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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: June 18, 2013 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-a <br /> SUBJECT: Social Services Best Practices Award <br /> DEPARTMENT: Social Services, Emergency PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> Services <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Nancy Coston, 245-2802 <br /> Sharron Hinton, 245-2840 <br /> Kim Woodward, 245-6100 <br /> PURPOSE: To acknowledge the job training partnership between Orange County Social <br /> Services (DSS) and Orange County Emergency Services for the Emergency Medical Technician <br /> Training and Employment Program for Work First Recipients, which resulted in Orange County <br /> receiving the Best Practices Award from the NC Association of County Directors of Social <br /> Services. <br /> BACKGROUND: Beginning in 2010, the County Emergency Services Department was <br /> experiencing difficulty finding good applicants to hire and train for Emergency Medical <br /> Technician (EMT) positions. Recognizing this, management at Emergency Services and Social <br /> Services partnered to place Work First clients at Emergency Services for work experience. <br /> Talented, hard-working Work First participants were given opportunities to receive training <br /> through an EMT certification program available at Durham Technical Community College, while <br /> simultaneously engaging in work experience activities at Emergency Services. Those who <br /> successfully completed the training were certified through the state and offered full-time <br /> employment. <br /> Natasha Evans and Shunte Bryant are in their second year of full-time employment with Orange <br /> County Emergency Services. Both are doing well and have expressed an interest in advancing <br /> in this field. This program achieved the dual goals of helping Work First participants obtain full- <br /> time, permanent employment at a wage that moved them toward self-sufficiency and helping <br /> Emergency Services find motivated, qualified individuals to employ as EMTs. <br /> This partnership was successful because it targeted an organization with a clear staffing need <br /> and identified clients with the desired interest and potential to succeed. Because of the work <br /> experience component, Emergency Services was comfortable with the potential applicants and <br /> therefore willing to hire them once training was complete. <br />