The Arellanes family from left to right are: Debora Arellanes, Kim Arellanes, Leticia Arellanes and in the front Cristina Garcia.In 1987, when Kim Arellanes got hired on full-time with the County of San Diego for the Alternate Public Defender’s Office, her three daughters, Debora, Leticia and Cristina, were in elementary and preschool. Arellanes recently celebrated her 30th County work anniversary -- and her three daughters, of course now grown, are also County employees in different departments.
“We sent flowers to her work for all the hard work she did. She worked really hard to support us as a single mom,” said Cristina Garcia, the youngest daughter who works as a human resources assistant with the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk.
Kim Arellanes said she loves her County job and she absolutely recommended the County as a workplace to her daughters because it is a good organization that offers stability and benefits.
“I always felt fortunate to have those things especially as a single mother,” she said.
Her first job with the County was a detentions review officer with the Court’s Central Intake Program, but now she works as an investigator with the Alternate Public Defenders Office, and she loves what she does.
She had studied law when her children were young but did not pass her bar exam on her first attempt. She always thought she’d go back later and retake it later in life, but she ultimately decided she liked her job more. She likes helping people, going out in the field and knowing her work differs on a daily basis.
Her middle daughter, Leticia Arellanes, works as a contracts manager for the HIV, STD & Hepatitis Branch of Public Health Services for Health & Human Services Agency. She is glad she took her mother’s advice 17 years ago to work at the County.
Her older sister, Debora Arellanes, has worked at the County for 10 years with the Eligibility Operations program for Health & Human Services Agency. Youngest sister Cristina Garcia has worked with the County for 6 years.
“Both of them wish they had done it a little earlier,” Leticia Arellanes said of sisters. “But both had a different dream at the time. Now we’re all here.”
When Leticia Arellanes started working at the County, her supervisors were flexible and supportive of her career path allowing her to obtain her degree. This has been her experience at every department with regard to training.
“When I started here I had never worked with contracts, and I knew nothing about the (HIV, STD & Hepatitis) program, but now I can do this,” said Leticia Arellanes. “You just have to find a niche and place that you are willing to put your effort into, and they have to be willing to give you a chance.”
Garcia said she has had a similar experience where her supervisors have helped her to advance. Sometimes she said it’s about looking at the big picture. In her case, she took a pay cut leaving the private sector to come to the County, then later she voluntarily demoted at the County and get on the path for another level of work.
“I knew it would be better for me in the long-run,” she said. “I never expected that I’d go from being an office assistant to a human resources assistant in five years.”
Garcia said she loves making a difference in her job and she now wants to go back to school to finish her degree in human resources.
Older sister Debora Arellanes said her mother and sister had been telling her to apply with the County for years, so when her children got older, she applied and was hired on. She said it was the best decision she ever made.
“I’ve enjoyed every position I’ve ever had and I’ve worked at five different offices and been promoted three times. I’ve worked with great people and great supervisors,” said Debora Arellanes.
She said her mother is the hardest working person she knows, and her mom loves her work. Sometimes, she’ll call her at night and her mother is researching information for a case and she is excited about it.
“It is amazing and I am so proud of her,” she said of her mother’s 30 years with the County. “I’m so thankful for everything that she did for me and my sisters and grandkids. She’s been a blessing.”
