California Association of Psychiatric Technicians

outreach
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013
California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
Here
Comes
Stockton!
Reminders
Volume 26, Issue 1
February / March 2013
&
Brady Oppenheim, Editor
Carol Wiesmann, Managing Editor
and Layout Designer
IMPORTANT INFO
CAPT is represented by
Murch, Bassoff & Associates, Inc.
HAVE YOU MOVED?
YOU MUST TELL THE BVNPT WITHIN 30 DAYS!
Imagesetting and Printing by
CPS Publications and Mail Services
Sacramento, CA
You have a lot of things to do when you move. But one thing that needs to go at the top of
your list is notifying your licensing or certifying agency! If you’re moving, write to the Board
of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians if you’re a Psych Tech, or to the
California Department of Public Health if you’re a Psychiatric Technician Assistant with a
CNA certificate, to notify them of your new address. The BVNPT requires that all changes
of address must be submitted in writing within 30 days of a move, so use this handy
form from the Board’s website to make sure your information is current:
www.bvnpt.ca.gov/pdf/55p-4.pdf . Having your current address on file is absolutely key
if the BVNPT or the CDPH needs to send you time-sensitive information about your license
or certificate. And don’t forget to tell CAPT too!
Outreach is the official publication of
the California Association of Psychiatric
Technicians and is printed at least six times
each year.
Outreach is published by:
CAPT Headquarters
1220 ‘S’ Street, Ste 100
Sacramento, CA 95811-7138.
Phone: Toll Free (800) 677-CAPT (2278)
or locally at (916) 329-9140
‘HOW DO I GET A REPLACEMENT PT LICENSE?’
How do you get a new one? Simple: Download an “Application for Replacement PT License”
from the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians’ website and mail it in
promptly with the appropriate payment. Keep a copy of the form for your records. As with
licensure renewals sent via mail to the BVNPT, CAPT recommends sending replacement
license applications to the BVNPT via U.S. Postal Service certified (green signature card)
mail directly to the licensing board. The certified-mail process requires the board staff
to sign for and immediately process your paperwork. Here’s something to remember: Even if
you’ve lost your license card, you are still licensed by the state for all intents and purposes. The BVNPT’s online database of licensed Psych Techs will still show you as “clear”
if all of your licensure materials and renewals are otherwise up to date.
LICENSE-RENEWAL QUESTIONS?
CALL THE BVNPT’S DIRECT PT LINE!
If you have any questions about your Psych Tech license, contact the
BVNPT’s Psychiatric Technician Licensure Unit using their direct-line
number: (916) 263-7830. The other number listed in their many mailed documents
only lists the Board’s generic phone number. Keep this direct-line number handy for
any licensure questions.
Planning to retire soon?
Don’t forget that CAPT offers its retired State of California members the same
insurance benefits it provides its active members. As a retired member, CAPT will
continue to provide -- $5,000 in Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage
and $5,000 in Term Life Insurance -- without any age term.
IMPORTANT: For your insurance to continue after your retirement -for only $5 per month -- you must contact CAPT Headquarters at (800)
677-2278 within 31 days of the last day in the month in which you retired.
If you fail to do so, your policy will lapse and cannot be reinstated.
CAPT is a non-profit corporation serving as
the exclusive representative of all employees
in Psychiatric Technician Bargaining Unit 18
in California State Civil Service.
CAPT is also the professional association for
all California Psychiatric Technicians.
How to reach us ...
CAPT Sacramento Headquarters
Toll Free (800) 677-CAPT (2278)
or (916) 329-9140
(916) 329-9145 (Fax)
Toll-Free Voice Mail: (800) 926-CAPT (2278)
This number includes voice mail for the State President,
all CAPT Chapters and the Corrections Chapter Consultant.
Below are their individual numbers and instructions for leaving
a message. Instructions on how to leave a message will also
be available when you call.
2#
3#
4#
5#
6#
Tony Myers
Ann Lyles
Corrections
Atascadero
Napa
7#
8#
9#
10#
11#
Fairview
Lanterman
Metropolitan
Patton
Porterville
12# Sonoma
14# Coalinga
15# Community
Facilities
us at: twitter.com/psychtechs
psychtechs.net
Check out our catastrophic leave list on our website. Keep abreast of what’s
happening! CAPT updates its website frequently, making sure you have current
information on state, department, and CAPT news, at your facility and statewide.
2 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
and follow some of our chapters on
CAPT Board of Directors
STATE OFFICERS
State President Tony Myers
3431 Pomona Blvd., Ste C, Pomona, CA 91768
(800) 926-CAPT (2278) / [email protected]
State Vice President Juan Nolasco
(see Coalinga listing)
State Secretary-Treasurer Paul Alizaga
(see Fairview listing)
CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
Atascadero:
Paul Hannula
PO Box 757, Atascadero, CA 93423-0757
(805) 235-7832 (Cell) / (805) 468-2493 (Office)
(805) 861-2390 (Fax) [email protected]
Coalinga:
Juan Nolasco
578 E. Elm St., Coalinga CA 93210
Mail to: PO Box 933, Coalinga, CA 93210-0933
(559) 217-6312 (Cell) / (559) 934-0247 (Fax)
[email protected]
Community Facilities: Royce Edgington
Mail to: 82-204 Highway 111, Ste C #106
Indio CA 92201
(760-396-8482
[email protected]
Corrections: Jennifer Are
Mail to: c/o CAPT Headquarters
1220 S St., Ste 100, Sacramento CA 95811-7138
Chapter contacts:
Jennifer Are: (559) 970-2283 (Cell)
[email protected]
Consultant Ann Lyles: (909) 263-6269 (Cell) or
(916) 329-9147 (Office) / (800) 395-2278
[email protected]
Fairview: Paul Alizaga
Office in Employee Org. Rm
PO Box 2796, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-2796
(714) 957-5332 (Office) / (714) 754-1065 (Fax)
[email protected]
Index
ON THE COVER:
HERE COMES STOCKTON! July 22 will be the day when
the first patient arrives for treatment at this new state-ofthe-art facility, which also offers new opportunities for our
profession to shine. Cover and magazine photos
courtesy of CDCR and URS.
4
The President’s View: Our work is never done
4
BU 18 members: Use those PDD days!
5
Want to be a state-employed Psych Tech?
Lanterman: Brad Whitehead
3431 Pomona Blvd., Ste C, Pomona, CA 91768-3294
(909) 595-1085 (Office) / (909) 598-1387 (Fax)
[email protected]
6-7
CAPT heads back to the bargaining table
7
Contract Highlights: OT payment issue
8
CAPT continues efforts for safety in state hospitals
Metropolitan: Eric Soto
Metropolitan State Hospital, 11401 Bloomfield Ave., Norwalk, CA
Mail to: PO Box 59569, Norwalk, CA 90652-0569
(714) 329-7425 (Cell) / (562) 286-8007 (Fax)
[email protected]
9
Around our state prisons: staffing changes
9
Who’s your insurance beneficiary?
10-11
VOR calls on congress for choice
11
Can Psych Techs perform fingersticks?
Napa: Linda Monahan
PO Box 10906, Napa, CA 94581-2906
(707) 252-7320 (Office) / (707) 736-7022 (Fax)
(707) 266-4545 (Cell)
[email protected]
12-13
Here comes Stockton! Check out California’s
14
License and certification news
15-16
NSH’s Richard Dias compares his Psych Tech
16
17
experiences of California and Colorado
Steward Spotlight on MSH’s Don Magner
Be like Don - be a steward!
