mission of the department and the County as a whole. Thank you, staff!”

-Lita Santos, Sr. DHRO, Department of Public Works

“A big thank you to our Office of Revenue and Recovery Team! Your efforts and hard work is greatly appreciated today and every day!!! Know you make a difference! In business, it’s important to find people you can count on. You are one of those reliable employees and one of the reasons for our success as it can never be achieved unless someone, like you, has the shared vision, commitment and desire to achieve it. Our office is enhanced by your presence. Thank you for your excellence and for being our greatest and most valuable asset! Our sincerest thanks for all your dedication, hard work and for being such an important part of our team. Words cannot describe how much you are appreciated. Best wishes for a wonderful Employee Appreciation Day and weekend!”

-Sean S. Sander, Director, Office of Revenue and Recovery

“I would like to personally thank Jayme Gravett-Miller and Connie Myrick for their contribution as team members of the Project Management Division, Department of General Services. The administrative and fiscal support they provide to all the PMD staff is exemplary. With employees like them, it makes my job as a supervisor much easier!”

-Amie Meegan, Department of General Services

 “Thank you for always being an awesome team and going the extra mile. I appreciate everyone’s hard work and dedication. Each of your individual contributions to our division’s goals and vision combined with teamwork consistently take us to the next level.  I am proud to be part of the ABO Dream Team (Apple, Dan, Erendy, -Linda, Lorena, Mary, Max, Miriam, Peter, Rissa and Rocio).”

-Ardee Apostol, Revenue & Budget Manager, Agency Budget Office, Health & Human Services Agency

“It is such a privilege to work every day with such a dedicated and professional team. This team has served over 7000 customers in 2016. You have provided the public with excellent records and protected the confidentiality of the clients served in Child Welfare Services. You are sensitive to the needs of our customers and have demonstrated excellent customer service while meeting the individual needs of our clients. I appreciate every day walking into an office where the people who work here serve the public good while maintaining a positive attitude and wanting to do more to better the quality of what we do. I am so proud to be a team member for Legal Support Services and thank each of you for all the hard work you do.”

-Marie Hommel, Protective Services Supervisor, Child Welfare Services Policy and Program Support, Legal Support Services

Rita A.M. Smith, Sr. DHRO, County Library, submitted this selfie photo with her fellow DHR employees.

CTO staff really takes the cake!

PerkSpot Alert: Save on Tax Preparation Tools

PerkSpot is offering County employees 15 percent off Turbo Tax Online federal products. You can file your taxes early and save!

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through hundreds of service providers and retailers, from movie theaters to florists and jewelers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Make Ethics Your Personal Cause

Doing what is right is not always easy. March is your time to reaffirm your commitment to ethical conduct. During Ethics Awareness Month, the Office of Ethics and Compliance will host several events and opportunities for County employees to hear about upholding the highest of ethical standards.

How to Celebrate:

1. Ethics in action: Send a short (1 – 3 minute) video of “what ethics means to you” or the “dos and don’ts of ethical behavior at work” to OEC by March 24. You may win a prize and a chance to have your video highlighted on InSite, so get creative. Videos can be shot in any style—commercial, talk show, documentary or even comedy. For additional questions regarding this contest and how to submit your video, call 619- 531-5174 or email Nicole.deltorocummings@sdcounty.ca.gov.

2. The fair way: Attend the Ethics Awareness Month Information Fair from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 23 at the County Operations Center Commons. There will be free goodies, a raffle and resources for County employees. Confirmed participants include several County departments, employee resource groups (ERGs), and the Resource Team for Diversity & Inclusion.

3. Listen up: Join the speaker series with freshman Supervisor Kristin Gaspar from noon to 1 p.m., March 13 in the County Operations Center Chambers. Gaspar will speak about public trust.

4. Knowledge is power: Take the online Ethics 101 class. The video training can be found on LMS by searching for “ethics.” You can learn even more by visiting the Office of Ethics and Compliance on InSite to review the County’s Code of Ethics, and find answers to frequently asked questions.

5. Crash course on ethics: Complete “Ethics in a Box” team exercises. The Office of Ethics and Compliance has developed several educational exercises that can be used to lead discussions with staff and explore our Code of Ethics and Statement of Values.

County employees who suspect or are aware of fraud, waste, abuse or other misconduct by other County employees, contractors, vendors or other business partners have an obligation to report such activity to their immediate supervisor, manager, department head, Department of Human Resources or Office of Ethics and Compliance. If you’re not comfortable with any of these options, or would like to make an anonymous report, the Ethics Hotline is always an option. Call (866) 549-0004. Additionally, you are always welcome to call the Office of Ethics and Compliance for advice and/or guidance.

To learn more about ethics, visit the Office of Ethics and Compliance on InSite.

InTouch – Looking into the Future

Who doesn’t want to take a peek into the future?

