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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. – First 5 Lake County works to build the early childhood systems and supports needed to ensure Lake County’s children are safe, healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.
This cannot be achieved without a network of strong community partners, and employers have never been more crucial collaborators in promoting children’s health and academic achievement than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First 5 said it’s proud to announce the winners of its 2020 Lake County Children’s Champion Employer Awards.
The inaugural award winners are:
· Adventist Health Clearlake;
· County of Lake;
· Families United Respite;
· Hillcrest House;
· Lake County Tribal Health Consortium;
· Lake Family Resource Center;
· Redwood Community Services; and
· Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
Employers were nominated for this award by at least one of their employees for enacting family-friendly policies during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
Policies varied across employers but focused on making sure families had what they needed to be successful during this unprecedented time.
Winning companies, nonprofits and agencies demonstrated their support in at least one of the following ways:
· Allowing employees to work from home while caring for their children/dependents;
· Providing flexible scheduling;
· Surveying employees regarding their child care needs, in order to offer effective assistance;
· Establishing a fund to help employees cover expenses;
· Providing opportunities for remote professional development; and
· Welcoming the "intrusion" of young children during video meetings and calls for work.
First 5 Lake Executive Director Carla Ritz, celebrated the multiplying effects of family-first policies.
“We know children thrive when their families thrive, and when working parents have an employer that understands the importance of parents being there for their children, especially during times of stress and uncertainty. It's a win-win for everyone because happy parents make better employees,” said Ritz.
Several Redwood Community Services employees spoke highly of the support they received.
One noted: “Even before the shelter-at-home order, RCS has always implemented family-friendly policies supporting employees who have children. Since COVID-19 restrictions were ordered, RCS has spent a significant amount of time asking employees what they need, and how the restrictions have impacted their daily functioning and overall wellbeing via surveys, agency-wide ‘town hall’ meetings, and 1:1 check-ins. When it came time to discuss reintegration plans, RCS paid special attention to understanding the concerns and needs of those employees caring for children and other dependents.
“In addition to connecting employees to eligibility resources and services, RCS offered additional aid to employees who may have struggled to fill in gaps if they were unable to work. RCS provided all employees equal opportunity to continue working full-time in other programs (if their role was temporarily suspended due to the pandemic) or access to the aforementioned eligibility services.”
An employee nominating Adventist Health Clearlake shared: "Our organization provided benefits and pay for associates who needed to be home with children during COVID for two months. Then, [they] allowed associates to be in temporary layoff, which allowed them to maintain their benefits for 90 days, plus allowed them to go negative in paid time off up to 48 hours. They also established a fund for them to access for any expenses they needed help covering."
Lake Family Resource Center staff were similarly effusive regarding their employer. One nomination stated:
"I am so grateful to Lake FRC during this difficult time. Not only were they quick to adjust to remote work, they continued to pay staff and support their employees. With all the hardships staff faced with things like childcare and school closures, this agency has been the definition of flexible and understanding.
My little one at home has made special appearances on our virtual meetings and the response has been absolutely welcoming. I have been able to care for my little one while maintaining my job, without pressure from my higher-ups to be ‘on top of it all’ which ends up supporting me in being able to thrive at both.
I have never worked for an agency so willing to hear the feedback from their employees and adjust to a structure that promotes wellbeing for not only clients but the needs of their staff and staff families too."
Lisa Morrow, executive director of Lake Family Resource Center, responded to the nomination: “Such an honor! I am so pleased our staff understand we are doing what we can.”
Upon learning Lake County Tribal Health Consortium had been nominated as a family-friendly employer, CEO Ernesto Padilla said, “LCTHC did not furlough or lay off any team members due to COVID-19 and gave everyone the option to continue with their employment or go on leave. We also gave 7 additional PTO days to help out those on leave and reward those who chose to stay. We have a very young and energized team at LCTHC, many with growing families, so we do as much as we can to accommodate family leave.”
For Scott Knight, chief administrative officer at Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the nomination elicited both appreciation and reflection. “This has certainly been a challenging time. I feel we have done really well understanding family impacts and have done some cool stuff including working from home on many days for somewhere the job allows. We happily accept the nomination and appreciate the recognition since we have worked hard on this focus on the children of our employees.”
The county of Lake was nominated by an employee in the Behavioral Health Department that was able to care for dependent grandchildren who were home from school.
Flexibility to meet this unanticipated and important need was available thanks to a policy adopted by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
“Grandparents raising their grandchildren is a truly unsupported and hidden demographic. There are next-to-no programs and services available to help. I am pleased that Lake County Behavioral Health Services staff was able to step in and assist in the support of grandchildren home from school due to COVID-19,” noted Todd Metcalf, director of Lake County Behavioral Health Services.
The First 5 Lake Commissioners said they are honored to bring these Children’s Champion Employers and their family-friendly efforts to the attention of our Lake County friends and neighbors.
Each employer will receive a Children’s Champion window cling, certificates from State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assembly Member Cecelia Aguiar-Curry, and they will be acknowledged in local media advertising and through social media.
It is the hope of the First 5 Lake Commission that family-friendly employment practices will become the rule, rather than the exception, in Lake County, as we continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our youngest children.
The First 5 Lake County supports programs and services that promote the health and development of young children and educate parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers about the critical role they play during a child’s first five years. Funding is derived from California’s Proposition 10’s voter-mandated tax on tobacco products.
Since its inception in 2000, First 5 Lake has supported thousands of families with programs and services designed to help Lake County children grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.