17
Corrections Chapter holds membership
18
Want higher pay and retirement? Change ranges!
19
CalPERS updates
20
Under our scope: Gerontological nursing
21
Know the ABC’s of FMLA
22
Studies, research & more
23
23
Catastrophic Leave donations
Numbers of Note
Patton: Mark Cruz
Patton State Hospital, House #6
Mail to: PO Box 680, Patton, CA 92369-0680
(909) 864-1610 (Office) / (909) 864-1695 (Fax)
[email protected]
Porterville: Mike Simental
376 North D Street
Mail to: PO Box 8703, Porterville, CA 93258-8703
(559) 781-2278 (Office) / (559) 781-4440 (Fax)
[email protected]
Sonoma: Megan Gordon
15175 Arnold Dr., Sonoma
Mail to: PO Box 148, Eldridge, CA 95431-0148
(707) 934-5881 (Cell)
(707) 938-2795 (Office) / (707) 938-8721 (Fax)
[email protected]
newest “state hospital”
appreciation events
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 3
OUR WORK IS NEVER DONE
I just came back from a
meeting with California Department of State Hospitals heads,
who shared how they are
working with employees at all
levels in order to improve
safety for everyone working
and residing in these unique and urgently needed
public-safety facilities.
The department’s new heads and administrators
are bound and determined to create real change in a
too-long-ignored department whose years of neglect –
despite our best efforts – eventually cost the life of one
of our own Napa Psychiatric Technician Donna Gross.
Many changes have been implemented in the
department since Donna’s death. These changes are
her true and visible legacy to her coworkers and patients. As DSH heads outlined how they wanted
everyone’s input and recommendations toward continuously improving state hospitals, I came away from the
meeting feeling a commitment and sincerity that I haven’t
felt in far too long from other departments.
DSH’s recent efforts – including its additional
commitment to its new therapeutic treatment center in
Stockton – brought to my mind the nursing process: We
assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate, and
then do it over again in a continuous cyclical process,
improving or changing as we go in order to best help
those in our care. DSH’s commitment to change and
improving safety and working conditions for staff and
patients gives me hope for a better future for the job we
love. It may not go as quickly as all would wish, and we
may uncover further issues along the way, but we have a
plan toward the future, we have a voice in the process
and we are part of an accountable team committed to
making change happen.
CAPT’s past Porterville Chapter President and
decades-proud Psych Tech Ed Vartanian wrote in a
thank-you note to CAPT Headquarters after his retirement that “our work is never done.” Never were truer
words spoken: In our professional lives of helping patients and clients reach that next goal -- and then the
next and next – through the continuous cycle of the
nursing process, and in our lives as union and PT
advocates, as we keep issues moving ever-forward over
hurdles and roadblocks, our work is never done.
Thank you for the important work you do day in and
day out, wherever you are.
In unity,
Tony Myers
CAPT State President
(800) 926-2278
[email protected]
BU 18 members: Use those PDD days before July 1
Through our one-year contract extension with the state,
Bargaining Unit 18 members gained two Professional Development Days to use before July 1, 2013.
With PDDs, the state provides “two days per fiscal year
(without loss of compensation) for activities such as professional association activities, professional and/or personal
development seminars, etc., to promote professional and/or
personal growth and to enhance...goals.”
Permanent Intermittent employees also receive PDD
time on a prorated basis.
Professional Development Days are requested and
approved in the same manner as vacation or annual leave,
4 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
although it cannot be accumulated. It must be used in the
same fiscal year during which it’s granted, or the time is
eliminated. Managers can’t require you to use your PDD
time a certain way, nor can they require you to provide
verification of what you did on those days.
The Professional Development Days are a great way to
attend professional conferences, classes and seminars, such
as those that offer credit toward BVNPT-required continuing
education.
So if you haven’t yet used those PDDs, don’t forget to
do so by July 1. For more information on Professional
Development Days, contact your chapter office.
ATTENTION:
Psychiatric Technicians
If you aren’t working for the
State of California, join up with us now!
This is a great time to consider a job with a
state facility!
Working for the state offers many benefits that
CAPT has negotiated in our union contract, including:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Starting pay of more than $50,000 a year
Solid medical, dental & vision benefits
A top-notch retirement system
Good vacation & sick leave
State-paid Psych Tech license renewal
Higher pay for college credits
Attractive career advancement opportunities.
With positions open in all three state agencies
employing Psych Techs, there’s no better time to join
the state team.
We’ve included phone numbers for the hiring
offices of various state facilities. If you have problems
getting through to the right place for employment
information and applications, contact the CAPT
chapter at that facility. The CAPT contacts on page 3
include their phone and toll-free voicemail numbers,
plus e-mail and office addresses.
Adult Prisons and
Youth Correctional Facilities
Recruitment for Psychiatric Technicians in
California’s dozens of adult prisons is overseen
by California Correctional Health Care Services:
(877) 793-HIRE (4473).
For recruitment information regarding
California’s youth correctional facilities, contact
the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation: (888) 232-4584.
State Hospitals
(Department of State Hospitals)
Atascadero State Hospital (Atascadero)
Coalinga State Hospital (Coalinga)
Metropolitan State Hospital (Norwalk)
Napa State Hospital (Napa)
Patton State Hospital (San Bernardino)
DSH - Stockton (Stockton)
DSH Specialized Treatment Programs
(Salinas Valley and Vacaville)
For information on available positions
and employment contacts for DSH facilities
check out www.dsh.ca.gov/jobs
Developmental Centers
and Community Facilities
(Department of Developmental Services)
Canyon Springs Community Facility
(Cathedral City)
Employment contact: (760) 770-6260
Fairview Developmental Center (Costa Mesa)
Employment contact: (714) 957-5137
Porterville Developmental Center (Porterville)
Employment contact: (559) 782-2087
Sonoma Developmental Center (Eldridge)
Employment contact: (707) 938-6538
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 5
Crafting a new contract
What’s ahead for Bargaining Unit 18?
It’s hard to believe it’s that time again, but it is – it’s time to
bargain a new contract!
Last year, in light of the state’s ongoing budget concerns,
CAPT’s board of directors voted to propose extending our current
contract one more year instead of going back to the bargaining
table that spring as planned. The state-approved extension
did include some positive changes we requested in the
form of health-care contribution improvements, helping
provide some relief to benefit increases, as well as
vacation-bid improvements and a much-needed audit and
cash-out of departments’ Compensated Time Off.
“The extension allowed us to prevent takeaways, to
preserve our rights and to look toward 2013 for more contract
progress,” said CAPT State President Tony Myers.
Even with last year’s extension improvements, there’s still so much more to do. That’s why we’re
looking forward to getting back to the bargaining table in order to keep the positive changes moving
forward.
Although the state budget is in a much better place this year – thanks in large part to the passage of
CAPT-supported Proposition 30 in November – it doesn’t mean our team members will get to kick back
and relax at the bargaining table: Governor Brown continues to call for fiscal caution even in light of the
proposition’s passage. So our team has its work cut out for it when it comes to working toward pay and
benefit improvements, but they’re ready to work on our behalf.
And our contract isn’t just about dollars and cents in our pockets – it’s fundamentally about rights.
Many of the issues included in our contract are entirely non-monetary items geared toward improving
conditions at our facilities for ourselves and, by extension, those who depend on our services. Safety and
staffing continue to be interrelated issues at the top of our bargaining priority list.
