Secret Santas Brighten Holidays for Foster Youth

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Secret Santas: Jane Pineda, Lorna Prelipp (former HHSA public health nurse), Gretchen Morgan, Claudia Bell (Child Welfare Services supervisor) and Stacey Haywood ‘Secret Santas’ are at work in North County, helping ensure foster youth have a holiday to remember.

They’re from the Foster Youth Ministry at Solana Beach Presbyterian. The outreach group was begun six years ago by three Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) employees and fellow church members.

Saturday the group is hosting its annual holiday celebration and distributing gifts to more than 100 foster youth and former foster youth.

Claudia Bell, a Child Welfare Services (CWS) supervisor in Oceanside said the group is a great way for her to meld her faith with her passion for foster youth. She became friends with fellow CWS supervisor James Largent after discovering he went to the same church and both worked for HHSA. The two social workers both understood the need and wanted to do something about it.

 “We asked, ‘What can our church - as a community - do?’” Bell said.

The answer was support foster youth and foster families.

Bell, Largent, Lorna Prelip – a since-retired HHSA public health nurse – and two other church members started the Foster Youth Ministry.

The group has been working on this year’s holiday party for a few months.

Foster parents send the group wish lists and clothing size information for the children. Each child gets two stars on a giving tree displayed at the church – one star for a fun gift or toy and the other for clothing.

Families in the congregation pick out stars and fulfill the wishes. They drop off the unwrapped gifts the two Sundays prior to the event. Then it’s time for the big party.

“There’s a wrapping room and a party room,” said Bell. “It’s a wild party – it’s pretty crazy.

“There’s cookie decorating, crafts, a ‘jumpy’ and candy apple decorating. That’s really messy, but the kids love it.”

A group of volunteers supervise the children in the party room. That frees up the foster parents who sneak off into the wrapping room with another set of volunteers to wrap the presents to take home - without the kids knowing about it.

It also gives volunteers a chance to meet and visit with foster parents.

“Part of the purpose of the ministry is to educate people in the community about foster families,” said Bell. “The party allows congregation members a chance to talk to families and get to know what being a foster parent is all about.

“For me, it’s a nice way to sit down and chat with foster parents and not have the conversation be about work things like ‘Did you get your kid to their appointment?’”

The ministry also partners with Just in Time, a non-profit that works with youth leaving the foster care system and transitioning to living on his or her own.

Each former foster youth is given a big stocking full of household gifts like gift cards, towels, sheets, etc.

The holiday party isn’t the only activity for Foster Youth Ministry.

“Our church has community service days and on those days we help four or five former foster youth move in and set up their homes through the “My First Home” project with Just in Time.

They are also involved in San Diego County’s Camp Connect – an annual four-day camp where foster children are reunited with brothers and sisters that have been placed in different foster homes.

“We have people from our church that volunteer at Camp Connect events and at the camp,” said Bell.

Ministry members Bill and Gretchen Morgan also host a one-day surf camp for Camp Connect kids in May every year.

County Leaders Share Career Insights

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County executives respond to questions at the Interview an Executive event Dec. 3. Panelists shown on dais (from left) include Dr. Wilma Wooten, the County's Public Health Officer, Ebony Shelton, Director of Financial Policy and Planning, Don Turko, Director of Human Resources and Rich Crompton, Director of Public Works. In front, employees (on left) Michele Blackwood Trejo, an Office Support Specialist with the Probation Department, and Lisa Fitzpatrick, an Administrative Secretary in Planning and Development Services, participate in a game of Jeopardy! All of the questions and answers related to the executives.

Soak up as much information as you can. Develop mentors. Say ‘yes’ to tough assignments.

These were just a few of the key pieces of advice shared by top County employees at a recent panel discussion sponsored by the African-American Association of County Employees (AAACE). The event, called “Interview an Executive,” drew more than 100 participants to the County Operations Center, according to the employee resource group.

Employees listened to tips on how succeed in job interviews, how to develop leadership skills and how the County recruits for diversity. Panelists included Don Turko, Director of the Department of Human Resources; Dr. Wilma Wooten, the County’s Public Health Officer; Jill Serrano, the Sheriff’s Chief Financial Officer; Dennis Gibson, Assistant Treasurer-Tax Collector; and Ebony Shelton, Director of Financial Policy and Planning.

The event was the first of its kind organized by AAACE, which just held its kick-off Oct. 28. The group is part of a surge of new employee resource groups at the County.

Among the many highlights at the panel discussion:

Keep your answers professional in job interviews, said Crompton. There’s a negative genre of questions, he said, and if you’re asked one such as, “how do you handle pressure at work,” try to reply in a positive way. For example, say that you work hard to minimize those situations where you could be put under pressure, but when they arise, you work hard with your team, keep your boss informed, and also take care of yourself, such as by exercising.

“But the truth is, sometimes pressure situations are there, and like everybody, I don’t necessarily like it,” Crompton suggested saying. “But I handle it well and I can get through it.”

Careers can also take unexpected turns. Serrano said she graduated with a degree in criminal justice, and never planned to become a chief financial officer one day.

“How is that even possible?” she said. “Well, it’s possible if you’re a sponge and you take things in. And that was one of the good things I did.”

Turko responded to a question on how the County ensures diversity within the organization, saying he talks with departments about how to cast the net wider for recruitment. He said he also confers with employee resource groups to get the word out internally and externally that the County is looking for the best possible candidate pool.

Turko suggested that employees continuously work on building their skills and make an effort to set themselves apart from other job candidates.

