CAO Message: Wishing You Happy Holidays and Remembering What Matters Most

A message from Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer:

The holidays and the end of the year are upon us. It’s a time we make extra effort to nurture the connections we have with the people we love. We get together with friends, gather in faith and community groups. We send cards (Right? Some of you still send cards?). We put up with all the hassles of holiday travel to reunite with family. 

It’s the time we make sure we’re focusing on what matters most: the people in our lives.

I love the holidays for that. And I love that my work throughout the year is also centered on people. We make real impacts on individual lives. Since this is also a time for reflection, I’m thinking back on some of the concrete ways we helped San Diegans in 2022.

One that really stood out to me was the opening of One Safe Place. It brought an array of resources for victims of violence and abuse under one roof. It represents the best of the County and numerous community partners working together to support people who need our help.

We continued building resources for people needing mental health assistance, opening an additional crisis stabilization unit and expanding our mobile crisis response teams to the entire region. Through a variety of programs, we added badly needed housing. Like many enormous challenges we face, there’s a long way to go, but we forge ahead and can celebrate our successes on the way.

Our Youth Transition Campus opened, bringing a whole different experience and approach to the young people in our juvenile justice system. Our Parks 101, First-Timer Series introduced residents who haven’t had much exposure to outdoor recreation to hiking, camping and other activities.

These are just a few of the new and noteworthy things we did the past year. Stop and really imagine for a moment each of the individuals those programs involve. They have options now that they didn’t have at this time last year. You’ve made it happen.

That’s on top of the countless other ways we help people get the necessities of life, safeguard their health, protect them from various dangers, offer them opportunities for enrichment and fulfillment. Our team guiding us to a zero-carbon future is building momentum across the region with new actions to preserve farmland and open space, cut employee commute miles through telework, increase renewable energy resources, and much more. Our emphasis on equity and community engagement is helping us expand the reach of everything we’re doing. 

It’s every day, at an astonishing scale. If you’re caught up in your day-to-day, or a step removed from the front line, sometimes you may not feel the effect you’re having. I want to assure you that your efforts are improving people’s lives.

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to do meaningful work, and it should certainly be a source of pride and satisfaction for you. And when I talk about people being the most important thing, I’m thankful you are the people I work with as we achieve great things together.

I hope this season’s celebrations are full of joy and precious time with friends and family. Then I look forward to working with you, and for all San Diegans, in the new year.

Happy holidays!

Helping for the Holidays

Helping During the Holidays

County employees demonstrate HEART throughout the year. But during the holidays many of us really go above and beyond to support and uplift the communities we serve. We want to highlight these great efforts to share holiday cheer and maybe inspire others to share in the fun!

Is your office hosting a holiday food or toy drive? Crafting cards or volunteering in the community? Let us know what you’re doing at work to support charitable organizations and efforts this month. Email communications@sdcounty.ca.gov with your department’s holiday activities and share your photos. We will feature them here on InSite.

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BHS Team Sponsor Family for the Holidays

Each year the Adult and Older Adult Team under Behavioral Health Services sponsors a family for the holidays. Funds are voluntarily collected and are put toward the purchase of items on the family wish list. 

This year AOA collected over $700 and used these funds to purchase many gifts. 

This year the family was selected through Alpha Project and the items were dropped off on Dec. 14. 

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Edgemoor’s Baking Some Holiday Cheer

Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility held a cookie drive. Staff baked 50 dozen cookies, all of which were donated to the San Diego’s Wounded Warrior Project.

Occupational Therapy Supervisor Lani Ngo and Chief of Nutrition Services John Pizzo helped lead this cookie mission!

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Toys for Tots Boxes at County Airports

Donate to Toys for Tots at County airports. Donations will be accepted at all five airports until 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10. Learn more about the fundraiser.

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Holiday Food Drive at Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is collecting food for the San Diego Food Bank now through Dec. 6. Any non-perishable food donation helps, but what’s needed most are canned meats and tuna, canned soup, canned vegetables and fruits, peanut butter, spaghetti, cereal, rice and macaroni and cheese. Drop boxes are located at County regional parks, campgrounds, community centers, nature centers and at the Parks Department at the County Operations Center.

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County Leadership Team Hosts Food Drive

The County’s leadership team is collecting food for the San Diego Food Bank, a hunger-relief and food rescue organization in the county. Their goal is to collect 4,000 pounds of food for the Food Bank.

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County Law Spread Holiday Cheer to Children

County Probation, the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation joined other local law enforcement agencies to sponsor “Shop with a Cop” on Dec. 3. The annual event provided 300 local children with a happier holiday season and encouraging positive relationships with officers. See more of the photos from the event.

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Psychiatric Hospital Employees Hold Food Drive

San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital hosted a food drive for the month of November to donate to the San Diego Food Bank.

AAACE ERG Fireside Chat: Leadership, Equity, Justice and Belonging

Mentorship opens doors and creates new possibilities. Join the Employee Resource Group Council’s Fireside Chat mentorship series on Friday, Dec. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. These quarterly sessions are moderated conversations with County leadership on the secrets to their career success.

The African American Association of County Employees event will feature Board of Supervisors District 3 Chief of Staff Crystal Page, HHSA Deputy Director Lillian Asoera, Chief Probation Officer Tamika Nelson and Office of Equity and Racial Justice Director Andrew Strong.

In this chat, AAACE and leadership will discuss the following:   

• Understanding the role that leadership, equity, justice and belonging have in career progression

• The consequences of going about your career without it

• How to gain or improve your leadership, equity, justice and belonging skills

The series is meant to be a passive mentorship opportunity. Attendees can look forward to a Q&A period following the moderated discussion. Submit questions in advance by noon, Dec. 15. 

