APRIL 2021
ALAMEDA COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY • OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS & COMMUNITY RELATIONS • EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
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A Message from the Agency Director quat volo bla con commolu ptaspitatqui id ut re vel id estiam iducidi taesseque niste volupta tempeliberum fugit, sus nobis re rem et rem il explaut expelluptur mod eatempo reperit, comnis cus aut doles intur?
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IN THIS ISSUE 1 Agency Director’s Message 1 Child Abuse Prevention Coordinator: Colette Katuala 4 The COVID-19 Pandemic: One Year Later 4 SSA Staff Answer the COVID-19 Call: Volunteers Needed for Community Vaccination Sites 6 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Extends Operations to May 8
County of Alameda Social Services Agency
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Stronger Together: SSA Child Abuse Prevention Coordinator Works to Connect Community with Resources
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WRITTEN BY: Andrea Wong Office of Public Affairs and Community Relations
pril is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, but for Colette Katuala, SSA’s Child Abuse Prevention Services Coordinator, the need to strengthen and support families in the community is yearround and constant. The role of Child Abuse Prevention Coordinator, the position that Colette has held for the past two years, is a “dream job” culminating from 20 years of working in child welfare. Her role is unique as it is “the only 100% focused prevention position” within SSA’s Department of Children and Family Services. “We’re interventionists in child welfare,” Colette explains. By pushing for child abuse prevention, she sees herself as a “bridge” between the community and the child welfare system. Continued on page 2
On April 6, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month. Colette Katuala accepted the proclamation virtually.
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Continued from page 1: Child Abuse Prevention Colette coordinates the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Alameda County. Along with Program Manager, William Nguyen, Colette is a part of the Child Abuse Prevention Task Force, which includes parent and youth partners, community social workers, ad other community members who are dedicated to community education and supporting the prevention of child abuse. The task force is included in regular community needs assessments and provides recommendations on funding awards to organizations. Colette manages contracts for close to a million dollars in child abuse prevention funding distributed to grantees for the provision of services to increase preventive factors, such case management, parenting classes, youth programs, and therapeutic services. This role entails monitoring the number of clients served, goals reached, developing evaluation measures, and annual reporting of spending and activities to the State.
According to Colette, the Strong Families moniker evolved from a suggestion from a youth advocate that associating the resource with the phrase “child abuse” would make parents reluctant to use it. “We want to make sure we are drawing people in,” Colette says. Colette co-coordinates the Child Death Review Team and helps determine prevention methods. One of the community engagement efforts borne from the team’s efforts was a Safe Sleep public awareness and education campaign, following observations that a number of children had passed away due to unsafe sleeping environments. She supports SSA’s child abuse reporting hotline and during the pandemic, she has worked alongside colleagues on the hotline to support program operations. Colette’s position brings her in contact with various community audiences and clientele. She is often invited to present information on child welfare and updates from the Department of Children and Family Services by agencies such as Behavioral Health, the Child Injury Prevention Network, and the Public Health Department. She also speaks to groups of parents and community members. She recently accompanied a parent advocate to speak to a fatherhood circle sponsored by the Public Health Department, where they uplifted protective factors and shared how families could get connected to services.
In 2020, the Strong Families Alliance (SFA) of Alameda County was formed and sponsored by the Council to bring together a group of current contracted organizations that provide child abuse prevention and treatment services. SFA strives to connect the community to each other and to services and supports, available at no cost. Its new website, https://www.alamedacountycapc.com, was launched in March 2021, offering information about trainings, events, and information on supporting child safety and well-being, as well as other resources and information related to child abuse prevention including strengthening Protective Factors.
Colette conducts mandated reporter training at schools, hospitals, and other community organizations. Prior to the start of the pandemic, Colette presented the state-certified curriculum at in-person trainings, but then had to pivot to conduct training virtually. She also recognized a need to broaden the perspective of her participants.