Current First 5 Lake Commissioners are Pam Klier, Denise Pomeroy, Brock Falkenberg, Tina Scott, Crystal Markytan, Susan Jen, Carly Swatosh and Allison Panella.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The town hall will take place starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 23.
It will be live-streamed on Thompson’s Facebook page.
The special guest for Thompson’s 11th virtual town hall will be Rep. Bobby Scott, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.
Thompson said they will discuss education and safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those who want to participate must register by emailing their name to
Shortly before the event, those who register will receive an email with instructions on how to join.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
This danger level means that fires will start easily, spread rapidly and increase quickly in intensity.
To maximize the effectiveness of initial response, forest officials said they strategize how they preposition resources in anticipation of shifts in weather and fuel conditions across California.
With the forecast showing a chance of thunderstorms this week, Mendocino National Forest fire officials are ordering additional engines and crews to be available locally in case new fires start.
“Our primary wildfire response strategy for 2020 is aggressive initial attack and rapid containment to minimize the number of large wildfires. The most important thing people can do to help during the 2020 fire year is to prevent wildfires,” said Fire Management Officer Curtis Coots.
Fewer human-caused fires will help protect communities and also preserve firefighting resources.
Remember that fire restrictions are in effect across the forest. Campfires are allowed in developed campgrounds and wilderness only.
Please check here for complete details on campfire restrictions.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The Employment Development Department reported that Lake County’s June unemployment rate was 14.2 percent, down from a final revised rate of 15.5 percent for May and 16.7 percent in April.
California’s unemployment rate improved to 14.9 percent in June – down from 16.4 percent in April and May – as the state’s employers added a record 558,200 jobs, according to the report.
These improvements follow the previous record gain of 134,200 jobs in May and record losses in the months preceding that, in a data series that dates back to 1990.
California has now regained more than a quarter – or 26.4 percent – of the 2,625,500 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Employment Development Department said.
And, despite the fact that California’s rate is going down, the Employment Development Department noted that it is still far higher than the 12.3 percent it was during the height of the Great Recession in March, October and November 2010.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s unemployment rate for June was 11.1 percent, down from 13.3 percent in May and 14.7 percent in April.
In June, Lake County had a civilian labor force totaling 25,800 individuals, with 3,660 individuals unemployed, compared to a labor force of 25,480 and 3,950 unemployed in May.
Total nonfarm jobs in Lake County were up in June by 3.4 percent over May but down 20.7 percent compared to the previous June, while farm jobs dropped -3.4 percent from May and 32.9 percent in a year-over comparison.
Total nonfarm subcategories that showed job growth over May were professional and business services, 25 percent; information, 20 percent; leisure and hospitality, 19.7 percent, and manufacturing, 15 percent.
Subcategories that showed job loss in Lake County when compared to May included federal government, -5.3 percent, and educational and health services, -1.7 percent.
Lake County’s 14.9-percent jobless rate ranked it No. 40 of California’s 58 counties.
Neighboring county jobless rates and ranks for June are Colusa, 18.3 percent, No. 54; Glenn, 12.9 percent, No. 26; Mendocino, 12.3 percent, No. 19; Napa, 12.5 percent, No. 20; Sonoma, 11.5 percent, No. 12; and Yolo, 10.6 percent, No. 5.
The pandemic has, in some cases, flipped traditional statewide rankings in which Bay Area counties have had the lowest jobless rates.
That continued in June, with Lassen County holding on for the second month to the No. 1 ranking statewide for lowest unemployment, with 9.5 percent. Rounding out the top five are Trinity County, 9.8 percent; Modoc and Marin tied at 10 percent; and Yolo, 5 percent.
The highest unemployment in the state was recorded in Imperial County, 27.3 percent. Other counties in the bottom five include Mono, 24.7 percent; Alpine, 19.6 percent; Los Angeles, 19.5 percent; and Colusa, 18.3 percent.
Statewide numbers and trends
The Employment Development Department said the number of Californians holding jobs in June was 16,117,000, an increase of 653,300 from May, but down 2,451,900 from the employment total in June of last year.
The number of unemployed Californians was 2,831,000 in June, a decrease of 212,100 over the month, but up by 2,050,000 compared with June of last year, the report said.
The report showed that the industry sectors that were most affected by the shutdown due to the pandemic tended to have the largest job gains in June.
The state said that total nonfarm jobs in California’s 11 major industries totaled 15,671,400 in June – a net gain of 558,200 jobs from May. This followed a revised gain of 134,200 jobs in May.
Total nonfarm jobs decreased by 1,740,600 jobs – a 10 percent decrease – from June 2019 to June 2020 compared to the U.S. annual loss of 12,957,000 jobs, an 8.6-percent decrease, the state said.
The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 8,500 jobs from May to 313,100, with the Employment Development Department noting that the agricultural industry has lost 113,000 farm jobs since June 2019.
Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month, led by leisure and hospitality with 292,500 new jobs; the Employment Development Department said that was the largest job gain due to growth in accommodation and food services, which benefited from statewide reopenings of bars and dine-in restaurants. The sector has regained more than one-third of its job losses from March and April.
The Employment Development Department also reported that, percentage-wise, the construction industry has had the largest rebound since the historic losses in March and April, recovering 68 percent of jobs lost within the sector.
Government had the largest decline in June, with a loss of 36,300 jobs in state and local government educational services.
In other employment-related news, the Employment Development Department said there were 2,778,771 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the June 2020 sample week, compared to 2,154,692 people in May 2020 and 307,704 people in June 2019.
The state said that, concurrently, 284,300 initial claims were processed in the June 2020 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 80,712 claims from May 2020 and a year-over increase of 239,732 claims from June 2019.
Email Elizabeth Larson at