Notes of the
Campus Welfare Committee Meeting
Members in attendance:
Special Guests at this meeting: Wilma Gold, Director, Campus Child Care Services, and Esther Sylvan, Senior Analyst, Staff Human Resources
Chair Sunell began the meeting with several announcements:
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The
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Executive Budget Committee website (http://planning.ucsc.edu/ebc/archive/)
is being updated on a regular basis. The
site is closely monitored by
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Rachel Huff reminded everyone of the upcoming
Annual Staff Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, May 7, Stevenson College Dining
Hall from
Transitional
Support Services Program
Esther explained that the Transitional Support Program was created out of need. Career Development Workshops have existed for quite some time as part of the campus’s Professional Development Program. Esther held regular workshops that focused on areas of career advancement. However, as the impact of budget cuts loomed it was decided that an official program be put into place to assist staff whose jobs may be directly affected by layoffs. Workshops (many of which are free) are now focusing on resume writing, interview preparation, and skill assessment. During winter quarter 97 people participated in these workshops, and more workshops are planned for spring and summer ’04. There are even plans to hold a workshop on preparation for retirement.
Future plans are to hold “virtual workshops” on-line, as well as establishing on-line registration for career counseling and coaching. The idea is to target not only those who have been laid off from their jobs, but also those who have survived layoffs in their departments. Information will need to be supplied to supervisors and managers regarding topics such as workload management under circumstances of reduced staff, etc.
Esther also mentioned the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides confidential consultation and referral services for Faculty and Staff. The EAP program provides no-cost assistance with a variety of personal or workplace concerns, ranging from stress and depression, to coping with grief and loss. Through the UBH EAP benefit, employees also have access to legal counseling. The services of this program are available to all faculty and staff employees, including those who are on temporary layoff, furlough, leave of absence and sabbatical. Employees who have been indefinitely laid off may continue to use the Employee Assistance Program for six months following the layoff date.
Esther distributed the contents of what she referred to as
the “Layoff Packet”, which has recently been revised to include a booklet
containing in-debt information on the impacts of job loss (financial,
emotional, etc.) and ways to cope. The
booklet, Surviving a Layoff, is published
by Dahlstrom & Co., a
Esther concluded her presentation by saying that
communication is essential during difficult times, and UC endeavors to allow
employees access to all available resources to help them recover from a layoff.
Child Care
Advisory Committee Update
Wilma Gold explained that the committee is trying to assess the number of people on campus with children. This is proving to be an arduous task, since the only time this question is asked and officially recorded is for entering freshmen. The current survey (soon to be released) is more attitudinal. A needs assessment is necessary before this child care survey can be complete.
Wilma explained some of the Governor’s new proposals, and how they would impact CCS:
- Proposed limit on child care benefit – this proposal would set a limit on services to undergraduate and certificate program students that lead to self-supporting employment to 24 cumulative months. This is a major policy change that would affect both full time students and job trainees as well as full time workers who need child care for part-time schooling which may take longer than 24 months to complete.
- Proposed
reduction in eligibility standards based on county income levels – these
standards would be according to very unrealistic perceptions about our
area income level. For instance,
- Proposed age eligibility reduction – current law allows children of eligible families to be served through age 13, but the new proposal will lower that age to 11 years, except for children with exceptional needs.
For more information on upcoming legislative issues regarding child care, Wilma directed us to visit the Child Development Policy Institute website, http://www.cdpi.net and to read “Child Care at the Crossroads; An Analysis of the Governor’s FY 2004-2005 Budget Proposals,” found at the above site.
Rachel Huff gave an update of the CCAC Financial Committee – first, she reminded everyone of the printer ink/laser cartridge recycling program on campus. Manny Grijalva, Campus Mail Services, and Dave Wade, Campus Recycling Program are coordinating this program along with Child Care Services. CCAC is currently working together with a campus vendor on a grant fund opportunity for CCS, and the Development officers on the committee are making contact with Foundation Trustees to explore and identify funding sources.
UCSC Report on the Faculty Survey regarding child care – results will be posted on the new Child Care Advisory website, which is expected to make its debut soon. (Rachel will send us the link when the site is operational).
Statistics of the survey: 75 surveys were sent out – 52 responses were received. This reflects a 62% response rate. Results reflected significant interest in child care access in general. Respondents placed higher emphasis on access for the campus as a whole, rather than personal interest.
One of Faye Crosby’s students, as a project for class credit,
has been working on creating a compilation of all child care vendors in
The next meeting of the Campus Welfare
Committee will be May 20 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM in room 481 McHenry Library
(The next meeting of
the Child Care Advisory Committee will be on Wednesday, May 5.)