Your department leaders and I recently got a glimpse, and I want to share with you a bit of what we saw. We heard from Mary O’Hara-Devereaux, who does forecasting for dozens of corporations and nonprofits.

She’s not magic, creating some crystal clear vision of the world to come. But drawing on her experience and using some scientific analysis, she’s able to paint some good outlines.

It’s not an idle daydream exercise. This is meant to get us thinking long and hard about how we prepare the County for the years ahead. And while Mary gave us the lay of the land, it will be up to us how we navigate it.

She covered a lot of ground, so I’m picking out a couple themes of particular interest for us at the County.

The first is who our customers will be. In a word: older. You may have heard of the “Silver Tsunami” bearing down on us. But hearing more details on the numbers was a wake-up call to just how dramatic this will be. By 2035, more people will be over 65 than under 21. Our fastest growing age group now is people over 85 years old.

Think about that. 85 used to be quite a milestone. Now it’s just the entry to an age bracket that will include people routinely hitting 100.

U.S. Census Bureau numbers for U.S. population.

The demands that will make on a County department like Aging and Independence Services are obvious. But it goes beyond that.

Do we have enough hiking trails or exercise equipment suitable for these advanced age people? Will our libraries have materials in the form older adults want?

Homes will need more accessibility features. How will that affect our code compliance work?

We want our customers to go online for services whenever possible. Are our websites and apps easy to read and use for all ages?

What we’ll also see is “healthy longevity.” Not just more years, but more of higher quality. So much so, that Mary sees the phase from 60 to 80 years old becoming “second middle age.” They will want to grow and have active, engaged – thriving – lives.

What do we need in place to make that possible? How can we harness their collective experience and direct it back to helping us achieve our goals?

Having so many years of life is going to totally rewrite the rules of personal financial planning. The first millennials will be eligible for Social Security in about 30 years. That means about 2047 – not that far away when we’re taking the long view – that already strained system will need to support boomers, Gen Xers and millennials at the same time.    

While we will have more people aging well, not everyone will be so lucky. The number of seniors having some kind of difficulty or another with self-care will increase dramatically. Meeting their needs for things like transportation will be an immense challenge. It’s difficult already for adult children to care for aging parents. What happens when those children are aging themselves? How will adults cope if they’re taking care of parents and grandparents?

A couple more notes about this population. We’re about at the point now where more seniors are single than married. That trend is going to continue. And women will not only keep outliving men but widen that gap.

U.S. Census BureauAre you ready to serve 95-year-old single women? Because that’s going to be a significant demographic group for us to consider. Puts a new spin on “All the Single Ladies.”

Meanwhile, we can’t ignore the other end of the age spectrum. Sorry millennials, but you’re so last decade. Generation Z is now emerging into the workforce. While we need to be wary of any sweeping generalization of generations, trend-watchers see Gen Z as distrustful of authority, but also team players. As a government, we’re the definition of authority. How do we gain the trust of these young people, seize on that desire to work as a team, and make them partners in our vision?

A big part of our challenge is figuring not just how we address one of these groups or another, but how we address all of them. That entire spectrum is stretching. How do we make a service available to someone who has never used a computer and someone who lives by Snapchat?

I’ll use that question as a bridge to the next theme I want to touch on: technology. Specifically, artificial intelligence. We’re just at the dawn of how this will change our lives.

We’re big on partnerships here at the County. Now that’s going to include collaboration between humans and machines.

What will self-driving cars mean for County roads? Or for the deputies who patrol them?

“Hey, Alexa, explain how I adopt a child.” How do we build the system that turns that into a conversation – and have that result in a new family?

AI’s ability to look across all the data we gather, analyze it, reveal connections and make predictions will be transformative. It will come into play for everything from tracking communicable diseases to fraud detection to assessing disaster risk – and on and on.   

But as Mary pointed out, technology doesn’t drive change. Human choices make change. As the power of AI enhances our work, we’ll need to focus more on the human side of the equation. The challenge that Mary calls “defining our human comparative advantage.”

That means we need to place a premium on our employees having qualities like empathy. Cross-generational, cross-cultural. Cross-anything outside our own personal experience.

We are on the right track. Know Our Customers is one of the main steps in the Customer Experience Initiative. Empathy is the essence of being trauma-informed. Our Diversity & Inclusion Initiative is designed to build understanding of one another.

Empathy is really just a form of imagination. That takes us to Mary’s final point.

Our biggest risk going forward: a failure of imagination.

Luckily – well, by design really – we’ve long stressed the importance of innovation at the County. It’s part of our culture, and I’m in awe of the great ideas I constantly see gush forth from this organization. We’ll need to imagine and innovate like never before. But even if the future is uncertain, my experience here has given me great certainty in our ability to meet the challenges ahead. With that kind of confidence, I’m excited to head into the future. See you there!

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