CAC Lit for Women's Equality Day
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The County Administration Center is lit tonight for Women's Equality Day.
Meet OERJ’s New Deputy Director
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The County’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice is excited to introduce its newest member to the team! Melissa Bartolome began her new role as the Office’s first Deputy Director, Departmental Operations, on Aug. 12.
Bartolome has 24 years’ experience with the County. Most recently, she worked at HHSA, where she led various finance and administration teams for Child Welfare Services, EOC Finance, and East and North Central Regions. Prior to HHSA, she worked at First 5 San Diego as a communications and community outreach coordinator and health projects coordinator where she managed multiple contracts providing services and supports to San Diego’s most vulnerable populations from newborn to 5 years old. And before First 5, she worked at the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.
Bartolome was a diversity and inclusion champion where she served on the HHSA Transformation Team, developing and implementing strategies to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace and community. She also served as a member-at-large for the San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization where she co-chaired the annual CECO Breakfast Awards Committee and helped to plan many fundraising activities.
In addition, she holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University San Marcos. A native San Diegan and second-generation Filipino American, she enjoys the outdoors, travel, and spending time with her family.
Rewind: Watch ‘Your Voice, One Vision’
/Did you miss the D&I Executive Council Townhall: Your Voice, Our Vision for employees on Aug. 25? You can now watch the session on why the foundational steps for a culture of belonging (our reimagined General Management System, new strategic plan, and values) matter to all of us.
The event featured how this evolution is shaping up across the organization. Representatives from each group shared efforts:
Taryell Simmons, Department of Human Resources (FG3)
Susan Moore, County Libraries (LUEG)
Kimberly Giardina, DSW, and Keisha N. Clark, D.M./OL, Child Welfare Services (HHSA)
Jordan Furrow, Public Defender’s Office (PSG)
And closed with an open engagement period to take a pulse on how the transition is reaching the work we do.
Watch now (above).
Resources referenced in this session:
Continued Participation
The poll during the engagement asked:
(Multiple Choice) What is resonating with you?
(Open ended) What are the biggest things you've learned in implementing the new GMS thus far?
(1-5 Rating) How much do you feel you have direct contribution to accomplishing these organizational goals?
(Open ended) What could be adjusted to help you feel like you have a direct contribution to accomplishing these organizational goals?
An opportunity to have your voice heard anonymously is available in a D&I EC Townhall Series: Your Voice, One Vision form through Thursday, Sept. 1.
Help refine what future D&I Executive Council Townhalls look and sound like by giving your anonymous feedback at D&I Executive Council Townhall Series: Attendee Survey.
Shared Resources
Ways to Spread the Word
Share this REWIND link with others.
Encourage your team to watch the recording and ask to have a team debrief utilizing the poll questions.
Brainstorm ways to increase communication from where you are.
Get involved with the Employee Resource Groups and your department’s D&I Champions.
Don’t Miss SDCLA’s Bonfire Meetup
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UPDATED 9/27/22: This event was rescheduled to Oct. 1.
UPDATED 9/7/22: This event was postponed. For additional info, contact SDCLA@sdcounty.ca.gov.
The San Diego County Latino Association employee resource group is hosting a Summer Night Bonfire Meetup on Crown Point Beach on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. Come out to enjoy the sunset and mingle with fellow SDCLA members.
Bring beach chairs or blankets for a fun night around the fire. S’mores and water will be provided.
RSVP to SDCLA@sdcounty.ca.gov. SDCLA will provide additional details with exact meeting location and an activity waiver release by email.
See the flyer below.
Rewind: Social Security and Medicare Lunch & Learns
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Did you miss the recent Social Security and Medicare lunch and learn sessions? The Department of Human Resources has resources from both sessions!
You can now review the Medicare presentation slide deck, Social Security presentation slide deck or watch the Social Security session that was recorded.
For more information, contact the Department of Human Resources Employee Benefits Division at 888-550-2203 or DHRBenefits.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Se Habla Español...and Seven Other Threshold Languages
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Arabic, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Persian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese are the County’s eight threshold languages.
Belonging, equity and access are part of the County’s core values, and one of the many ways to support those values is how we communicate. The County Board of Supervisors has accepted the Inclusive and Equitable Communications Plan.