Prevention is Everybody’s Business
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Continued from page 2: Child Abuse Prevention “The training has always talked about value systems and different ways of parenting, but in light of COVID, I also had to lift up even more the issue of poverty, the issue of supervision, and how we can engage parents and families more,” reflects Colette. “When I went to talk with parent groups, there was the feeling that there is a lot of judgment. When the kids were on Zoom calls, parents were worried about being judged by what their homes looked like, or what noises were in the background.”
The pandemic has also impacted other ways that Colette approaches her work. “COVID has really shown who has access to technology and who doesn’t. We have to be mindful of not just using digital ways of connecting,” Colette says. When strategizing on how to share information on child abuse prevention, “it can’t just be on email and social media; we also need to use ink and paper to reach those who don’t have access to technology. Yes, online events are great, because people don’t have to find childcare or drive to get there, but there are people who don’t have access to computers and Internet. It’s my job to find barriers, to look for places where we’re falling in short in terms of connecting with families.”
Consequently, Colette encourages mandated reporters to consider if what they are seeing is a concern to the reporters themselves or “if they are things that the kid is upset about.” Self-reflection is important she says, to “ask more honest questions about bias and family structure and how to ask parents, ‘Can I help you?’ My conversations postCOVID are definitely focused more on talking about supportive services and giving reassurance that we’re still here to help.”
Colette approaches her duties with passion and optimism. “It is a big responsibility,“ she acknowledges, “And that’s why it’s important to have a good team. I remind myself that I’m not the only one. I rely upon my colleagues and manager for support, and also on the community. Being able to connect and partner with the community really makes this burden not so heavy.”
Highlights from National Child Abuse Prevention Month In the month of April—National Child Abuse Prevention Month—the Strong Families Alliance implemented a number of activities and initiatives to raise public awareness. As part of Pinwheels for Prevention—a campaign to recognize and remember the lives of children who have been lost to violence—500 pinwheel-making kits were distributed to many SFA agencies and several local schools.
April 2 was Wear Blue for Kids Day. Service providers and community members were encouraged to wear blue and share their photos on social media to help raise awareness of the need to strengthen families and prevent child abuse. An April 2 virtual storytime featuring authors Nancy Johnson James and Dr. Khalid White had a maximum capacity audience of 100 families.
The 4th Friday of April— April 23—was Children’s Memorial Day, a day to remember all the children who have died due to violence. The California Department of Social Services released a video in honor of Children’s Memorial Day. Colette Katuala was one of the featured speakers. https://youtu.be/djACgkP83zU
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The COVID-19 Pandemic: One Year Later When the pandemic first began, each day was accompanied by uncertainty, as well as new and ever-changing ways of daily life. Through it all, SSA staff kept moving forward, as a result of their ingenuity, compassion, and dedication. Here’s a look back at some of those memories of the pandemic in its early stage. “I saw some of our staff who were here every day managing the line of customers needing our services. They did it day after day without complaint to make sure that our customers received the service they deserve at such a critical time.” - Amada Robles (April 2020)
REFLECTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINE: A video interview with Anthony Marchante, Veteran Services Officer, Adult & Aging Services (April 2020)
When there was a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment, managers in the Department of Children & Family Services launched “Operation Hand Sanitizer” and made their own.
Many SSA staff, like Warren Young of the Program Integrity Division, filled the role of Disaster Service Worker and supported critically needed services like emergency food distribution.
