INTRODUCTION

The personnel policies of ______County Court Appointed Special Advocates are formulated and adopted by the Board of Trustees. These policies are to be the medium through which the employer and the employees have an understanding of their respective obligations to each other and to the clients they serve. The objective of this manual is to provide a working basis for consistency and equity in treatment among the staff of CASA.

The Board of Trustees or a designated committee of the Board shall review these policies at least biennially. Staff members of CASA shall be given appropriate opportunity to submit recommended changes to the Board or its designated committee for its consideration. Any such recommendations must be in writing and submitted to the Board via the Executive Director. Staff Members shall receive in writing any updates to the personnel policies.

______County Court Appointed Special Advocates

PERSONNEL POLICIES MANUAL

Section A – Full Time Staff

  1. STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY

1.There shall be no discrimination of persons on the basis of race, age, sex, handicap, religion, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or belief in regard to their service to the agency, nor their recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion, or other conditions of staff employment.

2.All employees shall refrain from supporting, contributing to, or assisting any political candidate or issue during working hours.

3.Non-Discrimination and Diversity - CASA actively recruits, selects, and promotes qualified employees and volunteers broadly representative of the community served and administers it personnel practices without discrimination based upon age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, handicap or religion.

This CASA Program is in compliance with the Equal Employment opportunity Act with regard to its personnel, both paid and volunteer.

4.Non Discrimination and Diversity Plan - As a commitment to diversity and non discrimination, CASA will use communication that is acceptable to all people and shows diversity. We will advertise in venues that are directed at a cross section of the population. We will advertise and recruit fairly and throughout the entire community and work to reach all underrepresented populations. We will encourage staff and volunteer training in the area of understanding diversity.

  1. CASA, it’s staff, board and volunteers are committed to diversity and will keep a ongoing written plan to guide and measure progress in increasing inclusiveness and diversity with measurable actions that will demonstrate progress towards goals.
  1. The Executive Director, staff and board will keep this document current and up to date through annual reviews.
  1. DEFINITION OF EXEMPT AND NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES

1.EXEMPT: Those employees who are full-time personnel and who meet the following conditions shall be considered exempt:

  1. The employee must customarily and regularly exercise discretionary power and independent judgment.
  1. The employee must have the power to hire or fire, or recommend hiring or firing.
  1. Theemployee must be engaged primarily in the management, administrative or instructional aspects of the organization.
  1. The employee, by virtue of the position, is not entitled to either overtime pay or compensatory time off.

2.NON-EXEMPT: Those employees who do not meet all of the restrictive qualifications of the exempt employee category. The employee may be full-time or part-time, salaried or hourly paid.

  1. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

At all times criteria as required by the EEOAA and CASA'S AffirmativeAction Statement and Plan shall be followed as closely as possible.

  1. SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

CASA strongly supports the U.S. Civil Rights program as covered in Title VII, sex discrimination and will not tolerate sexual harassment of any nature by any of its employees. It is the Agency's duty through the Executive Director to maintain a work force free of sexual harassment and intimidation. Strict disciplinary action will be taken, including but not limited to termination. Sexual harassment means any physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature as well as repeated and unwanted sexual advances and requests.

1.CRITERIA USED FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Specific behaviors are prohibited. These include but are not limited to:

  1. Repeated, offensive sexual flirtation, advances, propositions.
  2. Continued or repeated verbal abuse of a sexual nature.
  1. Graphic verbal commentaries about an individual's body.
  1. Sexually degrading words used to describe an individual.
  1. Display in the work place of sexually suggestive objects or pictures.
  1. Leering, pinching, patting.
  1. Any reprisal taken against the complainant due to filing a charge and/or refusal of the unwanted advances such as: escalation of the harassment, poor work assignments, sabotaging of work, sarcasm, unsatisfactory job evaluations, threatened demotions and transfers, denials of raises,promotions, benefits and dismissal and a poor job reference.

2.COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

  1. Any employee who is sexually harassed can contact the EEO officer, which is the Executive Director or in case of conflict, contact Board of Trustees President.
  1. Any employee can make an informal or formal complaint to the EEO officer.
  1. Any employee who has knowledge of sexual harassment can report it to the EEO officer, who, for CASA is the Executive Director.
  1. In the event that the complaint involves the Executive Director, the employee is directed to file the complaint with the President of the Board of Trustees of the agency.
  1. The EEO officer (or President) will investigate each complaint thoroughly and make recommendations for a swift and appropriate disciplinary action, if guilty.
  1. Victims are protected from reprisals and may remain anonymous exceptto the extent necessary to carry out the purpose of the law prohibitingsexual harassment.

3.DISCIPLINARY ACTION

  1. Any employee found to have violated the foregoing sexual harassment policy will receive six (6) days suspension for the first offense and termination of the second offense.
  1. A more severe sexual harassment charge may lead to automatic termination. Example: attempted rape or rape.
  1. WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY

A whistleblower as defined by this policy is an employee, board member or volunteer of the CASA program who reports any activity that he/she considers to be illegal, dishonest, unethical or inappropriate to one or more of the parties specified in this policy. The whistleblower is not responsible for investigating the activity or for determining fault or corrective measures; appropriate management officials are charged with these responsibilities.