This means that moving forward, every County department must make reasonable efforts to expand language access for residents and communities. The goal is to ensure communications, business operations, websites and public-facing documents are:
Inclusive, equitable and culturally responsive
Trauma-informed
Literacy-level appropriate
Accurately translated
All departments shall take reasonable steps to prioritize translation of vital documents. Each department will determine which documents are deemed vital and shall establish a process for identifying and prioritizing these documents for translation.
Language services, including translations and oral interpretation, must be done in the eight threshold languages established by the County in accordance with Board Policy A-139. The current threshold languages are: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Filipino (Tagalog) Korean, Persian (including Farsi and Dari), Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
When in-person oral interpretation services are not available, services must be made available to limited English-speaking people by phone, internet or video.
Translation and Interpretation Companies Available
To accomplish this goal, the County has retained translation and interpretation companies that can provide services in the eight threshold languages and more than 200 others if needed. A language services intranet site has also been created. It contains easy-to-understand guidance on what to do before, during and after communicating internally and externally as a County government.
The County Communications Office and the Office of Equity and Racial Justice worked with employees from all levels and from multiple departments to develop the Inclusive and Equitable Communications Plan. The plan contains input from key community groups, identifies short-, mid- and long-term initiatives to improve language services and community engagement, which is now at the center of all County operations.
During the planning process, it was determined that while departments are making efforts to provide materials in various County threshold languages, there is opportunity for consistency, monitoring and community input.
Some short-term initiatives of the Plan include making sure that all departments and employees have access to resources when developing communications.
In addition to contracting with the translation and interpretation companies and the intranet site, the Office of Communications has also hired a language services manager and a community engagement manager. Working with the community engagement manager, the language services manager will provide enterprise-wide coordination for resources, best practices and collaboration among groups, departments and the community.
The Inclusive and Equitable Communications Plan and supporting resources provide a framework, recognizing that this is a journey for all employees and departments, and strategies and resources will change over time based on internal input, community engagement and evolving best practices.
Being A Good Listener!
/The ability to be a good speaker is often the focus for many; however, there is power in the ability to be a good listener. Being a good listener is one of the keys to providing an inclusive approach to welcoming others.
How does one develop listening skills?
There are several ways to hone your listening skills. Watch the video to view some of the tips on how to be a good listener. Good communication can go a long way to creating inclusive environments.
Save the Date: D&I Executive Council’s ‘Your Voice, Your Vision’ Townhall
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Join the D&I Executive Council on Thursday, Aug. 25 from noon to 1 p.m. via MS Teams. CAO Chief of Staff and D&I Executive Council Chair Natalia Bravo will lead a discussion on why the foundational steps for a culture of belonging, (our reimagined vision, mission, and values) matters to all of us.
The session will feature how this evolution is shaping up across the organizational groups from representatives from each and an open engagement period to take a pulse on how the transition is reaching the work we do.
No need to RSVP, just click this Teams link to join on Aug 25.
Raise Your Heart Hands and Celebrate National Nonprofit Day with CECO
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Celebrate National Nonprofit Day this Aug. 17 and show your support for the San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization. CECO is the County’s very own nonprofit that is operated by fellow employees who volunteer their time to meet the organization’s mission and distribute 100% of funds raised back to the community.
Lend your hand and celebrate this day by emailing CECO your heart hands picture. The first 50 photos received will be given a CECO reusable straw as a token of CECO's appreciation, as well as be highlighted to show the County family’s support of CECO.
Since forming in 1956, CECO has given more than $7 million back to San Diego County. Contributions from employees and retirees to CECO are awarded to local nonprofits each year, as well as to assist employees in needed. Earlier this year, CECO distributed $120,130 in grants and assistance to 82 local nonprofit programs and County employees. Charitable organizations that received grants include Crisis House, Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Reading Legacies, Mama's Kitchen, Inc., Survivors of Torture, International and Voices for Children.
Pledge to celebrate National Nonprofit Day all year. Sign up to make bi-weekly payroll contributions of $2 or more. Other ways to support CECO include making a donation or by shopping AmazonSmile where a portion of your purchase will be donated to CECO.
For more about CECO, please visit sdceco.org.
CSDFEA and PISCE Film Screening of 'Act of War'
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Join the County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees’ Association (CSDFEA), Pacific Islander Society of County Employees (PISCE), and the 'Ahahui Kiwila O Hawai'i O San Diego (AKHSD) at the Poway Library for a film screening and discussion of “Act of War – The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation” at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21.
Please RSVP by Aug. 18. Light snacks and refreshments will be served on a first come first serve basis.