“Every single right in our contract – literally every single word – had to be fought for by Bargaining Unit 18 members over the years,” said Myers, a Lanterman Senior Psych Tech. “And those
doing the fighting aren’t separate from us: They are our coworkers who will also be affected by the
final product. All of us on the team take the whole process very, very seriously – there’s a lot at
stake.”
YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Time and again, our bargaining-team members report how important it is
to feel they have support back at their worksites. Away from their homes and
families and facing adversarial state representatives, our team members –
which include all of our chapter presidents – are greatly strengthened knowing
their coworkers have their backs.
continued on page 7 ~
6 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
“Changes to our contract are generated by our membership at the facility
level – through requests, surveys, and filed
complaints and grievances – and I’m proud
to say that Patton Chapter members have
presented ideas that were successfully
adopted at past negotiations,” he said. “I
look forward to sitting at the negotiating
table again and fighting for changes that
will benefit bargaining unit members
statewide.”
You can make a difference by...
• BEING A MEMBER – Don’t be fooled:
State representatives keep an eye on
CAPT’s membership numbers to gauge
how supportive Bargaining Unit 18 members are of our union and our efforts. If
you’re not a full union member, now’s the
time to sign up and show strength in
numbers.
• BEING A STEWARD – Stewards are our
the foundation of a strong union, and the
more we have, the stronger and more
visible we are. Contact your chapter office
to sign up for the next free steward training and find out more about your contract
rights and your union’s role.
• GETTING INVOLVED – We’ll be keeping everyone updated with the latest
bargaining news via fliers,
www.psychtechs.net and twitter.com/
psychtechs. And our chapter offices will
be holding important meetings and events
to keep you updated and to show our
support for our team. Stay in touch with
your chapter for the latest!
CAPT reps continue to work on the
issue of late overtime payments in state
service, but a specific timing scenario
could be at the root of when OT payments will be made.
For more than two years, union representatives have been seeking information from the State Controller’s Office
as to why some of our bargaining unit
members – frequently in state prisons -have their regular pay processed in a
timely fashion, but have overtime processed and paid two
weeks later. Reps have met with departmental and
Controller’s Office staff seeking answers as to why this is
continues to happen according to reports from various correctional facilities across the state, especially as improperly
late payments of overtime could violate federal wage laws.
Through exhaustive research and calendaring, union
reps believe they have cracked the mystery as to why this
issue continues to occur. By law, state Bargaining Unit 18
members are paid overtime, not upon working more than 8
hours per day, but upon working more than 40 hours in our
workweek. If a BU 18 member works their regular work time
during the first pay period of the month – as those in our
bargaining unit are paid twice a month – and then works
overtime in the last few days of the first pay period of the
month, and then is sick or absent for the first few days of
the second pay period, that middle-month week does not
add up to more than 40 hours of time worked and the overtime worked is held until the second pay period.
If this overtime was not carried over to the second pay
period’s paycheck and was paid on the current check and
an employee was sick or absent in the first days of the next
pay period, CDCR would run the possibility of employees
having to pay money back if the remainder of the employee’s
40-hour workweek was not in fact worked. This lag-time
scenario actually helps protect workers from having to pay
money back to the department if they are sick or out during
the first few days of the second pay period.
However, it should be noted that if you have an
approved day off in that workweek
and are mandated, that time
counts toward hours worked,
except for sick time.
CAPT reps will continue to
seek clarifications from the
Controller’s Office and CDCR on
this ongoing issue and are still
gathering information, so if you
have overtime that you believe to
have been paid late, contact
CAPT consultant Ann Lyles at
(800) 395-2278 or by email at
[email protected].
Contract Highlights
Patton Chapter President Mark Cruz
is returning to the bargaining table as a
longtime member of our team. He notes
how his chapter’s vocal activism and
interest always means a great deal to him
and everyone else on our side as they
work for change on everyone’s behalf.
Specific scenario helps shed light
on timely OT payment issue
Information on timely payment of wages
is located in the 2010-2012 CAPT Contract
Article 4.9, Page 20
~ continued from page 6
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 7
CAPT continues its efforts to improve safety for patients and staff in our
state hospitals. Here are just a few examples of what we’re working on
right now...
LEGISLATION WOULD EXPAND
USE OF ENHANCED TREATMENT UNITS
UPDATE: STAFFING IMPROVEMENTS
TAKING HOLD AT COALINGA
CAPT and SEIU Local 1000 are cosponsoring
legislation that would take the most assaultive patients
out of the general population and place them in Enhanced Treatment Units.
Authored by Atascadero State Hospital-area Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian, Assembly Bill 1340
would create Enhanced Treatment Units at all California
state hospitals, similar to the ETU currently being piloted
at ASH. However, while the ASH program requires the
sickest individuals to be treated in the ETU, the legislation would broaden the units’ populations to include
patients with the most assaultive or violent behaviors.
The legislation came about
as the result of ongoing
assaults rising to the level
of felonies, but failing to
be prosecuted by local district
attorneys because of the difficulty in
convicting state-hospital patients for
assaults. After the DA declines to prosecute,
patients are referred back to their original facility, and
assaultive cycles begin again. The ETU idea would allow
professional staff to provide enhanced treatment in a
safe and secure fashion while removing the most disruptive patients from the general population, while at the
same time allowing patients who need treatment the
most to receive that treatment free from violence.
All members of the Safety Now Coalition of statehospital unions have endorsed this legislation and are
working together toward its passage. We’ll keep you
updated on its progress in the Capitol.
More permanent staff are coming onboard to
Coalinga State Hospital, thanks to the efforts of chapter
activists and the California Department of State Hospitals.
As previously reported in Outreach, CSH was
using costly registry staff to backfill dozens of vacancies at the Fresno County facility, which cares primarily
for patients defined as Sexually Violent Predators. Not
only was the registry work needlessly expensive for
taxpayers – totalling in the tens of millions of dollars – it
also stood to affect patient and staff safety with the
endless cycling in and out of registry employees unfamiliar with Coalinga’s specialized forensic population.
Coalinga Chapter President and CAPT State
Vice President Juan Nolasco worked with CAPT’s
attorney to file a contracting-out complaint
with the State Personnel Board,
which brought an immediate response from the
Department of State Hospitals. DSH heads met with
Nolasco and other CAPT
representatives and pledged to work with the union to
fill the vacancies properly, and the department is
making good on its word: To date, more than 70 interviews have been conducted and more than 30 vacancies have been filled with permanent state Psychiatric
Technicians.
Nolasco and other chapter activists will continue
to work on this issue. For more information, contact the
Coalinga Chapter office at (559) 217-6312.
For more information on safety issues and how you can help us
make a difference wherever you work, contact your chapter office.
8 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
CAPT activists, reps iron out
realignment staffing changes
As of press time, CAPT
activists and representatives
were working closely with state
departments to ensure stateprison employees affected by
realignment-related downsizing
had their reemployment wishes
finalized and properly implemented.
The downsizing process
went forward in two steps: First,
options letters were mailed to
affected employees, which gave
workers the choice of moving to
positions within their county or
the choice of accepting resignation, retirement or layoff. If
there was nothing available in
their county on the options
letter, employees marked a
resignation/retirement/layoff
choice: On the heels of this first
letter, another letter came to affected employees choosing this
option describing what is called the
“Secondary Placement Process,”
which outlined vacancies throughout the state available for bid and
award based upon seniority
With the Secondary Placement
Process idea created by Corrections Chapter activists and collaborated upon with the California
Department of Human Resources
and California Correctional Health
Care Services, our organization
was the only state-employee union
to have a state-adopted plan first
seeking volunteers to relocate and
fill several dozen available prison
vacancies statewide, rather than
by simply laying off valuable work-
Who’s your insurance beneficiary?