SSA Staff Answer the COVID-19 Call: Volunteers Needed for Community Vaccination Sites WRITTEN BY: Sylvia Soublet, Office of Public Affairs & Community Relations
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lameda County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has required vast mobilization of resources throughout the County to ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. County employees have been central to these efforts and asked to provide assistance outside of their designated roles and work hours, serving as Emergency Services workers at the height of the pandemic and most recently as volunteers providing critical staff functions at one of the County’s vaccination Community Points of Distribution, or C-POD as we like to call them. SSA was assigned staffing responsibilities for the Fremont High School C-POD in Oakland on March 18-20, March 25-27, and April 15. As SSA has consistently demonstrated, when called upon, our staff will and have answered the call. First up was the Workforce and Benefits Administration Department (WBA) to provide volunteer staffing resources at the Fremont High School C-POD. The department’s recruitment effort netted a total of 58 WBA staff volunteers serving in positions ranging from Greeters to Data Support to Interpreters and everything in between. Continued on page 5
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Continued from page 4: Community Vaccination Sites Next up, Government and Community Relations was assigned to provide volunteer staff support at the Ashland-Cherryland C-POD on April 16, 22, and 29. Once again, SSA staff needed to be asked only once and they overwhelmingly responded to provide the services needed to support community health. With all SSA departments participating, the Departments of Children and Family Services and Adult and Aging Services are also ready to heed the call. Regardless of the department affiliation, the C-POD volunteer opportunity speaks volumes to the dedication and character of SSA employees—and that was on full display for the public to witness firsthand.
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Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Extends Operations to May 8: American Rescue Plan Stimulus and Federal Child Tax Credit Available Through 2020 Tax Filing
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WRITTEN BY: Sylvia Soublet, Office of Public Affairs & Community Relations
axes—you never seem to have enough time to complete them, and before you know it, April 15 has come and gone. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the filing deadline to Monday, May 17, 2021 to allow more time for tax filers to take action. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program has extended its no-cost tax preparation services through Saturday, May 8, 2021. The Social Services Agency wants to ensure that all eligible tax filers receive the American Rescue Plan (ARP) stimulus payment and the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) by filing a 2020 tax return. The ARP offers families a bigger and better child tax credit for 2021. For this year only, the credit amount for many families is increased from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child up to age 17 ($3,600 for children under age six), and the credit is fully refundable. Though framed as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children’s allowances that are common in other wealthy countries.
Customers wait for their appointments outside the Eden Area Multi-Service Center. Masks, social distancing, sanitation, and other safety protocols are in place to protect customers and tax program volunteers alike.
month will vary based on the number of children in the family, the ages of the children, and the amount of the family’s adjusted gross income. Families who qualify for the full $3,000 or $3,600 credit could see checks of $250 or $300 per child for six months. Families with higher incomes who qualify for the $2,000 credit will get monthly payments of $167 per child for six months.
One major element of the new child tax credit requires the IRS to make advance payments of the credit to qualifying families in 2021. The IRS will base eligibility for the credit and calculate the amount of the advance payments, based on previously filed tax returns. The IRS will first look at 2020 returns; if a 2020 return has not yet been filed, the IRS will look at the 2019 return. The advance payments will account for half of a family’s 2021 child tax credit. The amount a family receives each
The plan establishes the benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for poor and middle class families. More than 93 percent of children — 69 million — would receive benefits under the plan. The bill, signed by President Biden, raises the maximum benefit most families will receive by up to 80 percent per child and extends it to millions of families whose earnings are too low to fully qualify under existing law. Currently, a quarter of children get a partial benefit, and the poorest 10 percent get nothing.
SSA VITA Sites Open Through Saturday, May 8, 2021: Enterprise Self-Sufficiency Center 8477 Enterprise Way, Oakland 94621 Open Saturdays ONLY, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
While the current program distributes the money annually, as a tax reduction to families with income tax liability or a check to those too poor to owe income taxes, the new program would send both groups monthly checks to provide a more stable cash flow.
Eden Area Multi-Service Center 24100 Amador St, Hayward 94544 Open: Monday & Wednesday 5:30-8:30 pm and Saturday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm To make your appointment, use our online scheduler: https://public.alamedasocialservices. org/EITCScheduler
CONTACT THE BUZZ
Appointments are required for all tax preparation services. Drop-off services ONLY. For more information, contact our program at (510) 271-9141 or email vita.eitc@acgov.org. All services are virtual.
Send comments to Sylvia Soublet • ssoublet@acgov.org Content and Design Editor: Andrea Wong
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