 |
|
Director's Message
August 20, 2004
To: DHS Employees
From: Gary Weeks, Director
Our valuable judicial partners
Judges are among our most valuable partners. Just as we do, they work daily with children and families struggling with domestic violence, addiction, mental health problems, abuse, neglect and other challenges.
If we are to produce the best outcomes for these children and families, and for society as a whole, the human services and legal systems must work together. It's important that we acknowledge this relationship and work to strengthen it.
An excellent forum
The annual Through the Eyes of a Child conference, which brings together judges to discuss issues facing children and families, provides a valuable opportunity to share information and explore possibilities for collaboration.
Earlier this week, Ramona Foley and I made presentations at the conference. This was an opportunity for us to discuss policy issues in child welfare, our budget outlook and other aspects of our work.
Judges expressed their concerns about the amount of time that the adoption process takes — concerns that we share. We also discussed trends toward evidence-based practice in treating mental illness, and our efforts to provide a broader range of individualized, community-based mental health treatment to children.
As many others in our state have done, the judges voiced concerns about reductions in the Oregon Health Plan, and the effects of these cuts on families.
And they expressed concern about workload and turnover issues facing our child welfare staff. We shared information about our budget proposal to increase support from the Attorney General's office for our child welfare workers, who now spend large amounts of time preparing for court cases.
Impact of trauma on children
The conference also included an insightful presentation from Dr. Bruce Perry, Senior Fellow at Houston's ChildTrauma Academy. Dr. Perry is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of child maltreatment and the impact of trauma and neglect on the developing brain.
He explained that exposure to domestic violence, or to physical or sexual abuse, produces biological changes in the brains of very young children. This in turn may affect children's emotional, social and cognitive functions.
In closing
Clearly, our state's judges are committed to working with us. It was gratifying to meet with the judges, including Wallace P. Carson, Jr., Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and to reaffirm this commitment.
Responding to West Nile virus
As the media have reported, West Nile virus has arrived in Oregon. Several horses and a dead crow, all in Eastern Oregon, have tested positive for the virus in recent days.
The news provides a good opportunity to highlight the value of our public health function, not only in monitoring and detecting disease, but also in providing information to help Oregonians protect themselves and put the risk in perspective.
Our state public health veterinarian, Dr. Emilio DeBess, did just this in a "Monday Conversation" article this week in the Salem Statesman Journal.
Dr. DeBess explained that the only way humans can get the disease is to be bitten by an infected mosquito, so people must take the responsibility to protect themselves. He urged Oregonians to avoid contact with mosquitoes, to use repellent when necessary, and to take steps to reduce the mosquito population on their property and in their neighborhoods.
Dr. DeBess also provided context to help Oregonians understand the risks of West Nile. He noted, for example, that most people who are infected experience no symptoms and won't even know they ever had West Nile. And he pointed out that in the U.S. last year, the 10,000 reported cases of West Nile resulted in about 200 deaths, compared to about 30,000 deaths from influenza.
Our Public Health Web site contains a great deal more information on the virus, how it is spread and how you can protect yourself and your family.
Vandalism no match for Coos Bay DHS staffers
I'd like to recognize the staff of the Newmark Center in Service Delivery Area (SDA) 7 for the outstanding job they did in continuing to serve DHS clients last week after vandals damaged their office.
When the Newmark Center staff arrived for work on the morning of August 12, they found the facility broken into through the front glass door and ground-level windows.
Because of the amount of broken glass throughout the first floor, no business could be done there until the police could make a thorough investigation and clean-up crews could be called in.
Employees had to move
This made it necessary to shift about 40 DHS employees and 20 of our community partners to other work areas. Local managers worked together to make this happen as seamlessly as possible.
Much of the self-sufficiency staff moved to the Sheridan Building, where the child welfare staff members were very accommodating. I'm told one reason the level of cooperation was so high was that the managers from different programs knew each other because of our increased efforts to integrate services.
System never stopped working
Client orientation sessions and intakes had to be moved upstairs at Newmark. Phone service and answering capabilities were shifted to other offices. Staff members stood in the parking lot to direct clients to other locations and to accept paperwork. One staffer actually conducted an intake interview with a client in the parking lot.
SDA manager Richard Whitwer wants to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of Self Sufficiency Program Manager Betty Albertson and line supervisors Sheila Daniel and Debbie Swafford, who coordinated all these activities and made everything come together so well.
Lesson learned
Although things went smoothly in this instance, an important lesson was learned: make sure you keep copies of contingency plans in a few places other than just in your building.
Keep a copy in your briefcase, or make up a wallet-sized card for staff with key contact information. You don't want to have that important information filed away in a building you are unable to enter.
Thanks to all of you in Coos Bay who worked so well together and made the adjustments necessary to ensure that the important services we provide to our clients were not disrupted.
Adirondack furniture in HSB lobby
If you visit or work in our Human Services Building (HSB) in Salem, you may have noticed — or even sat in — the white, Adirondack-style chairs in the lobby.
They are attractive, extremely well made, and most important to us — built by maximum-security patients at the State Hospital as part of their therapy.
The furniture, which includes both adult- and child-size chairs, ottomans, loveseats and end tables, is available to the public at very reasonable prices and has been popular with Oregonians for more than a decade.
Making the furniture provides opportunities for patients to gain valuable skills, earn money and feel productive as they continue treatment. We are pleased to be able to display their work to employees and visitors to our building.
For more information about the program, including ordering information, see the Staff news story on our Web site.
Food for thought
"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."
— Maya Angelou
|
This message is intended for all Department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.
If you have a disability and need a document on this Web site to be provided to you in another format, please send an email to dhs.forms@state.or.us or call (503) 945-7021, fax (503) 373-7690 or TTY (503) 947-5080. If you know of others who need this accommodation, please let them know it is available.
Oregon Department of Human Services
Director's Office
500 Summer St. NE E15, Salem, OR 97301-1097
Phone: (503) 945-5944
Fax: (503) 378-2897
TTY: (503) 947-6214
|
|
|
|
|