1.ACTIVITIES include but are not limited to:

  1. Examples of illegal, dishonest, unethical or inappropriate activities which are violations of federal, state or local laws; such as billing for services not performed or for goods not delivered; and other fraudulent financial reporting.

2.COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

  1. If an employee has knowledge of or a concern of such activities, the employee is to contact the Board of Trustees who are responsible for investigating and coordinating corrective action.
  2. The employee must exercise sound judgment to avoid baseless allegations. An employee who intentionally files a false report of wrongdoing will be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

3.WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS include:

  1. Confidentiality - Insofar as possible, the confidentiality of the whistleblower will be maintained. However, identity may have to be disclosed to conduct a thorough investigation, to comply with the law and to provide accused individuals their legal rights of defense
  1. Preventing Retaliation - The CASA program will not retaliate against a whistleblower. This includes, but is not limited to, protection from retaliation in the form of adverse employment actions such as: termination, compensation decrease, poor work assignments or threats of physical harm.
  2. Any whistleblower who believes he/she is being retaliated against must contact the board of trustees immediately. The right of a whistleblower for protection against retaliation does not include immunity for any personal wrongdoing that is alleged and investigated.

WHISLTLEBLOWERS CONTACTS - Employees with any questions regarding this policy should contact the executive director or member of the board of trustees.

  1. QUALIFICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT

1.Opportunity for employment with CASA shall be open to anyperson who can present satisfactory evidence of qualifications for the position to be filled. No person may be employed by the organization if she/he will be supervising or will be supervised by another member of his/her immediate family.

2.Board members and their immediate family members will be excluded from consideration for employment by the organization.

3.Additionally, immediate family members of employees may not serve on the Board of Trustees.

  1. A member of an immediate family shall include: husband/wife, father/mother, children, sister/brother, grandmother/grandfather, grandchildren, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or other relative residing with the employee.

4.Applicants must successfully pass a formal security check conducted by:

  1. CASA with local and state law enforcement and child protective service agencies as appropriate and permissible by state lawn.
  1. EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURE

1.APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  1. The executive committee of the board shall appoint within 5 business days a person to serve as interim Executive Director as the need exists.

2.PROMOTION FROM WITHIN

  1. If an individual currently employed by CASA qualifies for another position in the organization and is acceptable to the designated employing person, the recruiting and hiring procedures may be waived and the employee may be appointed directly to that position. Promotions shall be based on evaluation of past performance and capacity for the vacant position.

When these factors are equal for two or more employees, the designated screening committee for that position shall, in accordance with employment procedures, assist the Executive Director or appropriate employing person in the hiring process.

3.THE INTERVIEWING PROCEDURE (EXEMPT POSITIONS)

  1. The screening committees
  1. Executive Search: The Executive committee of the Board of Trustees shall within 15 days appoint a Search Committee to include but not limited to the President of the Board, the Chairperson of the Personnel Committee, selected members of the Personnel and Executive Committees, one non-voting employee.
  1. Other Exempt Positions: A Screening Committee composed of but not limited to the Personnel Committee, and the Executive Director shall be convened to conduct the employee search. The Personnel Committee Chairperson shall chair this committee.
  1. Review of applicant
  1. Executive Search: The Executive Search Committee shall establish a process for reviewing all applicants and for reducing the number of applicants to the most qualified applicants.
  1. Other Exempt Positions: The Screening Committee will select the most qualified applicants to beinterviewed.
  1. Applicant Screening
  2. All applicants will complete a written application and/or supply a resume containing information about educational backgroundand training, employment history, and experience working withchildren.
  1. Program will verify accuracy of the application and employee information with references. All applicants will submit the names of three or more references that are unrelated to the applicant.
  1. All applicants will sign an authorization form allowing the CASA program and other appropriate agencies to secure fingerprints and national, state and local criminal checks, and child protective services history check,social security number verification, sex offender registry check and central child abuse registry as appropriate and permissible by state law.Record checks will also be done for any other state(s) the prospective employee has lived in within the past 7 years.
  1. The program’s selection process for all employees includes an assessment of the applicant’s awareness and sensitivity to the cultural and socioeconomic differences that are present among the children and families served by the program.
  1. Interviews
  1. All applicants who are to be interviewed shall be given a copy of the Personnel Policy. This copy should be given to the interviewee at least twenty-four hours prior to the interview time.
  1. Executive Search: The most qualified applicants shall be interviewed by the Search Committee. These same applicants shallalso be interviewed by a representative group of volunteers. There shall be a third interview of each of these applicants by a staff team of full-time employees.
  1. Other Exempt Positions: The Screening Committee shall interview all qualified applicants selected by the Screening Committee.
  1. Recommendations for employment
  1. Executive Search: After receiving the views of the Staff Committee,the voting members of the Search Committee shall rank the applicants in order of the preference of the Search Committee.
  1. The Search Committee shall present the rankings to the Board of Trustees for Board action.
  1. The Board will pick the top three candidates to interview and rank.
  1. Following Board selection, the President shall employ theExecutive Director on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
  1. Other Exempt Positions: In consultation with the ScreeningCommittee, the Executive Director shall recommend an applicant and make this person's name and credentials known to the Board of Trustees. The Board may choose to reject the applicant nominated. It may ask the Executive Director to submit additional names for consideration, or it may approve the applicant. When approval of the recommended applicant occurs, that person is then notified of employment by the Executive Director.

