Dear CDPS members,
Participation in the survey soared to 80 percent. We maintained high employee marks related to the value of the work we do, satisfaction with direct supervisors, and excellent work-life balance. And we made progress on some of the areas we knew we needed to focus on, including improving overall understanding of the direction of our organization. But we still have plenty of work cut out for us, particularly in earning your trust in leadership and removing barriers to your ability to act on ideas and feedback to improve our customer service and processes.
We all have a role to play in making CDPS an engaging workplace for all. I want to thank you again for spending the time to give us your feedback through the 2017 survey, and I encourage you to stay involved and be part of the solution. Together, we can make CDPS one of the best places to work in Colorado.
--Stan Hilkey
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Policy Update
Calendar
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Please remember to request holiday leave in Kronos if you take these days off.
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HR Update
50+ employees completed hands-on
CPR training delivered by the American Heart Association on January 18. Participants gained the skills to potentially save a life in an emergency. Contact HR for information regarding training in your location.
The AG's office will provide
Appointing Authorities training on personnel-related issues on January 31. If you are an Appointing Authority who has not yet signed up, contact HR for more information.
HRWorks, the new, statewide human resources information system, is scheduled to go live on October 1, 2018. This system will eventually be the one-stop shop for employee data, payroll, time and leave. Visit
http://hrworks.state.co.us/ to find out more.
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Finance Update
Credit Card Open Forums Coming Soon
In 2018, CDPS Procurement will launch a series of face-to-face open forum sessions for employees who use state-issued credit cards.
Program Manager Niki Holland will offer the sessions once a month so that you can ask questions, receive clarification, and get help with any and all topics related to the credit cards.
More information will go out via email as dates and locations are set. In the meantime, you don't have to wait if you have any questions or uncertainties! Call Niki directly with questions at 303-239-5744
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Deadline Approaching to Start RFP process
The RFP process can take six months from start to finish. If you are planning to make a purchase this fiscal year via the RFP process, Procurement encourages you to start working with them ASAP to ensure the project can be completed on time.
For more information, contact Tammy Lichvar at 303-239-4515.
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Fighting Human Trafficking in Colorado
January was Human Trafficking Awareness month across the United States. Human Trafficking is a real problem in Colorado. Members of the State Patrol, CBI, and Division of Criminal Justice are actively engaged in the battle against human trafficking.
In November, CBI gaming and major crimes agents and CSP trafficking experts assisted in a successful joint human trafficking operation in partnership with Black Hawk Police Department, Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Colorado Division of Gaming, Innocence Lost Taskforce and the Colorado Department of Human Services. The operation led to eight arrests and rescued one juvenile in Black Hawk.
The Office for Victims Programs within the Division of Criminal Justice supports the Colorado Human Trafficking Council, which aims to implement legislative mandates to address this widespread crime.
Watch the video below to learn more about why human trafficking is a problem in Colorado, what the Human Trafficking Council is doing about it, and how you can make a difference.
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CBI Remembers the Missing with Poster Contest for Children
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In honor of missing children across the country, CBI is hosting a poster contest for Colorado 5th grade students as part of a national campaign sponsored by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
The poster theme is “Bring Our Missing Children Home” and will feature the artistic talents of kids throughout the United States. All Colorado posters must be submitted to the CBI for judging by 5 p.m. on February 2, 2018. The CBI will forward Colorado’s winning poster to the DOJ for consideration.
Since 1983, May 25, has been designated as National Missing Children’s Day. The DOJ will announce the winner of the poster contest at the annual National Missing Children’s Day Ceremony in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2018. The winner of the national contest, along with his or her teacher and parents, will attend this special ceremony.
In addition to the DOJ ceremony, the CBI will also recognize the top three Colorado students for their winning poster entries at an event in May.
Find out more here.
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Colorado Cattleman's Assn. Names DHSEM Employee "Public Servant of the Year"
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The Colorado Cattleman's Association (CCA) honored DHSEM worker Christe Coleman with the CCA’s 2017 Public Servant of the Year award.
According to the CCA newsletter: "Through her close work with the Colorado Department of Agriculture-State Veterinarian’s Office during the wildfires in the south-central area of the state, Christe demonstrated her commitment to Colorado beef producers. Christe played a key role for local ranchers, the local sheriff, emergency managers, and the U.S. Forest Service incident management team to help solve problems of agricultural land access during those fires. She also helped to protect ranchers’ operations, land, and cattle. She served as a great liaison between the ranching community and the incident management team that was mitigating the wildfire issues."
