Weekly Round Up

Public Service Recognition Month As we end our eighth week of Shelter-in-Place, we pause for a moment to recognize and thank all of you, our amazing county employees. Alameda County has declared all of May as Public Service Recognition Month. We take this opportunity to make sure we thank you.

Because of your dedication, your love of community, your hard work and your strength, we are confident that we will emerge from these unprecedented days and weeks with a sense of pride in our shared accomplishments.

The unexpected nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has tested us in surprising and challenging ways.

Yet, you have not missed a beat. Each county agency and department has been challenged to be nimble, to adapt to this new and changing landscape, and you have demonstrated remarkable resolve and resilience.

Cheers to you.

ACStaff

Connect

Staying up to date with the latest employee related COVID-19 information can be a challenge.

To make it easier, we have created a new webpage just for County employees.

https://acstaff.org

Visit the page often to get the latest information.

You can also subscribe to receive email/text updates when new information is posted.

It’s as easy as 1-2-3 to subscribe.

1. Visit https://acstaff.org

2. Click on

3. Enter your email or cell phone number

Issue #1 | May 8, 2020 | Alameda County

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Farm to Food Bank Alameda County Community Food Bank and United Ag Member Farms Team Up to Feed Those Most in Need A Triple Win: Andrew & Williamson/Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe and Dynasty Farms providing vegetables and fruit to Food Bank: County residents in need of food, the food bank that is running short on food and the farmers who have excess capacity due to cancelled orders are all winners.

In one of the first agreements of its kind between a county food bank and California producers, two farms will begin providing, at a reasonable rate, produce to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, allowing it to provide additional much-needed fresh fruit and vegetables to a growing number of residents in need of assistance. This innovative pilot program assists the food banks while keeping the agricultural supply chain together which is critical to the future of food supply.

As the county ends its eighth week of shelter-in-place, the demand for food at local food banks increases every day.

“When the COVID-19 emergency took hold, we experienced a 1,000 percent increase in calls to our emergency food helpline – more than half of which were from households that had never reached out for help before,” says Suzan Bateson, Executive Director of Alameda County Community Food Bank.

ACCFB’s food distribution is up more than 25% year over year and it is providing enough food to serve more than 50,000 people per day.

Deliveries will begin May 5, with nearly 4,000 pounds of strawberries and over 7,000 crowns of broccoli. These are foods that have not been regularly available at the food banks.

The connection leading to this partnership was initialed by the County Administrator’s Office and highlights the nimble and innovative way in which county agencies are working together during the crisis to maintain critical services to our communities. Alameda County had strong and unique programs aimed at ending food insecurity. Our “Food as Medicine” program, food drives, Stone Soup competition and urban farms all shine as unique models of food delivery and sustainability.

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Mother’s Day For many of us the celebration this year will be different and more distanced than we would like. We wish all of you – moms, daughters and sons – a healthy and happy Mother’s Day!

2020 marks Social Services Agency, Department of Workforce & Benefits Administration’s 5th annual Mother’s Day giveaway. The Agency will distribute a combination of over 270 purses, gift bags and organza fabric bags to our clients who come to our lobbies to apply for or inquire about public benefits. Each purse and bag include a variety of toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products, and disposable masks that individuals are not able to purchase with their CalFresh benefits. One of our division offices will also distribute diaper bags with diapers for new mothers, and 40 additional bags for homeless individuals. This year’s giveaway was in jeopardy due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to limit public access to our lobbies, but staff created a safe and socially distanced method to continue this amazing work.

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Online Marriages and Virtual Ceremonies At 3:30PM on May 5, 2020, Derek Cox and Giselle Martin became the first couple to be married virtually in Alameda County. The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder's Office was able to issue them their online marriage license and perform their marriage ceremony virtually pursuant to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-58-20.

Melissa Wilk, the County’s Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder provided the following statement:

"I want to congratulate Derek and Giselle and thank Governor Newsom for recognizing the need of California residents to safely proceed with their marriage plans during this incredibly uncertain time while still providing for social distancing. The staff of the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder's Office and the County's Information Technology Department worked at record speed to implement the Governor's Executive Order. We couldn't be more thrilled to be able to offer online marriage services to our customers because we know that when benefits and family lives are uncertain, ensuring basic rights like marriage is so very important to all of us."

News release…

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Heroes of the Week Each week we will highlight county employees for heroism, acts of kindness and exceptional service to the community.

The County Salutes a Winning Team! The Alameda County Public Health Department’s Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (DCDCP) is among the longest serving Bay Area front-line teams working on the pandemic. Comprised of clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, public health investigators, the Health Officer, and the Public Health Lab, this group of heroes has led the COVID-19 response for Alameda County since January 22, 2020.