We don’t know either, unless you tell us!
Staff at CAPT Headquarters have been dealing with some concerning situations lately: Some
CAPT members have retained their life-insurance
benefit and have passed away, but had not updated
their insurance beneficiaries in some time, meaning
the benefits have gone to ex-spouses or others members may not have wished after years have passed
since they last designated a beneficiary.
By law, our insurance carrier must award
insurance funds to the person you have designated
on your signed membership application card. Period.
And if you do not designate an insurance beneficiary and leave that portion of the membership
application blank, the insurance benefit will be
awarded to your general estate, not to a particular
person.
Make things easier on yourself and your loved
ones: Take some time to call CAPT Headquarters
at (800) 677-2278 and double-check your insurance beneficiary today.
ers and placing them on rehire
lists. Several employees with a
variety of seniority scores took
advantage of this option,
oftentimes allowing those with
less seniority and otherwise
slated for layoff to stay on in
their original positions.
Employees affected by
downsizing also are eligible for
per-diem payments, management efforts to honor preapproved leaves and disputeresolution steps.
For the latest information
on this issue, contact CAPT
consultant Ann Lyles at
(800) 395-2278 or
[email protected].
Here’s the phone call we don’t want to take
Here is a telephone call that is painful to take: Someone calls
CAPT Headquarters after a retired state Psych Tech has passed away,
asking about life-insurance-benefit assistance, only to be told that,
because the retiree did not carry CAPT membership into retirement,
the union is unable to assist with these final financial needs.
We at CAPT again urgently remind state Bargaining Unit 18
members: If you are thinking of retiring or have just retired in
the past few weeks, please call CAPT Headquarters if you want
to continue these benefits. Each time we are notified of a retirement
through the State Controller’s Office, we follow up with a reminder
letter and retiree membership application to the member. For your
insurance to continue after retirement – for only $5 per month – you
must return this application or contact CAPT Headquarters
within 31 days of the last day of the month in which you retired.
If you fail to do so, your policy for $5,000 term-life benefits and
additional $5,000 for accidental death/dismemberment benefits will
lapse and cannot be reinstated. But sometimes even those notices
from the Controller’s Office come too late. So if you’re retiring and
wish to continue your life-insurance benefit, please contact us immediately. We’re happy to help!
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 9
Ann Knighton with
Georgia Congressman John Barrow.
National family group
calls on Congress for choice
The only national group advocating for a full range of
quality residential and service choices for people with developmental disabilities is calling on Congress to investigate violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and
other laws by federal agencies.
Knighton called on members of Congress to immediately hold hearings on the taxpayer-funded anti-choice activities of Protection & Advocacy and DD Council organizations, which she contended are in clear violation of federal
law as well as tragically ironic, given that they are federal
programs aimed at closing fully federally accredited develRepresentatives of VOR wrote letters to all new and opmental centers.
returning members of the 113th United States Congress in
order to highlight executive-level agencies’ deliberate mis“DOJ and AIDD programs’ lawsuits and activities to disrepresentations of the ADA and the Developmental Dis- mantle specialized facilities continue despite clear federal
abilities Act as well as abuse of their governmental power law and even though there is well-documented evidence of
as they continue their campaigns to close developmental harm – and even death – to the displaced individuals,” she
centers, which are home to thousands of Americans with wrote. “It is time for Congress to investigate.”
developmental disabilities.
“The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities – through its Protection & Advocacy and DD
Council programs – proactively seek total closure of licensed facilities,” wrote VOR President Ann Knighton,
whose 45-year-old daughter Erica has lived at Georgia’s
federally licensed Gracewood Developmental Center since
1972. “These closure activities are pursued regardless of
the degree of disability and in complete disregard for individual and family/court-appointed guardian choice.”
10 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
A VOICE FOR CHOICE
Since our inception, CAPT has held that all residential
and service choices should be left to people with developmental disabilities and their family members and conservators, not to federally funded attorneys.
For more than three decades, VOR has shared our belief. Advocating for thousands of members with representation in every state, the family-based organization continues
to work toward on both the state and national stages for the
highest quality care possible, wherever it may take place. For
more information on VOR and its activities, visit www.vor.net.
Even the
U.S. Supreme Court
supports choice!
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its milestone 1999 Olmstead
ruling, recognized the need for a range of services which
respond to the varied and unique needs of the entire disability
community, such as people with developmental disabilities:
(1) Unjustified institutionalization is discrimination based on
disability. 119 S. Ct. 2176, 2185 (1999).
(2) The Supreme Court held that community placement is
only required and appropriate (i.e., institutionalization is
unjustified), when – “(a) the State’s treatment professionals
have determined that community placement is appropriate;(b)
the transfer from institutional care to a less restrictive setting
is not opposed by the affected individual; and(c) the placement can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account
the resources available to the State and the needs of others
with mental disabilities.” 119 S. Ct. at 2181.
(3) A majority of Justices in Olmstead recognized an ongoing
role for publicly and privately-operated institutions: “We
emphasize that nothing in the ADA or its implementing regulations condones termination of institutional settings for persons
unable to handle or benefit from community settings...Nor is
there any federal requirement that community-based treatment be imposed on patients who do not desire it.” 119 S. Ct.
at 2187.
(4) A plurality of Justices noted:“No placement outside the
institution may ever be appropriate . . . ‘Some individuals,
whether mentally retarded or mentally ill, are not prepared at
particular times-perhaps in the short run, perhaps in the long
run-for the risks and exposure of the less protective environment of community settings’ for these persons, ‘institutional
settings are needed and must remain available’” (quoting
Amicus Curiae Brief for the American Psychiatric Association,
et al). 521 U.S. at 604-604; 119 S. Ct. at 2189. “As already
observed by the majority, the ADA is not reasonably read to
impel States to phase out institutions, placing patients in need
of close care at risk....‘Each disabled person is entitled to
treatment in the most integrated setting possible for that
person — recognizing on a case-by-case basis, that setting
may be an institution’[quoting VOR’s Amici Curiae brief].” Id.
(5) Justice Kennedy noted in his concurring opinion, “It would
be unreasonable, it would be a tragic event, then, were the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to be interpreted
so that states had some incentive, for fear of litigation to drive
those in need of medical care and treatment out of appropriate care and into settings with too little assistance and supervision.” 119 S. Ct. at 2191.
‘Can Psych Techs
perform fingersticks?’
The question of whether California Psychiatric Technicians can perform fingersticks has been
an occasionally recurring one over the years at
CAPT Headquarters, but the answer is always “yes.”
This scope-of-practice question was exhaustively researched in 2004, when a Psych Tech working in a general hospital who’d been doing
fingerstick blood-glucose tests for years contacted
CAPT after a lab technician informed him that he
could no longer legally do them. He was told a new
law of the time said no employee could use a lancet to pierce a patient’s finger for a blood specimen unless he or she is certified as a basic phlebotomist.
CAPT staff researched the issue, finding that
it most likely stemmed from a misunderstanding
about a 40-page health-program law that took effect in 2001 that included a single specific sentence:
The law added a section to the California Business
and Professions Code regulating clinical laboratory
technologists, making it a crime for anyone to “perform venipuncture, skin puncture or arterial puncture to collect a biological specimen” unless authorized by the lab-tech law “or under other provisions
of the law.”