After the fires, Christe gave presentations to help emergency management personnel better understand ranchers’ concerns, and to help ranchers better understand how incidents are managed and how they can get involved. The publication concluded: "CCA truly appreciates Christe’s efforts and the example she has set, and sincerely looks forward to working with her into the future."
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National Experts Present on Strangulation and Domestic Violence Risk
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New research has confirmed a stronger-than-previously-known link between strangulation and the likelihood that an offender will kill or nearly kill someone during a domestic violence incident.
Domestic violence-related police calls constitute the single largest category of calls received by police. When police officers respond, they know the situation can be volatile: The killer in almost one third of female homicides is an intimate partner; and from 2010-2014, 22% of officer "line of duty" deaths occurred while responding to a call for service involving a domestic dispute.
On Jan. 16, the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board (DVOMB) hosted a pair of national domestic violence experts to explain the strangulation research and provide training to a wide audience of professionals who deal with domestic violence, including law enforcement, prosecutors, treatment providers, supervisors of offenders, and victim advocates.
Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, Co-Founders of the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, covered a study of more than 300 cases, explained how to identify the signs and symptoms of strangulation, and demonstrated best practices for investigating, documenting and prosecuting strangulation cases.
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Meet the Colorado School Safety Resource Center Team!
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The Colorado School Safety Resource Center is a small but mighty team housed in the Executive Director's Office. Who are they, and what do they do? Meet them and find out in this fun, short video!
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State Patrol Rolls Out New, Time-Saving Records Management System
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The Colorado State Patrol is rolling out a new records management system that will improve real-time communications and help Troopers spend less time entering data -- meaning they'll have more time to observe violators and enforce traffic laws.
At first glance, the topic of "records management" doesn't seem like a very exciting aspect of the world of law enforcement, but it's critical to they work Troopers do. Accurate records provide many things, including transparency to the public, fairness to violators, historic records, and even trends to help inform strategies to reduce fatal and injury crashes on Colorado's roads.
The new records management system will serve as a tool to help State Patrol members communicate and share information. In fact, for the first time in State Patrol history, members will be able to go beyond radios to communicate crash and contact data in real time with each other.
One of the goals of the deployment is to reduce duplicate data entry done by the trooper. The new system will leverage information (vehicle, person and location data) entered by other troopers and by consolidating forms. As a result, leaders expect the system to help improve Trooper awareness by allowing the Trooper more time to observe the violator because s/he is spending less time entering data during a stop.
The new tool will roll out district by district in Colorado in 2018.
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DFPC Trains Emergency Personnel at Wildland Fire Academy
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Two times a year, DFPC members support, attend and instruct classes at the Colorado Wildland Fire and Incident Management Academy. The Academy provides training to states and localities to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate disasters and emergencies using the Incident Command System (ICS).
The winter academy took place Jan. 6-12, 2018, at the university of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS).
DFPC instructed classes ranging from "Basic Wildland Firefighting" to "Intro to Fire Behavior Calculations." DFPC and the Colorado Department of Transportation co-taught the "Heavy Equipment Operators in Basic Wildland Fire Operations" course. The intent of this class is to prepare CDOT equipment operators in the event that their equipment is needed to fight wildland fires in Colorado.
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CBI Contributes to Resolution of Cold Cases
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2017 was a big year for the CBI involving Cold Cases.
CBI staff manage Colorado's Cold Case database and work directly with law enforcement in hopes of shedding new light on cases where the trail has gone cold. Agents and forensic scientists investigate cold cases across the state -- some that are decades old, such as the Rocky Ford cold case where two teenage girls went missing 35 years ago.
Their aim is to get justice for the victims and closure for victims families, and the ultimate desired outcome is to achieve the arrest and conviction of those responsible. In 2017, CBI's work paid off in two big cases.
On Dec. 7, 2017, Charles Moises Gonzales was convicted in Saguache District court for the burglary and murder of Michael Rust in 2009. An investigation by CBI and partner agencies identified Gonzales as the suspect in the cold case and determined the facts of the case.
CBI's work also contributed to an arrest in the case of Kelsie Schelling, who disappeared in 2013 at the age of 22. She was last seen on February 4, 2013, after traveling from her home in Denver to Pueblo, where her boyfriend, Lucas, lived.
Following CBI-led searches of the Pueblo area for Kelsie’s remains in late November 2017, Donthe Lucas was arrested on Dec. 1, 2017, in connection with the disappearance and death of Schelling.
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Update on Applications for Next Leadership Strategies Institute
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The LSI is an ongoing effort initiated and supported by CDPS leadership to engage CDPS employees and create a culture of collaboration, communication and innovation.
