Orangewood Update - COVID-19

Dear OCEA Member,

We have received numerous inquiries from  OCEA members at Orangewood concerned about exposure to the COVID-19 virus and threats to their health. As an essential worker, your work unquestionably places you at a higher risk of exposure, and the County has an obligation to keep you safe.  Some of the concerns expressed by workplace leaders include:

• Lack of telecommuting options
• Inadequate supplies of PPE’s
• Limited flexible work arrangements
• Need  for sanitizing and cleaning all public areas and workplaces
• Elimination of all non-essential public interactions
• Insufficient social distancing

Your OCEA Labor Representatives have worked diligently with Orangewood management and SSA leadership to address these concerns.  As a result, please see below worker-driven changes the County reports have been implemented.

If there is anything below that conflicts with the conditions at Orangewood, please notify your OCEA Labor Relations Representative immediately.  

• Staff requesting telecommuting arrangements have been contacted and the feasibility of telecommuting for those staff members has been evaluated. 
• Sufficient PPE has been provided to all staff.    
• Staff is in the process of fitting for N95 masks.
• Areas have been set-up to keep healthy youth separated from potentially COVID-19 exposed and COVID-19 positive youth.
• OCFC AWOL returns will go to one of two AWOL Quarantine areas (Foyer and Annex) – one for boys and one for girls. They will remain there for 14-days. 
• Non-AWOL OCFC youth who are either suspected of being COVID-19 exposed or who test positive for COVID-19 will be separated.
• A temporary suspension on parent/child visitation at OCFC has been instituted. Only County staff, contractors and attorneys are allowed at OCFC and everyone enters through the Intake door. 
• When youth are placed or take a long visit outside of OCFC, adults are screened by the County's HCA Medical Unit. Each child coming in is also screened by our medical unit, or a supervisor overnight trained on the screening process. 
• Temperature checks are conducted for each staff member upon arrival for work, and for others coming on campus, to ensure those on campus do not have fevers over 100.4. 
• Increased disinfecting efforts have been implemented. Additional janitorial staff clean all high-touch surfaces three times daily, and staff has been requested to increase their individual disinfecting efforts within the cottages. 
• As part of the Social distancing effort, youth are eating in their own cottages instead of as a group in the dining hall. 
• Staff is now allowed to make trades outside of their cottages in order to assist with unexpected child care needs, etc. 
• Orangewood management has reached out to the Courts to address safe, lawful alternatives to address runaway youth.  

The County has represented that these increased safety measures have been and are being implemented in the effort to ensure your safety.  The safety of you and your co-workers is paramount, and OCEA continues to pressure the County to provide additional pay for those working under conditions most susceptible to increased exposure to COVID-19.  

If you believe your working conditions are unsafe, notify your employer right away.  In the event your concerns are not addressed, contact OCEA at info@ocea.org. 

In Solidarity,

Bridgette Harris
OCEA Operations Manager

Publication Date: April 23, 2020