“I guess my best advice to everyone in the room regarding having an equal opportunity is set yourself aside and apart from everyone else,” he said. “Stand out in the interview process. Know the job you are applying for, know it backwards and forwards. Do your research. And if there’s anything unfair in the process it should be that you’re better prepared than all the other candidates that you’re going up against.”

AAACE's Alison Hunter said participants left the event feeling a greater sense of connection with the panelists. She said the organization hopes to make the event an annual affair.

For more information on AAACE, visit the group’s InSite page or website.

Probation, DA Staff Lead Shop With a Cop Spree

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Deputy Probation Officer Michael Keeley and two lucky girls take a breather during a previous Shop With a Cop event.
After 12 months of planning and fundraising, it’s now down to the little details for Saturday’s 20TH Shop With a Cop. The holiday event involves law enforcement from across the region but is cohosted this year by the County Probation Department and District Attorney’s Office. It pairs underprivileged children with an officer or two and gives them a fun morning that culminates in a $100 shopping spree at Target.

Supervising Probation Officer Linda Yoakum-Latimer and Supervising District Attorney Investigator Julio Barrios usually participate by taking a child shopping, but this time they took the lead in planning the event.

“It’s been challenging, but our goal was to raise the bar on it,” said Yoakum-Latimer of all the planning and fundraising.

The goal was met by reaching out to the community more with fundraising, coming up with new fundraisers such as a softball tournament and a motor poker run, inviting all law enforcement agencies in the County and hosting a logo design contest among Juvenile Hall youth, she said. The final logo was a combination of the three best entries, said Yoakum-Latimer.

Shop With a Cop is such a positive experience for the children and officers, said Yoakum-Latimer. She is thrilled that she had this opportunity to organize this year’s event with the help of other probation officers and the District Attorney’s Office.  

“It’s certainly a worthwhile function, it is worth the effort, but it is time consuming. Linda has been an absolute rock star with this event. It could not have happened without her,” said Barrios.

The planning committee sent out corporate letters to get sponsorships and organized fundraising events to raise enough money to hold the event. SeaWorld, Target, STAR/PAL, and the San Diego Crime Commission also help sponsor the event.

This year, approximately 330 third-grade children were selected by school counselors to go on the shopping spree and approximately 360 officers from law enforcement agencies across the county including federal and state officers will participate. The kids and their law enforcement partners will also be treated to breakfast and a private animal show at SeaWorld first before caravanning over to the Midway area Target store with lights and sirens blaring.

Yoakum-Latimer happily lists all the things that are planned which includes having Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins lead the caravan, Santa Claus flying overhead in a police helicopter and then landing at Target, free giftwrapping for the children, and a law enforcement vehicle display fair.

“It’s about giving and it’s kind of an exciting thing. My heart is in this,” said Yoakum-Latimer.


String, Spaghetti and Scotch Tape

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Sounds like the title of a movie but really they are just tools in the HR training toolbox. So are scavenger hunts and marshmallow challenges. Recent graduates of the Dynamic Management Seminars (DMS) made the discovery during on-the-job training.

Employees with management potential were nominated from all five groups to take part in the latest round of seminars so they could get a broader idea of how the County operates.

So what does that have to do with string, spaghetti and scotch tape? All three are part of the marshmallow challenge.  Teams compete to see who can build the tallest tower with those three items and still have it withstand the weight of a marshmallow. The key word is teams. The marshmallow challenge is a team- building exercise.     

In another lesson, the 33 DMS participants read clues on cards, then took part in a scavenger hunt at the County Operations Center to learn about the three different County initiatives: Safe Communities, Sustainable Environments and Healthy Families.

FGG CAO Staff Officer Andrew Strong was surprised at the ‘out-of-the-box’ training methods but more importantly he gained a new appreciation of the County’s inner workings.

“I thought the content was well thought out and it gave you a thorough look of what’s behind the curtain of County business,” said Strong. 

And that’s just it. Fun and games aside, the seminars have a serious purpose. Participants already know their piece of the puzzle, how their department works. The seminars are designed to show them how all the pieces come together to create the big County picture. The program ran every Friday for eight weeks, sometimes for half days and other times for full days. Some students were impressed at the amount of time and resources the County devoted to the training.

“The training was an eye opener to me,” said Treasurer/Tax Collector Assistant Manager Ezequiel Vasquez. “The General Managers and even Helen came to speak to us.”    

That would be Helen as in Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer. She talked about regional leadership during one of the sessions. County Counsel Tom Montgomery discussed the County’s scope of authority at another. The five group general managers took part in a panel discussion where they talked about their experience at the County and how they got to where they are today.  

“As a manager, your ability to grow and learn will be a valuable asset as you move through the organization,” said Assistant Chief Administrative Officer/Chief Operating Officer Don Steuer.    

The seminars also allowed participants to work on presentation and communication skills. They took the Myers Briggs personality test which helped them learn more about themselves and how to work well with different personalities.

“One of the strongest things I learned was to identify who we are (in terms of personality type), what they are and how to work with them,” said Environmental Health Specialist Bao-an Huynh.   

Not only did these students learn about personality types, they also learned more about each other and the departments where they work. Normally, they wouldn’t come across each other in their day-to-day lives. But now, if one has a question about another department or group, they know who to contact and get the answers they need.

Remember the string, spaghetti and scotch tape? These students will. As odd as it might sound, those three items were among the building blocks of a dynamic management course. No matter where they go at the County or what they do, they’ve learned skills that will hold them in good stead throughout their careers.