CAPT representatives contacted our licensure
board, the California Board of Vocational Nursing
and Psychiatric Technicians, for clarification. A
BVNPT attorney checked into the matter and concluded that the Psychiatric Technician Law is one
that provides the required authority and that
fingersticks are not considered procedures that
require special certification.
Specifically, the BVNPT advised CAPT that
“Psychiatric Technicians who possess the knowledge, skills and ability to practice safely and competently may perform ‘pin-prick’ skin punctures for
the purpose of obtaining blood samples for testing
based on a physician’s order. Blood-withdrawal certification is not required to allow the PT to perform
this procedure.”
CAPT reps recently contacted the BVNPT
again to revisit this issue. A board nursing-education consultant – who specializes in educational and
scope-of-practice issues – responded that, not only
were the 2004 research and findings still current
and accurate, but also that “lab technicians do not
have authority to define or interpret the PT scope
of practice.”
For questions on Psychiatric Technician scopeof-practice issues, contact the BVNPT’s nursingeducation office at (916) 263-7843 or contact CAPT
Headquarters at (800) 677-2278.
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 11
Here comes Stockton!
State-of-the-art facility includes
California’s newest ‘state hospital’
July 22, 2013, will be here before we know it:
That’s the day that the first patient will set foot in
what’s being called “California Health Care Facility Stockton.”
A joint venture of the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Department of State Hospitals and California Prison Health
Care Services – the federal receivership overseeing medical and mental-health improvements in
California prisons – the new facility represents a
state-of-the-art hybrid of correctional, medical and
mental-health care.
The larger CHCF-Stockton facility will contain
what is being considered California’s newest “state
hospital,” namely “California Department of State
Hospitals - Stockton” consisting of nine buildings with
17 treatment units providing a wide variety of mental-health services.
MORE THAN 400 PTS NEEDED
As part of the 2,400 State of California employees who
will serve a population of more than 1,500 round the clock,
more than 400 Psychiatric Technicians will be there playing
a key role in providing a “constitutional” level of mental-health
care for correctional patients, all of whom will be coming to
the CHCF-Stockton directly from other state correctional
facilities.
12 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
While some Psych Techs will be employed in a single
crisis unit overseen by CDCR, the vast majority of the
hundreds hired will be working in the facility’s several mentalhealth units. Each the approximate size of a football field, the
fully licensed and accredited unit buildings will feature offices,
treatment and group rooms, safety and observation cells,
centralized nursing and security stations and their own
outdoor areas in a primarily self-contained design.
Psychiatric Technicians will be the primary providers for directcare nursing and therapeutic services on the mental-health units, much
as we currently are in California’s other state hospitals. Unit staffing will
include Psychiatric Technicians, Senior Psychiatric Technicians and
Unit Supervisors. A few Correctional Officers also will be included on
each unit to assist with escorts and will be considered part of the larger
treatment team, reflecting the facility’s hybrid role.
All new Stockton employees, regardless of classification, will take
part in a three-day training aimed at emphasizing the facility’s innovative combination of both correctional and health-care cultures. The entire
mission of CHCF-Stockton is to create a supportive and therapeutic
milieu, and California Psych Techs are excited and honored to help
make that mission a reality.
“This facility will really give our members and our profession an opportunity to shine on a national level,” said CAPT State
President Tony Myers, who with other CAPT activists and representatives has been working on and anticipating CHCF-Stockton’s opening
for years. “We’re licensed, educated and dedicated to making a
difference at Stockton.”
ChCf-Stockton
by the numbers
•
1,722 – Number of beds; 514 are allocated for those with mental-health
needs
•
1.2 million – Total square footage of facility space
•
400 – Total acreage of CHCF-Stockton
•
2,400 – Number of facility employees when fully activated
•
More than 400 – Number of Psychiatric Technicians to be employed
•
$1 billion – Positive economic impact to the surrounding area from
construction alone
•
$220 million – Positive annual impact to surrounding area from
employee salaries and economic activity
•
July 22, 2013 – First patient will arrive at Stockton for care
•
December 31, 2013 – Entire facility is full and operational.
Photos courtesy of CDCR and URS.
Check out the facility’s ongoing
construction progress
at www.chcfstockton.com.
Interes
ted in w
orking
Interested
working
at Chcf
-S
Chcf-S
-Sttock
ocktton?
For recruitment information, contact
the Department of State Hospitals
at www.dsh.ca.gov/stockton/jobs or
www.changingprisonhealthcare.org
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 13
&certification news...
KEEPING YOU UPDATED
on license
PT REELECTED AS
BVNPT PRESIDENT
LATE IN RENEWING?
Todd D’Braunstein has
been reelected president of our
regulatory board, the California
Board of Vocational Nursing
and Psychiatric Technicians.
A Patton State Hospital
Unit Supervisor, D’Braunstein
also is a longtime member of
the board. He first was elected board president last
year: the first time the BVNPT ever had been
headed by a Psychiatric Technician.
“I really appreciate the confidence and
support my fellow Board members showed in
electing me as president,” he said. “This is my
second term as president, and with the new
legislative cycle along with continuous budget
concerns impacting all of us, I am looking forward
to the challenge of this year. As always, public
protection is our highest priority, and that priority
will not be changing.
“I would also like to mention that our meetings are public and held throughout the state. It is
always great to see CAPT representatives,
Psychiatric Technicians, Licensed Vocational
Nurses, students and the public in attendance and
taking part in these meetings.”
Find out more about BVNPT members,
meetings and activities at www.bvnpt.ca.gov.
SAVE TIME – RENEW ONLINE!
To streamline license renewals, the Board of Vocational
Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians has launched an online
renewal option.
The already popular service allows those whose licenses
expire within 60 days or whose licenses are delinquent less than
two years from the last expiration date to renew and pay
charges online for a $1 convenience fee.
To use the new service or to find out more, visit
www.bvnpt.ca.gov, e-mail the board at [email protected] or
call the board s Psychiatric Technician Licensure Unit directly
at (916) 263-7830.
At this time, the Department of Public Health doesn t have
a similar online system for those with CNA certificates.
Although no longer working as a Psychiatric Technician, CAPT Consultant
Ann Lyles keeps her license current. This year she took advantage of
renewing online, demonstrating the process above, finding it simple and
receiving her new license in little more than a week.
YOUR STATE FACILITY DOESN’T HAVE TO TAKE YOU BACK
CAPT activists and reps continue to get calls for
assistance from state Bargaining Unit 18 members who
have not renewed their licenses or certificates in a timely
manner.
While CAPT is the only state employee union that
also helps members with licensure and certification
needs, there is only so much we can do when someone
does not renew their license or certificate on time.
Having a current license or certificate is a
requirement to work in a state facility. If your
license or certificate has expired, while CAPT will
work to convince your supervisors otherwise, your
14 - DECEMBER / JANUARY
facility is not required to rehire you once you do
eventually renew it.
Don t forget: The state is required by our contract
to reimburse Bargaining Unit 18 members for the costs of
these renewals.
Not having a license or certificate can cost you your
job and your livelihood. Get those renewals turned
around A.S.A.P.!
For more information on these issues, contact your
chapter office.
From California to Colorado and back again
Richard Dias compares, contrasts states’ PT experiences
When Senior Psychiatric Technician Richard Dias
was laid off from the State of California’s Sierra Vista Community Facility when it closed in 2009, he found it was
time for a major life change.
“I was upset with California,” said Dias, who
had worked at Sierra Vista for seven
years and who was tired of cuts
and the eventual closure of his
developmental-services facility.
“I did my Colorado licensure
paperwork and sent it in and they
sent me my license.”
