Special Personnel Programs - Equal Opportunity and Employee Development, Department of (DEP)

Santa Clara County Training and Conference Center

2310 N. First St., Suite 102
(408) 299-6889

Vacation Donation
Vacation Donation is a program that allows Santa Clara County employees to donate vacation/STO time to coworkers facing catastrophic circumstances and are prevented from working for an extended period of time. Call to make the initial request. If approved, the donation process begins immediately.

The coworker will receive the donation as hours of vacation/STO time in their time bank. This allows the coworker to remain in paid status (rather than unpaid leave), maintaining their benefits and seniority while using the donated time.

Individual Employee Services
Special Personnel Programs also provides help to individual employees and their families. Services include help with emergency retirement, disability retirement, medical leave, connection to community resources, and with processing County-provided benefits such as life insurance benefits and salary continuation.

Notes:
The most important point to know is Emergency Retirement. This is the process of changing an employee’s status & from "employee" to "retiree" just before their death or before an operation from which they may fall into a coma or not survive. The purpose for doing this is that the Survivor benefits are usually better in retirement. A situation like this requires individual attention to help the employee make the best choice. Please notify this office, at (408) 299-6889, or PERS immediately if you are aware of an employee who has a terminal illness or is facing a life-threatening situation In addition, this office provides individual assistance to employees who are facing medical leaves and need information on how their benefits (medical coverage, Vacation Donation, SDI, LTD) work.

Help to Survivors of County Employees
Two items, the "Survivor's Booklet" and "Vital Records Packet" are available for County employees and their families. These items provide information for pre-planning and taking care of personal business when a death occurs.

Employees may sign the "Final Warrant Designation." According to the California Government Code, this form allows County employees to designate the person who will receive (without delay) the employee's final paycheck and time-off pay in the event of the employee's death. This form is available at the employees Departmental Service Center or you can download the form (see Attachments). Please return completed form to your Service Center for their records.

It is important to update your beneficiaries as appropriate. You can find a list of benefits where you may have beneficiary designations (see Attachments). The records for different benefits are kept in different locations. If you don't know your current designation or beneficiary, simply fill an updated one with the appropriate office.

In addition to this prepared information, Special Personnel Programs processes all employee deaths and assists survivors of County employees.

Coordination of Critical Incident Stress Debriefings for Employees
When a critical incident such as an unexpected death, serious accident or violent incident occurs at the work place, those involved will experience some level of suffering. The range of suffering varies, but frequently negatively effects the employee and their work.

Returning to normal, healthy functioning and productivity after an incident is a County priority. This requires time and attention to the process of sharing, healing and recovery. Special Programs will coordinate services to help employees through traumatic incidents.

Special Personnel Programs Network
This is a network of County employees who serve as representatives of Special Personnel Programs throughout the County. The purpose of the network is to assist in communicating information about needs and services when they arise. The network is also an avenue for this office to develop new services to meet the needs of County employees. Volunteers to this network are accepted on an on-going basis.