The DCDCP Team is a division within the Health Department, where its purview includes all aspects of infectious disease and public health preparedness and response activities. Their day to day work includes preventing and controlling the spread of more than 80 infectious diseases that are reportable by law to the State, including TB, HIV and STDs. They also oversee the County’s immunization program. The team springs into emergency action when there are outbreaks.

The team was monitoring the Wuhan outbreak in December and activated its emergency response on January 22. Led by Health Officer, Dr. Erica Pan and DCDCP Director, Dr. Nicholas Moss, this team forms the foundation of HCSA’s Department Operations Center, which now includes nearly 300 people across the agency.

DCDCP is at the core of the County’s COVID-19 containment and mitigation strategy, which includes testing, investigating all cases and close contacts of cases, providing clinical and community guidance, and ensuring that all Alameda County residents have the resources they need to safely isolate and quarantine. Working around the clock, the team’s scope has expanded to include direct support for long-term care facilities, Santa Rita Jail, homeless encampments, and management of medical volunteers.

Thank you, DCDCP for leading the way in saving thousands of lives!

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Super Social Worker Visits This week, KRON4 news beat us to the punch. Melissa Ryan, one of the county’s heroes of the week, exemplifies the combination of professionalism, creativity, dedication and compassion that makes us proud to call her a colleague and member of the Alameda County Family.

(KRON4) — A local social worker is helping families and children lift their spirits despite coronavirus restrictions though her “Super Social Worker Visits.”

Melissa Ryan has been a social worker for 30 years and the last 20 as an Alameda County Adoption Child Welfare worker. With shelter-in-place orders still in full effect Ryan wanted to find a way she can visit her families while maintaining social distance.

“My families were tired of zoom meetings and have always experienced my visits to be very alive, animated and beginning and ending with sincere, heartfelt hugs,” Ryan said.

After attempting to visit some of her foster children amid shelter-in-place orders, Ryan tells KRON4 the visits didn’t go as planned and had to find a creative way she can continue to see her clients.

“After that I decided that I needed to keep my butt in my adorable, Infamous Volkswagen bug named Carma, and tell families I can’t get out of my car,” Ryan said. “Therefore, I dug into my Burning Man costume trunk and decided that dressing up in costume would be much more fun for all involved.”

Despite shelter-in-place orders social workers continue to be mandated to have monthly contact with their clients. Over the last seven weeks social workers have seen their duties drastically change.

“I am learning how critical human contact is to my well-being and instead of feeling depressed I am trying to lean into it,” Ryan said.

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CARES Act Notice went out to all county employees this week that the government recently signed into law a stimulus package – the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It offers a variety of relief programs for Americans.

The CARES Act and Deferred Compensation: This relief program has expanded options for accessing your money by reducing restrictions on early withdrawals (CRDs) and loans against retirement accounts for eligible individuals.

You’re eligible if you meet one of these qualifications:

• You, your spouse or dependent is diagnosed with COVID-19 or with the virus SARS-Co-V-2, by a test approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• You have personally experienced adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, or laid off; if your work hours have been reduced; or if you are unable to work due to lack of childcare or business closures related to the coronavirus pandemic. This does not include financial distress suffered by a spouse or dependent.

If you’re eligible, under the new law you have access to: Coronavirus Related Distributions (CRD) Withdrawals

• You can withdraw up to $100,000 without the usual 10% penalty. • Spread out any income taxes that you owe over three years from the date you took the

withdrawal. If you no longer need the money, you can recontribute within three years.

Loans • You can take out a loan of up to $100,000 or 100% of your vested balance, whichever is less. This

option is available from now through September 23, 2020. • If you have a current or new loan(s) you may suspend the payments until December 31, 2020. Your

loan(s) payment has to be current as of February 1, 2020 to take advantage of this option. More details can be found here.

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Stay Connected Follow Alameda County’s social media channels to get the latest updates anywhere, anytime.

These websites have the most current information on the pandemic: • Alameda County Public Health • Centers for Disease Control • California Department of Public Health

Tips & Resources As was announced earlier this week, the county is supplying two cloth face coverings to every county employee. It is important that we all know how to wear and care for them in order to ensure they are effective. Here are some guidelines on how to wear a face covering properly:

• Do not touch the inside of the face covering • Only touch the ties and adjust the outside to fit

your nose/face by touching it as little as possible • Make sure it covers from the brim of your nose

to under your chin • Always wash your hands before and after

touching your face covering