He had read about Colorado’s version of Psychiatric Technician licensure in Outreach, and was intrigued by the state and its facilities, so he made the
move to the Rocky Mountain State.
In 2010, Dias was hired on at the Mental Health Institute
at Pueblo: one of Colorado’s two state hospitals. He reports
that the brand-new Pueblo forensic unit at the 300-acre facility was impressive and “truly state-of-the-art.”
“It ran well; it looked good; it was professional,” he said.
STATES’ DIFFERENCES
Upon his Colorado licensure, move and
employment, Dias found many changes in
store. Differences between the states included:
• Videotaping – The
Pueblo hospital has 24-hour
videotaped surveillance everywhere. “Everything is videotaped, and a policy team
meets after reviewing videotaped takedowns interventions
to see if anything could be
done differently or improved.
There are cameras down every single wing and in the restraint room, and they all can
be watched from a Star-Trekstyle computer console, which also can lock all doors.
Here in California, we must be in-person and line-of-sight.”
• Responsibilities – Dias’ main responsibilities as
a Health Care Technician I included passing medications
one day a week, doing rounds, doing laundry and sitting
with patients during meals. “The main thing was rounds –
every 15 minutes,” said Dias. “We weren’t allowed to facilitate groups – I don’t know why.”
• Promotional opportunities – “In Colorado, Psych Techs weren’t allowed to be in
charge: The highest you could go was a
‘Health Care Technician III.’ RNs with very little
psych experience are the ones in charge. I
came from being a Senior Psych Tech, shift
lead and trainer helping run the show at Sierra Vista to not having responsibility.”
• Licensure – While Colorado has a
state training, licensure and regulatory program
for its
Psychiatric Technicians similar to our state, the
license
is different from California’s in that the specialty
is split:
Where we are licensed in both developmental disabilities
and mental illnesses, Colorado Psych Techs choose to be
trained and licensed in either one or the other. Dias chose
to go the mental-health route as he felt “there’d probably be
more hospitals for that.” He applied for that type of Colorado license, which was awarded three months later. With
that license in hand, he applied to the Pueblo state hospital
and was hired within two weeks of his interview as a “Health
Care Technician I.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
BACK IN CALIFORNIA
• Training – As someone with past training experience, Dias enjoyed and was challenged by the nearlyevery-other-day, on-the-spot trainings at the Pueblo facility. “They had people doing mock drills right then and there
on the floor: CPR, bleeding, suicide attempts and more.
Then, after the mock trainings, they’d immediately go over
their findings with you. I really appreciated that.”
Seeking increased professional responsibility, improved
pay and less snow, Dias moved
back to California in January
2012. He now works at Napa
again as a Senior Psychiatric
cently appointed CAPT steward
• Pay – “We were paid about $13 an hour once a
month. Granted, the cost of living is different, but that was
way less than half of what we make in California.”
• Weather and geography – Dias found the Colorado snow and winter weather extremely difficult and dangerous for commuting, and the “high desert, cactus and
tumbleweed” wasn’t appealing.
State Hospital (once
Technician), is a reand now is working
Continued on page 16 --
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 15
-- Continued from page 15
as part of the facility’s new groundspresence team, which provides on-thescene interventions and aid to patients
and staff throughout the facility. As part
of the team, he is responding to numerous calls via the hospital’s recently installed alarm system, which he says is
working very well.
“When you have alarms on the
units, you have people there in a very
short time,” he said. “We’re responding to alarms; we’ve improved safety –
we make a difference on a daily basis.”
He appreciated the learning experience Colorado and the Pueblo hospital provided him, but he’s glad to be
back in the Golden State.
“The hospital was amazing – the
people were amazing – but it wasn’t
conducive to growth,” he said. “I dig
mental health and I really enjoyed it
there, but my heart wanted to come
back to California.”
CAPT continues
campaign for licensure
When the State of Colorado sought
to stop licensing its Psych Techs in 2008,
CAPT swung into action. Our organization joined with Colorado Psychiatric
Technicians calling to uphold their licensure, and we were successful in our combined efforts.
Colorado is only one of four states
– the others being California, Arkansas
and Kansas – that regulate Psychiatric
Technicians and related direct-care staff.
However, California’s regulation is the
highest in the United States.
As part of our ongoing efforts, each
year, California Psychiatric Technicians
travel to Washington, D.C., to make our
case and ask members of Congress, “Every state trains, regulates and licenses
those who cut hair, sell homes and do
taxes – why aren’t we asking at least
the same of those who care for our
most vulnerable populations?”
CAPT will continue its national and
state-specific efforts toward increased
and improved Psych Tech licensure and
direct-care professionalism. For more information or to get involved, contact your
chapter office.
16 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
steward spotlight
Don Magner,
Psychiatric Technician,
Metropolitan State Hospital
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A STATE
EMPLOYEE?
I’ve been a state employee for 36 years. I’ve
worked at Napa State Hospital, Lanterman Developmental Center, Camarillo State Hospital, Metropolitan State Hospital, Patton State Hospital and Fairview Developmental Center. The only developmental centers or state hospitals I haven’t
worked at are Coalinga State Hospital and Porterville and Sonoma Developmental Centers. I’ve gone to those facilities to relocate programs, but
they “borrowed” me.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A CAPT STEWARD?
I’ve been involved since CAPT’s inception: I was the first elected Metropolitan Chapter president.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME A STEWARD?
The thing about CAPT when we started was that CAPT also addressed
our professional issues along with fairness in the workplace. We did everything we could to make our license more valuable, and that was very
important to me. CAPT was able to bridge both the issues of professionalism and union representation: I don’t think there’s a union in state service
that can claim what we do. Our union’s reputation is impeccable: We are
clearly one of the most respected organizations in California, I believe.
WHAT ARE SOME STEWARD ACTIVITIES YOU ENJOY DOING?
I really enjoy direct representation and being proactive. I let peers
know which path to take: I’m able to say something rather than just the
supervisor, and it’s imperative that we are Psych Techs are part of that
peer review. I like the negotiation end of the union as well. But the biggest
thing is just actively listening to employees: That can get rid of so many
problems. As a steward, I think the ability to listen is the biggest asset I’ve
got – not just my knowledge base.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUR COWORKERS TO
ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET INVOLVED IN THE UNION?
I say how I feel about the organization and its importance – the importance of having somebody there during counseling or when supervisors
have no regard for the system itself. There needs to be a voice: We’re
supporting our peers and our profession.
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
A lot of people know the two albums I’ve done: I sing and do the
background music – ballads, love songs, oldies – and have my own recording studio. I use my skills at CAPT and even have done stewardtraining videos. I’m also open with patients and staff with my sexual orientation in order to assist those going through their own inner hell: I was
instrumental in creating the first support group for gay and lesbian patients at Metro – we had to go all the way to the executive director on it,
and CAPT supported me.
Be like Don – be a steward!
You know that a building is only as strong as its foundation. In a union, our stewards are our foundation. And
the more stewards we have, the stronger we are.
While CAPT currently has a core of dedicated, hardworking stewards, more is always better. That’s why we
need you.
Stewards aren’t just contract enforcers and grievance
handlers. Stewards also are grassroots leaders for change,
working together with chapter officers on issues facing our
facilities, our clients and our services. But even if you don’t
decide to become a full steward, the free steward training
empowers you with vital information about your rights on
the job.
There’s nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. Contact your chapter
office today to find out more about steward training.
Napa Chapter union members got empowered and educated
at a January 30 event.