The first cohort of the Institute focused on employee engagement and creating alignment of mission, vision and values. The second cohort is delving into employee engagement.
The third year of the Institute will launch in August 2018 with a focus on personal, organizational and community resiliency.
You can find out more about the LSI on the
LSI website.
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DHSEM Conducts Regional Stakeholder Meetings
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DHSEM, in collaboration with the Homeland Security and All-Hazards Senior Advisory Committee (HSAC), is developing the new State Homeland Security Strategy. The state strategy will serve as a roadmap of homeland security priorities over the next three to five years to ensure a safe and prepared Colorado.
We are seeking input from state agency and stakeholder representatives and partners who have authorities and responsibilities in homeland security, emergency management and the protection of state community members. The input will assist with the development of the Homeland Security State Strategy goals and objectives, aligned in the five mission areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery for all-hazards incidents, natural and man-made.
DHSEM conducted a stakeholder meeting in the South Central Region in December and has the following stakeholder meetings scheduled:
- January: CEPP, West Region, Training and Exercise Subcommittee, San Luis Valley, Southwest Region, North Central Region, Southeast Region
- February: South Region, Colorado Association Chiefs of Police, Northwest Region
- March: Northeast Region, Cyber Security subcommittee, State Agencies
Additional meetings will be scheduled with the County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Fire Chiefs Association, Public Safety communications subcommittee and Special District Association, as well as other stakeholder groups.
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John Camper Sworn in as CBI Director
CDPS Executive Director Stan Hilkey administered the oath of office to John Camper on Jan. 3, 2018, making Camper the 9th Director of the CBI.
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DCJ Fills Seats at Faceoff for Fallen Officers
DCJ members organized a fun outing for CDPS members and their families, successfully filling 99 seats at the Avalanche "Faceoff for Fallen Officers" match on Jan. 20.
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CDPS Acts of Service, Kindness & Generosity
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Join or Support a CDPS Polar Plunge Team
Help your CDPS colleagues raise money to support the Special Olympics by joining or donating to a CDPS Polar Plunge team.
DHSEM team ICEE-S will take the plunge on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Aurora Reservoir. CBI has organized a
CDPS-wide team to take the plunge on March 11 at Elitch Gardens in Denver. Any CDPS member is welcome to donate to or join either team.
CDPS Achieves Charitable Giving Goal!
Thank you to everyone who opened their hearts and gave as part of the CDPS annual charitable giving campaign. Thanks to your generosity, we met our goal of raising $33,000 to support local nonprofits! Special Kudos to Anastasiya Schomaker and Germaine Miera for leading this year's CCC.
State Employees can Give, Get Help from Working Together Foundation
The Working Together Foundation empowers all members of the State of Colorado working family to help one another with emergency financial support in times of personal crisis.
The foundation provides financial grants for housing, utilities, medical expenses, food, clothing and other basic needs during a crisis.
Give The Gift of Life this Valentines Day: Give Blood
The next CDPS Kipling Campus Blood Drive will be Friday, Feb. 9. The Bonfils blood donation bus will be in the parking lot of the Kipling Campus, and slots are still available from noon-2:30 p.m.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact john.ehmsen@state.co.us.
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Find the Right Fit to Help your Team Shine at Work
You probably wouldn't wear high heels to hike a fourteener, and you probably wouldn't don dirty hiking boots for a black tie gala. You could...but having the wrong type or size of shoe would likely lead to a less pleasant experience.
Why would we be any less purposeful for finding the right fit for the thing we spend most of our waking hours doing -- working?
In his book, "SHINE: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People," Dr. Edward Hallowell explains that the first step in helping people excel at work is this: Put the right people in the right job.
The nexus for success is finding the sweet spot where someone is doing what they enjoy, what they're good at, and what benefits the organization.
You can use this helpful discussion tool that he developed to find out if your job is a good fit, or to help those you supervise find the right fit:
Hallowell Self-Report Job Fit Scale.
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Tammy Lichvar Promoted to Procurement Director
On Jan. 1, 2018, Tammy Lichvar was promoted to Director of Procurement. Tammy has more than 27 years of state procurement experience, having served with the Department of Revenue for 24 years before joining CDPS in 2014.
This well-deserved promotion comes following her dedication, excellent performance, and phenomenal management effort in providing outstanding customer service and leading a cohesive and collaborative team during her tenure as the Interim Director.
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Do you have news, stories, events, "People on the Move", or other content to share with all CDPS employees? Submit your story ideas, details and photos by the 10th of the month to your Division PIO or to
Patricia.Billinger@state.co.us
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