4.THE INTERVIEWING PROCEDURE (NON-EXEMPT POSITIONS)

  1. All applicants shall be reviewed by the Executive Director incooperation with such other paid staff as may be deemed appropriate by the Executive Director.
  1. The most qualified applicants shall be selected, and all selected applicants shall be interviewed by the Executive Director. All applicants who are to be interviewed shall be given a copy of the Personnel Policy. This copy should be given to the interviewee at leasttwenty-four hours prior to the interview time. If no applicant is suitable,the Executive Director may select additional applicants for interviewing.
  1. All applicants will sign an authorization form allowing the CASA program and other appropriate agencies to secure fingerprints and national, state and local criminal checks, social security number verification, and child protective services history check, sex offender registry check and central child abuse registry as appropriate and permissible by state law. Record checks will also be done for any other state(s) the prospective employee has lived in within the past 7 years.
  1. Program will verify accuracy of the application and employee information with references. All applicants will submit the names of three or more references that are unrelated to the applicant.
  1. When a suitable applicant is found, the Executive Director shall employthat person. An announcement shall be made to the Board of Trustees at their next regular board meeting.

5.NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT OR NONACCEPTANCE

  1. All applicants who are not employed shall receive a notice that they are no longer under consideration and/or (as appropriate) that the positionhas been filled. Such notice shall be sent within seven days following the decision.
  1. Applicants must successfully pass a formal security check conducted byCASA with local and state law enforcement and childprotective service agencies as appropriate and permissible by state law.
  1. When an applicant is employed s/he shall receive a letter of agreementregarding employment. The letter must include, but not necessarily be restricted to, dates of employment, probationary period, salary schedules, major benefits, a time limit in which the applicant has to accept or reject the offer, and any other special considerations which areto be a part of that position.
  1. Said letter of agreement must contain the signature of the ExecutiveDirector and the applicant. In the case of the Executive Director search, signatures should be those of the President of the Board of Trustees and the applicant.
  1. Formal processing of the letter should be completed within seven days of the final approval of the employing person. The signature of theapplicant and return of the letter indicates agreement by the applicant ofthe conditions for employment. The applicant shall receive a copy ofthe letter of agreement with all appropriate signatures including his/herown. The original letter of agreement becomes part of the employee's permanent personnel file.
  1. Newly hired Executive Director or Volunteer Coordinator positions shall complete the CASA/Volunteer pre service training.

6.RELOCATION EXPENSES

  1. An individual's interviewing and /or moving expenses may be paid in an amount to be determined by and at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
  1. PERSONNEL RECORDS

1.CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE RECORD

  1. A personnel record for each employee is considered confidential material and shall be kept in a protected location. This record shall include all documents which the individual may have been required to fill out, any letter of recommendation, evaluation, letters of commendation or discipline and any other items considered to be necessary for either the application and hiring process or the appraisaland hiring process or the appraisal and, when appropriate, the termination process.
  1. The Executive Director, the Chairperson of the Personnel committee and the President of the Board of Trustees shall be the only persons having direct access to the record.
  1. Information in the person's record may be made available to those persons authorized by the President of the Board of Trustees for the purpose of review and appraisal of the individual's performance. No other persons are permitted to have access to an employee's personnelrecord without the written consent of that individual whose record isbeing reviewed.
  1. In the case of the Executive Director, the President of CASA or the Chairperson of the Personnel Committee shall supervise his/herpersonnel record and maintain a duplicate copy of the record.
  1. The employee has the right of access to his/her detailed record, except those confidential statements, which the employee previously had waived the right to see or that which is legally protected from disclosure.
  1. The employee may review his/her files but only in the presence of either the Executive Director, the Personnel Committee Chairperson or the President of the Board of Trustees.
  1. If the employee wishes to challenge information contained in their employee record, the employee shall in writing notify the board of trustees president and Executive Director regarding the desired change. The Executive Director and Board will review any information and respond to the employee in writing.
  1. All staff files will be retained for seven (7) years from date of termination in a secure (locked) location either on-site or at an off-site file storage facility. At the seven year anniversary of termination, all files pertaining to the past employee(s) may be destroyed, except in the event of a high-conflict termination, which will be retained indefinitely.

2.THE EMPLOYEE WORKING FILE