Join on your computer or mobile app  

MS TEAMS LINK

Or call in (audio only)

+1 619-343-2539
525423218#

This session will be recorded.

Kicking Off the Holiday Season

The County Administration Center was lit Thursday night to celebrate the holiday season!

Increase Your Linguistic IQ; Join D&I Townhall Series

Have a voice. Join the next Diversity and Inclusion Executive Council Townhall series on Dec. 15. The “Inclusive Language and Communications” session moderator Natalia Bravo, CAO Chief of Staff, will be joined by the County’s new Language Services Manager José A. Álvarez, and new Community Engagement Manager Natalia Hentschel. The time will also be highlighted with additional voices and opportunities for audience engagement.

Join on your computer or mobile app  

MS TEAMS LINK

Or call in (audio only)

+1 619-343-2539
864 733 448# 

Make your voice heard. Take this pre-event survey ahead of the townhall.

This event will be recorded and live captioning will be offered.

Encourage your coworkers to attend the lunchtime townhall.

Time Is Running Out to Spend Your Flexible Spending Dollars

Time is running out to spend your Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) dollars on approved medical expenses.

Employees have until Dec. 31 to use their FSA/HRA on doctors’ office visits, prescription copays, eyeglasses and contacts, dental work and many other health expenditures. For a complete list of eligible purchases, please refer to ASI Flex.

If you are looking for ways to use your remaining funds, check out the FSA Store.

In addition, you may be able to roll over some of your unspent 2022 funds into 2023. Employees can roll over up to $570 into their 2023 Health Care FSA or HRA. The $570 is a combined amount for the FSA and the HRA.

If you are not sure how much you have left in your FSA or HRA, you can check your account balance through ASI Flex’s website.

A few restrictions to note: Dependent Care Flex Spending Account dollars do not roll over; and accounts must be active at the end of the year to be eligible for rollover.

For more information, visit the Department of Human Resources’ Benefits division on InSite.

EWA Accepting Nominations for Board Positions

Joining a County employee resource group in a leadership role is a great way to develop skills, implement your passions, expand your County professional network, and serve your fellow County employees.

Apply now for the 2023-2024 board term with the Emerging Workforce Association ERG! Applications are due by Dec. 28.

Help EWA achieve its mission to bridge the generational gap through education, enhancement of work culture and networking while promoting County initiatives.

Learn more about EWA. For questions, email  ewa@sdcounty.ca.gov.

County Employees Needed to Help Count People Experiencing Homelessness

Our County is doing more than ever before to address homelessness—and we could use your help.

County employees are needed to volunteer for the annual Point-in-Time Count, scheduled to take place from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26.

Each year, the Point in Time Count begins our region’s effort to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night of the year—to talk with them, collect information to help us understand the scope of the homeless problem, people’s circumstances and their needs. This count also helps our region apply for federal and state funding to help serve this vulnerable population and measure our efforts to reduce homelessness.

You can be part of that effort by volunteering a few hours of your time—paid for and on the clock, thanks to approval by the County Board of Supervisors.

The deadline to sign up is 5 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23. However, employees who receive the OK to take part from their supervisors are encouraged to register as soon as possible because deployment sites fill up quickly. You can review the FAQs and then obtain approval from your supervisor via the supervisor approval form if you are interested in participating.

Once you get approval, please sign up here.

After you have signed up, you will receive an email receipt for this event. In the email there will be a link to a training for you to review from The Regional Task Force on Homelessness, which is leading the local point-in-time effort with the WeALLCount campaign.

Volunteers will be asked to arrive at their deployment locations by 3:45 a.m. to give themselves time to become familiar with a mobile counting app that helps us conduct a more accurate count and receive your count area map.

The 2023 count, as directed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will again entail an “engaged” survey-based approach, where people on the streets will be surveyed as they are encountered, rather than just an observational count.

This will be the ninth year that County employees have volunteered to take part in the count. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported last year that the 2022 count found 8,427 people experiencing homelessness—a number they said should be considered a minimum—across the county, a 10% increase from the 2020 count. No count was taken in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2022 count, roughly 150 County employees helped out, and are again encouraged to take part in this important effort. Members of the public can also join the count. If you know family or friends who would like to participate, they can sign up to volunteer.

So, if you’d like to help make a difference in addressing this important issue, please volunteer.

The Many Ways and Days to Support CECO

With Thanksgiving behind us, it is time to really get into the holiday spirit with the San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO). Shop Cyber Monday deals while supporting CECO or consider a donation on Giving Tuesday, a day focused on charitable giving.

Here’s how to support CECO this holiday season:

1. Make a one-time donation.

2. Become a CECO contributor or increase your payroll contributions and get a CECO canvas bag as a thank you. Please see CECO pledge instructions.

3. Select CECO as your charity of choice through AmazonSmile and 0.5% of eligible purchases will be donated to the nonprofit. AmazonSmile is a way customers can support their favorite charitable organization every time they shop with Amazon, at no additional cost. See instructions.

Your generosity can have a big impact. Through County employee and retirees’ donations, CECO has distributed more than $7 million to local nonprofit organizations and employees in crisis since its founding in 1956. And it stands apart from other charitable organizations because it is run by County employees and 100% of money donated benefits the people and organizations in our area.

To learn more about CECO, visit sdceco.org.

How Fit Are You?

This fit test involves no exertion. Employees who may be in situations where airborne safety measures to prevent transmission is warranted are required to wear tight-fitting respirators. They must be fit tested initially and annually.

In this photo, submitted by County staff nurse Takisha “Shaun” Murry, she and her coworker Mischa Joy Denton are getting a fit test by Crystal Delgado. Murry is in the Public Health Residency program.

Share your fabulous photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or a wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov. Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. One image will be posted to InSite every week and may be shared on social media.

See more of Your View photos.