Several Porterville Chapter CAPT members
came to our February 26th training.
Be a part of a team of dedicated people who
protect and expand rights and enhance our
profession!
Corrections Chapter hosting regional events
CAPT Corrections Chapter officers are organizing a series of fun
networking events. The events are
geared to give state prison Psych
Techs the chance to mingle while
finding out the latest chapter happenings.
To find out about upcoming
events, contact Chapter President
Jennifer Are at (559)970-2283 or at
[email protected].
Corrections Chapter President
Jennifer Are (SATF) and and
Chapter Treasurer Patricia McNeil
(CIW) welcomes Central California
attendees.
BU18 members enjoyed a
January 12 chapter event.
CAPT’s Fairview Chapter created
gourmet cupcakes for the January
event.
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 17
Want higher pay and retirement?
Make a range change!
It is possible to get a big raise, even in these tough
economic times? We say, ‘Yes!’
By taking some community-college-level courses, you
can increase your pay in state service by changing your range. As outlined in our contract’s Article 4.3:
• Employees at Range A/Range P/Range S who complete the equivalent of 15 qualifying semester units of job-related courses from an accredited college or university qualify for Range B/Range Q/
Range T.
• Employees at Range B/Range Q/Range R who complete the equivalent of 15 additional qualifying semester units of job-related courses from an accredited college or university qualify for Range C/
Range R/Range U.*
You must get grades of C or better for the courses to count.
While some other state employees must wait for specified time periods to pass before changing
their ranges, our system allows Bargaining Unit 18 members to move up pay ranges as quickly as
possible while enhancing our professionalism and job experience. This process became even speedier
for PTs and SPTs following 2007’s range-step elimination, which was part of that year’s major pay-raise
wins.
And don’t forget: Higher pay ranges also mean higher retirement and overtime credit. What’s more,
pay raises gained from range changes are guaranteed by our contract. State budget problems can’t
keep you from getting what you earned through your education.
“With online courses, it’s now much easier to have a job, have a life and go to school,” said CAPT
State President Tony Myers, a Lanterman SPT. “If you want a guaranteed 10-percent raise, this is one
great way to do it.”
For more information, especially including any facility-specific requirements or procedures, contact
your CAPT chapter office.
* Different range letters currently are used in different state departments.
‘What classes can I take?’
There’s a whole range of classes you can take toward getting a range change, such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anthropology
Art
Chemistry
Education
Ethnic Studies
Guidance
Languages
18 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
•
•
•
•
•
•
Life Science
Nursing
Psychology
Sociology
Speech
Writing
Pick up a full list from your personnel office.
CALPERS ASKS,
‘ARE YOUR HEALTHCARE DEPENDENTS UP TO DATE?’
CalPERS is kicking off an effort to ensure all members’ healthcare dependents should actually be on their
insurance rolls.
The agency will be conducting eligibility verifications of members’ dependents starting in March, when
CalPERS will write to health-plan enrollees calling for supporting documentation for their dependents.
If you have a dependent who mistakenly still is enrolled as a healthcare dependent, CalPERS will be holding
an amnesty period until June 30, 2013, so enrollees can cancel ineligible dependents’ enrollments at no
cost prior to that time. Members who do not submit proper dependent verification documents to
CalPERS during this time will have these dependents disenrolled from their health plan and may
be subject to incurred costs.
Watch your mail for more information from CalPERS, or contact CalPERS at (888) Cal-PERS (225-7377).
Quick facts from CalPERS
The Califonria Public Employees’ Retirement System is working to dispel pension myths with facts. Find out more
facts at www.calpersresponds.com.
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 19
UNDER
OUR
SCOPE
Gerontological nursing
As we Psychiatric Technicians know, the
professional care we provide isn’t age-specific:
We’re licensed to provide a variety of unique
medical and therapeutic services to all who need
them. And an increasing number of those who need
them are older Californians.
Gerontological nursing encompasses special
care needs for those over the age of 65. Some of
those special needs we’re educated and licensed to
recognize and address for this population include:
And through our nursing specialty, we are
even ready to help those older Californians who
also have mental illnesses or developmental
disabilities.
Don’t forget that CAPT is the professional
organization for all Psychiatric Technicians in
California. For more information on our unique
scope of practice, contact the California Board of
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
7837 or call CAPT Headquarat (916) 263263-7837
-2278
ters at (800) 677
677-2278
-2278.
• Pressure injuries, such as pressure ulcers, lesions
and bedsores
• Cardiovascular disease
California State
• Respiratory issues
2009 - 2013
• Genitourinary issues, including
urinary incontinenceand tract
infections as well as prostate
disease and prostate cancer
• Diabetes
• Thyroid issues
• Delirium
• Dizziness and balance concerns
• Stroke.
P
lan on A
ging
Plan
Aging
Chart courtesy of the California Department of Aging
Can’t get enough of our scope of practice?
Download our brochure
CAPT has a handy downloadable brochure available all about our unique
T7I .
scope of practice. Get a free copy today at the following: http://bit.ly/YTK
http://bit.ly/YTKT7I
-2278.
For multiple copies, contact CAPT Headquarters at (800) 677
677-2278.
Got a pet?
Oops ...
Save at the vet!
In the December/January issue of Outreach, a list of job
stewards were provided for each chapter. The list for Napa
was printed in error. Below is a corrected list for the
chapter.
Patricia Bliton
Richard Byrd III
Diane Carpenter
Lisa Crawford
Chrisopher Cullen
Nina Dalao
Khristina Delgado
Richard Dias
Kathy Gonzalez-Knox
Sarvjet Goswami
Reginald Hodges
Michael Jarschke
Cecelia Jasch
O’Bryan Lewis
Kimberly Michael
Linda Monahan
Michelle Palmer
Anthony Ret
20 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
BETTER than pet insurance!
• All pets eligible regardless of age or medical condition
• GUARANTEED savings of 20–50% on every visit
• Extremely affordable at less than $10/month
• No deductibles or claim forms
George Sanchez
Santiago Serrato
Melva Wright
(through 03/17/13)
Those stewards in
bold type are also
chapter officers.
LESS
THAN
o.
$10 /m
For more information, or to sign up:
www.unitedpetcare.com/capt
949-916-7374
Toll Free 1-888-781-6622
FMLA
marks 20th anniversary
February 2013 marked the 20 th
anniversary of the signing of the landmark
Family and Medical Leave Act into federal law, and to recognize the occasion,
the U.S. Department of Labor released
new survey findings on the law’s usage
and usefulness.
Among the DOL’s findings:
• 91 percent of surveyed employers
reported that complying with the law has
either no noticeable effect or a positive
effect on business operations
• 90 percent of workers return to their
employers after FMLA leave
• Nearly 60 percent of employees meet
all criteria for FMLA coverage and eligibility
• 13 percent of all employees reported
taking leave for an FMLA reason in the
past 12 months
• 56 percent of workers who take leave
for family or medical reasons are women;
44 percent are men
• Most FMLA leave-taking is for coping
with an employee’s own illness or caring
for a new child
• During the past 20 years, FMLA has
been used nearly 100 million times nationwide.
“The FMLA codified a simple and
fundamental principle: Workers should
not have to choose between the job they
need and the family members they love
and who need their care,” said acting
U.S. Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris.
“The FMLA has helped millions upon
millions of working families manage challenging personal circumstances at very
little cost to their employers and with very
little disruption in the workplace.”
For more information on FMLA’s 20th
anniversary and the related survey findings, visit www.dol.gov.
