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  GOLD -  Jimmy Cook of the Family and Children's Services Division

As a Social Work Supervisor II in the Family and Children's Services Division, Jimmy has earned the respect and admiration of co-workers for his outstanding management style, his compassion, his ability to mentor and lead staff, and his natural ability to connect with people of all ages. Jimmy is exceedingly knowledgeable about child welfare issues, enabling him to guide staff to make decisions with the best interests of clients in mind. By his own example, Jimmy has demonstrated the importance of supervising and teaching in a supportive manner, and his leadership has assisted the division in the face of challenging times and diminishing resources. He consistently encourages staff to take good care of themselves, which in turn enables them to devote that same level of care to clients. The Human Services Department benefits greatly from Jimmy's own job performance and by the many ways in which he provides support to co-workers.

  SILVER -  Shared by members of the Human Services Department's Help Desk Team

Left to Right:
Eric Kollars
Silvia Zepeda
Gloria Rivera
Rachel Stephens
Inset:
Angelica Guadamuz

When the Human Services Department went live with the CalWIN eligibility application in 2005, it posed a very complicated system for Eligibility Workers who were working in hundreds of windows and entering information in thousands of fields for each eligibility case to which they were assigned. Once employees had learned this extremely complex process, changes and updates to the system resulted in a significant increase in the number of calls for assistance to the Human Services Department's Help Desk. In response, members of the Help Desk Team quickly developed monthly mini training courses for users of CalWIN, customized the training to meet the various needs of staff. They presented the courses in five different office locations so that all staff could participate. These extremely effective courses address a wide range of CalWIN topics, enabling employees to do their work more efficiently while providing the framework for managers to create or update processes as needed. The outstanding work of each member of this team ensures that employees receive the information they need in a timely manner so that they can work effectively and efficiently on behalf of CalWIN participants.

  BRONZE -  Gail Goudreau of the Adult and Long Term Care Division


Gail has consistently brought a host of valuable attributes to her work on behalf of the various programs in the Adult and Long Term Care Division and has been an excellent resource within the division. This past year Gail headed the Improving Care Transitions Program, providing leadership from development of the grant application through the successful completion of the project. She uses creativity to find ways to bring humor into any situation, and her efforts to support staff morale through hard times have been greatly appreciated by both co-workers and supervisors. Gail also demonstrated considerable flexibility when budget constraints resulted in a reassignment to a new position in a different work site this past year. Throughout this process, Gail expressed enthusiasm about learning something new and immediately took steps to learn what she needed to know so that she could continue her outstanding work for the department. Gail is also a wonderful ambassador in the community, consistently treating clients, caregivers, and the public with unfailing courtesy and respect, and is deserving of public recognition.