San Joaquin County Grand Jury
• 2020-2021
• Agency Response
Working Title 1: Working Title 2 (Case No. xx20) San Joaquin County: a Fragmented Covid-19 Response
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F1
1 A lack of full understanding and application of San Joaquin County’s Emergency Operations Plan, and its Emergency Support Function Annexes, delayed a collaborative and coordinated response.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
1 By March 1, 2022, San Joaquin County train all Public Health Services, Emergency Medical Services Agency, and Office of Emergency Services staff on the overall coordination and application of San Joaquin County’s Emergency Operations Plan, including its Emergency Support Function Annexes, and thereafter provide refresher training on an annual basis.
F2
1 Requiring the Public Health Officer to report directly to the Director of Public Health Services impeded the Public Health Officer’s ability to fulfill the statutory requirements of responding to the Public Health Emergency.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
1 By March 1, 2022, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approve an organizational structure wherein the Public Health Officer reports directly to the Director of Health Care Services Agency. 3.0 Lack of Understanding and Use of County Disaster Workers Under State Law, Title 1, Sections 3100-3109 of California Government Code, all government employees are declared Disaster Service Workers (DSW) who can be called upon to perform their regular duties or work in another department during a declared emergency. Throughout this investigation it became evident that there was not a clear understanding of how Department Heads could retain Disaster Service Workers assigned to them. The written policy in San Joaquin County does not explicitly state the procedure for how and when employees are recalled to their home departments. During emergency situations, departments place a request for staff with the Human Resources Department (HR) who then coordinates that effort countywide. Issues included a shortage of personnel, departments not making a timely request for personnel, and staff members being prematurely recalled back to their original departments. Some Department Heads believed that employees assigned to their department to deal with the pandemic were assigned until released; not until recalled. Department Heads recalled their employees when they felt it was necessary, regardless of pressing needs of the borrowing department. Several departments had personnel recalled prematurely, which left the emergency response departments short-staffed. As a result, 11 Department Heads had to go through the process of getting a staff request approved by the CAO and placed on the BOS agenda. In some instances, this took several months. To obtain urgently needed workers, Department Heads were required to find alternative methods, such as requesting part-time staff, which did not require Board of Supervisor approval.
F3
1 San Joaquin County does not have a clear policy or procedure that stipulates how Disaster Service Workers are deployed to emergency departments, and how they are recalled to their home departments. This caused personnel shortages and delayed the County’s emergency response.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
1 By March 1, 2022, San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors develop, approve, and implement a written policy establishing an annual process to review the hiring, training, and gathering of a pool of Disaster Service Workers.
F4
1 The lack of understanding of San Joaquin County’s Emergency Operations Plan delayed a collaborative and coordinated response necessary to meet the requirements outlined in the Public Health Emergency Preparedness agreement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
1 By March 1, 2022, Health Care Services complete an operational audit to affirm that the requirements outlined within the Public Health Emergency Preparedness agreement are being met.
Conclusions 1
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CL1Given the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Jury investigation found that dedicated and capable County employees worked tirelessly to contain the virus, but their efforts were hampered and delayed by organizational and policy issues. The Grand Jury’s findings and adoption of the recommendations contained in this report should greatly improve the County’s ability to mitigate the current pandemic and ensure adequate preparedness when the next emergency occurs. Disclaimers Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon the specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code Section 911. 924.1 (a) and 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon an order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code Sections 924.2 and 929). One juror recused them self from all parts of the investigation including interviews, deliberations, and the writing and approval of this report. 14 Response Requirements California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court within 90 days of receipt of the report. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors shall respond to all findings and recommendations. Mail or hand deliver a hard copy of the response to: Honorable Xapuri B. Villapudua, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court 180 E Weber Ave, Suite 1306J Stockton, California 95202 Also, please email a copy of the response to Ms. Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury, at [email protected]. Sources FEMA. “National Incident Management System Third Edition October 2017”, Accessed June 23, 2010. https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is700b/6ho/national_incident_management%20system_third%20edition_o ctober_2017.pdf San Joaquin County. “Emergency Operations Plan January 22, 2019”, Accessed June23, 2021. https://www.sjgov.org/uploadedfiles/sjc/departments/oes/content/meetings-committees/documents/2019/5- 2%20san%20joaquin%20emergency%20operations%20plan.pdf San Joaquin County. “Care and Shelter Annex ESF-06 July 22, 2020”, Accessed June 23, 2021. https://www.sjgov.org/uploadedFiles/SJC/Departments/OES/Content/Docs/plans/ESF- 06%20Care%20and%20Shelter%20(072220)%20final.pdf San Joaquin County. “Public Health and Medical Annex ESF-08 July 23, 2020”, Accessed June 23, 2021. https://www.sjgov.org/uploadedfiles/sjc/departments/oes/content/docs/plans/esf- 08%20public%20health%20and%20medical%20(072320)%20final.pdf “MC San Joaquin County, CA”. “San Joaquin County Ordinance 4-3005 – Power and Duties of the Director of Emergency Services and Director of Emergency Operations”, Accessed June 23, 2021. https://library.municode.com/ca/san_joaquin_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT4PUSA_DIV3CIDED I_CH1GERE_4-3005PODUDIEMSEDIEMOP 15