Know the ABC’s of FMLA
A
The Family and Medical Leave Act was signed into law by
President Bill Clinton in 1993. Before the implementation of FMLA,
employees could lose their jobs if they had a serious illness, and
it wasn’t uncommon for people to endanger their health by returning to work too soon. Many people were forced to choose
between caring for their health and families or keeping their jobs.
FMLA was implemented to address this intolerable situation. Now
with the Act, qualifying employees are entitled to up to 12 workweeks of protected leave to care for their health or for eligible
family members who have serious health conditions. Workers
are also able to apply for FMLA leave following the birth, adoption,
or fostering of a child. The 12 workweeks don’t have to be used
all at once; time off under FMLA also may be taken intermittently,
enabling workers to take leave in blocks of time, or by reducing
their normal work schedule.
B
Employees seeking to use FMLA leave are required to
provide 30-day advance notice of the need for leave if the
leave is foreseeable. Employers require workers to provide
medical certifications, such as if your needs change. If you
are interested in using FMLA, contact your facility for required
forms and paperwork and submit the appropriate documentation of need. If an employee is caught engaging in FMLA
fraud, courts have been reluctant to hold it against an employer who terminates the employee.
C
Our CAPT contract language builds on FMLA language to provide more protections. Bargaining Unit 18 members aren’t required
to exhaust all paid leave before choosing unpaid FMLA leave. Also,
according to our contract, accrual of seniority continues uninterrupted
if you use FMLA. Your state time can’t be penalized because you
use the leave time to which you are entitled.
C.A.P.T.! It is illegal for any employer
to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of
any right provided by FMLA. Remember: You
have the right to take care of yourself and loved
ones. For more information on FMLA, contact
CAPT attorney Steve Bassoff at (800) 677-2278.
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 21
Studies
research
& more
PRECURSOR SYMPTOMS TO AUTISM
DETECTED IN 6-MONTH-OLD INFANTS
Early signs of autism can be detected in 6-month-old infants, suggests a National Institute of
Mental Health-supported study published in Biological Psychiatry.
Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine showed infants a video featuring an
actress playing with toys, making a sandwich and directly greeting and socializing with viewers.
During the video viewing, researchers tracked the infants’ eye movements. Compared to
control groups, infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as toddlers showed a
decreased ability to pay attention to the complex social scene and spent less time looking at
the actress and her face.
Although it may be too soon to push the age of ASD diagnosis down to the first year of life, the study suggests
an important direction for further research as well as opportunities to intervene.
“From the earliest moments of our life, what we find most important are other people,” said Yale researcher
Katarzyna Chawarska, Ph.D. “We wanted to see if infants who later developed ASD showed similar attention
biases toward people similar to those observed in typically developing babies.”
ANCIENT BONES HIGHLIGHT LONG HISTORY OF DIRECT CARE
New research reported in the New York Times sheds light on how ancient humans frequently and carefully
cared for community members with disabilities and medical needs.
Archeological findings of about 30 ancient skeletons from sites around the world show clear evidence of a
variety of illnesses and disabilities that would have significantly or fully impacted self-care and life skills; however,
the age of the individuals at death as shown by the skeletons they left behind also provide evidence that others
helped care for them to give them the longest and best lives possible.
One prime example is that of a young man with major disabilities who lived 4,000 years ago in what is now
northern Vietnam: His skeleton showed evidence of Klippel-Feil syndrome, which caused paralysis of his arms and
his body below the waist before his adolescence; but even with these major health concerns, he lived for another
decade or so after the onset of his paralysis thanks to the direct-care efforts of those around him.
Additional information on this and similar cases is available in The International Journal of Paleopathy.
STUDY: 10 PERCENT OF AMERICANS
BELIEVED TO BE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS
Approximately 10 percent of American adults were sexually abused as children, according to a study published in Comprehensive Psychiatry.
Led by Columbia University clinical psychiatry professor Carlos Blanco, M.D., researchers interviewed 34,000
individuals aged 18 or older in person. Psychiatric diagnoses of study participants were made according to DSM-IV
criteria.
“Our study has clinical and preventive implications,” said Blanco, noting that adults who were sexually abused
as children are more at risk for psychopathology and suicide attempts than those who were not sexually abused as
children. “Clinical screening for child sexual abuse is important for early treatment to reduce the impact of psychological trauma.”
22 - FEBRUARY / MARCH
es
CONSIDER HELPING COWORKERS WITH
CATASTROPHIC LEAVE DONATIONS
Up
dat
CAPT got the concept of Catastrophic Leave off the ground two
decades ago; the program’s been in our state Bargaining Unit 18 since 1989.
Article 6.9 of the CAPT contract gives state-employed Psych Techs
and related professionals the right to request leave donations from coworkers in cases of financial hardship due to injury or the prolonged illness of the
state Bargaining Unit 18 member or his or her family member, or for parental
or adoption leave purposes.
You can help by donating vacation, annual leave, personal leave,
CTO and holiday credits. Simply contact your personnel office to fill out a
Catastrophic Leave donation form, or use the form included at the link on
CAPT’s website at: www.psychtechs.net. And don’t forget: You can
donate to someone working in different departments or facilities.
If you need help and have received department approval to get leave
donations, contact Brady Oppenheim at (800) 677-2278 to be included in
our Outreach and on our website. You also may qualify for reduced union
dues while you recuperate. Contact your chapter president to find out
more.
PS
YCH TECHS CURRENTLY
PSY
IN NEED OF C.L. DONATIONS
s
r
beof
m
u
N
NOTE
45 percent
Nearly half – 45 percent – of those
diagnosed with a mental disorder per
DSM-IV meet criteria for two or more
mental disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
289.5 percent
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention report the prevalence
of autism increased 289.5 percent for
the period 1997 - 2008.
15 years and 12 years
Stephanie Hogue, PT, CCHCS/CSP-SAC: Requesting donations as
she cares for a new baby.
A joint study of 6 million people by
Sweden’s Lund University and
California’s Stanford University found
the average life expectancies for men
and women with schizophrenia to be
15 and 12 years shorter, respectively,
than the life expectancies of people
without schizophrenia.
Veronica Garcia, PT, Fairview: Requesting donations as she copes
with an illness.
1998
Matthew Hayden, PT, Canyon Springs: Requesting donations.
Barbara Snyder, PT, Canyon Springs: Requesting donations.
Federico Sigala, SPT, Fairview: Requesting donations as he recovers
from an injury.
Lucretia Randle, PT, Lanterman: Requesting donations.
Santosh Kumari, PTA, Napa: Requesting donations.
Denise Villanueva, SPT, Patton: Requesting donations.
Antolina Maldonado, PTA, Sonoma: Requesting donations due to a
work-related injury.
Paquito Palay, PTA, Sonoma: Requesting donations.
WANT TO FIND OUT HOW MANY
DONATIONS YOU’VE RECEIVED?
CONTACT YOUR FACILITY’S PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT.
Those requesting donations on our online and magazine lists
will automatically be removed by the next Outreach publication
date unless CAPT is informed of ongoing needs.
If you still need to remain on our lists -- no problem!
Just call Brady Oppenheim at (800) 677-2278.
Since 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has required manufacturers of enriched breads, cereals and
other grains to fortify their products
with folic acid. Folate deficiency during human pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of infant
neural tube defects; folate deficiency
during the first four weeks of gestation can result in structural and developmental problems, according to the
National Institutes of Health.
70 percent
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration show that
people with mental illnesses are 70
percent more likely to smoke than
those without mental illness.
FEBRUARY / MARCH - 23
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