E-GOV:  Hamilton County's New One Stop Transaction Web Page

Hamilton County has added a new feature to its Web Site, the E-Gov link page.  This page provides a one-stop location for citizens to identify transactions they can do directly with the County over the Internet.  The E-Gov service is now available through the Hamilton county home page (http://www.hamilton-co.org/).  Through the E-Gov page citizens have convenient 24 hour access to many county transactions including birth/death certificate request, electronic court filing, payment for parking tickets and real estate taxes and much more.  

Check out E-Gov at www.hamilton-co.org/egov

 MSD to hold Deep Tunnel Symposium  

In co-operation with the Hamilton County Environmental Action Commission (HCEAC) there will also be a public information session Saturday, August 18^th from 9:00 a.m. until Noon.

For more information please visit http://www.msdgc.org/news/archives/tunnel_symposium/  

Hamilton County Hosts Ohio Turfgrass Expo  

The goal of the workshops is to ensure the overall success of all projects by promoting better land management practices from development through landscape installation.  They will emphasize the importance of communication between all parties involved on any project to achieve that goal.  There will be discussion of various aspects of project development and an opportunity to state concerns and ask questions.  For more information call 513-946-8989.

Board of Elections' "Community Outreach" Receives National Recognition  

Employee of the Year Profile:  Ali Khodadad

Hamilton County Human Services Adopts New Name

The name change responds to a state mandate. In July 2000, the Ohio General Assembly merged the Ohio Department of Human Services and Ohio Bureau of Employment Services to create the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. At the same time, state legislators ordered all county human services agencies to adopt the new name and gave them until December 2002 to comply.

"We’re probably the last local human services department in Ohio to adopt the new name, but the impact on a large, urban agency is massive," said interim director Barbara Manuel. "We had to make hundreds of changes on forms, signs, publications, computer programs, and elsewhere. Taking our time had two benefits: less waste because we used up supplies and less confusion because our name change will be virtually across the board."

Locally, the name change affects a broader range of services than in other counties. Most urban counties in Ohio have separate human services, child support, and children services agencies—and changed the name of their human services agency only. Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services is the largest fully combined human services agency in the state. Here, the name change covers a host of social programs serving more than 300,000 people. In 2000, one in 40 Hamilton County residents received a welfare check, one in 34 was involved with Children’s Services, one in 23 used a public voucher for child care, one in 18 received food stamp benefits, one in 10 was covered by Medicaid, and one in five had a local child support case.

Signs bearing the new name will go up at the agency’s headquarters, 222 East Central Parkway, downtown, and at its Neighborhood Center, 237 William Howard Taft Road, Mt. Auburn. Revised badges have been issued to employees, so customers who receive home visits should expect agency identification to look different. Stationery, business cards, public information materials, and the agency web site have also been updated for the new name and will be rolled out Monday.

Great America Ball park Traveling Display

Individuals and businesses interested in hosting the Great American Ball Park traveling display should contact Stacey Kuhl or Barnard Baker at (513) 564-0700 for more information.

County Personnel Customer Service Team in place to better serve you

This team has received some great questions from employees, and the answers impact many county employees. So, we're sharing some of the questions and answers here with you.

If you have questions for County Personnel, please contact the customer service team.  You can call 946-4700 or e-mail County.PersonnelCST@hamilton-co.org.

Once I submit a request for reimbursement from a flexible spending account, how long will it take for me to get my check?

If your request gets to County Personnel by the last day of a month, your check will be issued on the 15^th of the following month.  If your request gets to County Personnel by the 15^th of a month, your check will be issued on the last day of that month. 

So, if you want to speed up the time between making your request & receiving your check, keep these deadlines in mind.  By getting your request to your organization’s payroll officer early, you’ll help the payroll officer meet these deadlines.  You can ask your organization's Payroll Officer to try to get your request to CPD by those deadlines. 

I love working for Hamilton County!  Where can I find out about other job openings within the county?  And, when I see a job posting, how long will I have to submit an application?

You can find out about other jobs available within the county by checking with various county organizations' personnel departments to see what they have available.  For positions available under the Board of County Commissioners (and for positions with many other organizations that choose to advertise openings this way), you can check the County Personnel Department's Job Postings.

You can find out about positions posted under the BoCC by:

*  Calling the CPD Jobs' Hotline – 946-4717

*  Checking the CPD web site – www.hamilton-co.org

*  Visiting CAB Room 710, where binders containing the postings are on a table for     

   reference

*  Checking bulletin boards throughout the County

Postings are updated weekly, so be persistent!  Keep checking until you find what's of interest to you. 

You'll want to pay attention to the date the posting closes, since that date is the last day you can apply for the position.  When agencies under the Board of County Commissioners post positions, they must post for at least 10 work days.  They have the option of posting it for a longer period of time if they choose.  Organizations not under the BoCC do not have minimum time requirements for posting.

Job and Family Services Department Receives Prestigious Accreditation

"This puts our staff among the elite,” says HCDHS Welfare Reform Executive John Young, who chaired the agency’s Accreditation Steering Committee. “We can hold our heads high that we work for an agency that adheres to hundreds of standards practiced by the country’s top social service providers.”

COA says that “accreditation attests that an organization meets the highest national standards and is delivering the best quality services to the community it services.”  COA is a 24-year-old independent, not-for-profit entity. COA’s mission is to promote best-practice standards; champion quality services for children, youth and families; and advocate for the value of accreditation.

The COA accreditation process involves an in-depth examination of an organization’s compliance with best-practice standards. The process included a review of organizational standards, including human resources, financial and risk management, and continuous quality improvement, as well as service standards. The service standards addressed included: emergency shelter care, short-term care, child protective, adult protective, adoption, homemaker service, intensive family preservation, foster family care, foster care for medically fragile infants and children, foster or group care for unaccompanied minors.

A wide variety of agency employees devoted countless hours to analysis, documentation and improvement. The agency completed the self-study phase of accreditation in November. Work groups analyzed how the agency measured up against hundreds of standards in 16 sections of the council’s manual. They initiated improvements where we fell short and documented in binders where we measured up. The process has paid dividends in Adult Services, Children’s Services, Fiscal and Human Resources. 

"The accreditation process has been a great experience and opportunity for the agency,” says Moira Weir, Children’s Services section chief. “It confirms to staff that we set and achieve best practice and professional standards. Additionally, it states to the public that we meet the ‘highest national standards’ and deliver the best quality service." 

COA is endorsed by leading consumer, professional groups, many regulatory bodies and managed care organizations.  COA is sponsored by the Alliance for Children and Families, Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies, Catholic Charities USA, Child Welfare League of America, Foster Family-based Treatment Association, Lutheran Services in America, National Foundation for Credit Counseling, National Network for Youth, and Prevent Child Abuse America.  

HCJFS will display the COA logo, "The Symbol of Quality," on the agency website, stationery and the like.  

Have a Great Week!