Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) is the second largest department in Contra Costa County. The Department has increasing requirements related to its program and project management and budgetary analysis functions specifically related to the Contra Costa County system of care for families affected by interpersonal violence, as a critical way for enhancing EHSD’s ability to serve community members and employees.
The Department is in great need of a position which will be responsible for the management and oversight of the various programs/projects, unit budget, including funding to community partners and community based organizations working in the field of interpersonal violence prevention and services. The Alliance to End Abuse Unit, which is responsible for coordination of interpersonal violence prevention and services across Contra Costa County, cannot accommodate the changing workload and demands in this area without the higher-level knowledge and skill set in its current classifications and structure.
The Unit and the Department’s Leadership have carefully evaluated EHSD’s needs and have determined that it is necessary to add a position that brings knowledge and skill set that include: nonprofit funding and budgetary analysis, interpersonal violence prevention, Contra Costa County interpersonal violence services partner agencies and ecosystem of care, contract/grant reporting, and management of federal, state, local and foundation/grant-based funding sources. The County-wide classification Program and Projects Coordinator incorporates all these needed knowledge and skills. The Program and Project Coordinator will be responsible for the implementation of the entire project-management process during the initiation, development, planning, execution and close-out of various projects within the specific program area/s. Further, the position will be responsible for monitoring and tracking the project’s goals, budgets, resources, schedules and documentation, and for coordination with all internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, the Department is requesting to add a full time Program/Projects Coordinator position to manage the Alliance to End Abuse Unit’s fund development efforts. The Program/Project Coordinator classification will enable appropriate distribution of the Alliance to End Abuse Unit’s work, and ensures meeting the range of the Department’s demands related to the coordination of interpersonal violence prevention and services throughout Contra Costa County.
By adding a Program and Projects Coordinator, EHSD will cancel an Administrative Services Assistant II-Project position number 16733 located in the Alliance to End Abuse Unit that has been vacant since September 2021. The Administrative Services Assistant II classification does not encompass the skill set needed for the job functions, specifically related to growing needs in the area of project management, and organizational and budgetary analysis. The focus of responsibility for the Program/Projects Coordinator is program development and implementation, rather than administrative or operational support to a county department. Additionally, adding the Program and Projects Coordinator classification/position enables appropriate distribution of the Alliance to End Abuse unit’s work, and ensures meeting the range of the department’s demands related to coordination of interpersonal violence prevention and service efforts. Therefore, trading the Administrative Services Assistant II- Project for a Program and Project Coordinator classification and equipping the Alliance to End Abuse Unit with a position that will focus on implementing and managing EHSD’s coordination of the overall interpersonal ecosystem in Contra Costa County is critical for the Department and the County.
Failure to add the Program and Project Coordinator position may negatively impact the appropriate distribution of the Alliance to End Abuse Unit’s work, and its ability to effectively and efficiently meet the range of the Department’s demands related to coordination of interpersonal violence prevention and service efforts, as well as its ability to manage and coordinate the overall interpersonal ecosystem in Contra Costa County. .
Employment and Human Services Department supports all five outcomes established by the Children’s Report Card: (1) Children Ready for and Succeeding in School; (2) Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood; (3) Families that are Economically Self-Sufficient; (4) Families that are Safe, Stable, and Nurturing; and (5) Communities that are Safe and Provide a Healthy Quality of Life for Children and Families. Thus, it is imperative to add a Program and Projects Coordinator position dedicated specifically to meeting Policy and Planning/Alliance to End Abuse needs and providing services that are geared toward supporting all of these outcomes. Failure to add a Program and Project Coordinator position may negatively impact the Bureau’s ability to timely and effectively support the outcomes listed above.