April 17, 2008

Santa Clara County news

County names deputy county exec, calls April volunteer month, announces classes

Santa Clara County news this week includes appointment of a new deputy county executive, naming April as volunteer month and announcing classes and training for adoptive and foster parents.

County Executive Pete Kutras announced he has appointed Emily C. Harrison as a deputy county executive. Harrison has nearly 30 years of public service experience with the cities of Palo Alto, San Jose and Orange.

“Emily is an experienced manager who has substantial and first-hand knowledge of the kind of challenges facing Santa Clara County,” said Kutras. “Her extensive finance management experience and a strong commitment to high quality services will benefit the office of the county executive and the county as a whole.”

Harrison holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Riverside and a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University. She is a program graduate of Leadership Palo Alto and Berkeley Executive Seminar. She was a board member and president of Palo Alto Kiwanis and board member of the former YWCA Mid-peninsula. Her appointment is effective May 12. Her salary will be $199,018.

April is national volunteer month
The Board of Supervisors declared April as National Volunteer Month to commend Santa Clara County volunteers for making a difference in their community. Volunteers contribute a significant amount of time at many county departments including Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center, Parks and Recreation, Sheriff’s Office, Registrar of Voters and Fire Department. They also serve in an advisory capacity on 40 different county boards and commissions.

The county’s Parks and Recreation Department has the largest number of volunteers among all county departments. Approximately 2,500 volunteers contribute over 38,500 hours of work annually at the county’s 28 parks. These parks encompass nearly 45,000 acres of land.

“Volunteers do it all, from patrolling trails and leading hikes, to teaching children how to fish,” said Heidi McFarland, Parks volunteer coordinator.

“We had the pleasure to recognize more than 150 volunteers at the 13th Annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet for the huge amount of time they have contributed to our parks,” said Lisa Killough, Parks and Recreation director. “For individuals who want to contribute their time while enjoying nature, we could certainly use you.”

“Currently, we would love to have more trail crew leads, trail watch bike patrollers and docents,” added McFarland.

For more information on Parks events and to register as a Parks volunteer, go to www.parkhere.org, and click on “Volunteer Here” under “Quick Clicks.” Other volunteer opportunities at county departments are listed online at: www.sccgov.org, under “County Connection.”

Training for foster care adoption
The county will offer a 10-week training program for prospective foster care and adoptive parents to become familiar with foster care and the adoption process.

Social Services Agency, Department of Family and Children’s Services and West Valley College will offer the classes on 10 consecutive Mondays beginning April 21. The other classes will be held on April 28, May 5, 12, 19 and on June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30. The classes will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency Auditorium, 333 W. Julian Street, Building 1 in San Jose.

There are approximately 1,000 children in Santa Clara County that may need a foster or adoptive home. PRIDE (Parent Resource for Information Development and Education) classes meet the county’s pre-licensing requirement for families who wish to care for children through foster care or adoption.

For more information, call Oslynn Taylor (English) at (408) 299-1574 or Tini Manuleleua (English/Samoan) at (408) 299-1512 or Vinay Tatpudy (English/Hindi/Telugu) at (408) 2991513. To enroll in PRIDE, call (408) 299-5437.