Hi Everyone,
Hope you all are enjoying catching up on some work or playing out in the snow on this most wintry day! Please remember to submit PTO if used.

I want to thank you all for your patience with every single one of these weather events. I wish it was as easy as just making a black or white decision, but weather is unpredictable. My goal is always to make decisions based on the current weather and to help keep clients and staff safe while balancing the needs of families and staff in regard to services and hours/pay!

Today was very difficult, because the reports were so very varied from place to place and then about 1/2 of us ended up in a winter storm warning vs advisory at 8am. The option to work or not work today  based on comfort and being able to take unpaid – was a special circumstance and is not our typical protocol. I don’t anticipate this being a procedure we use all that much. So please do not overgeneralize this exception and make it a rule or common practice.  It was an exception. Thank you to everyone who supported one another this am in trying to communicate with each other and families. Your professionalism and problem solving is so appreciated. I have been out an about and roads are pretty clean if you stay off the back roads – woo hoo!!!

For those of you out there working shift 3 thank you,  and please drive safe.

Here’s what we have for you this week:

FROM HR:

• If you have not yet read the updated Employee Policy Manual on the employee website, please do so asap and then sign and return “Acknowledgement of Receipt of Employee Policy Manual”  (attached) as well as signing a new “Confidentiality Agreement (also attached).  There are also blank copies on the front desk in the Williston Lobby.  Please understand that we do need you to sign these every year.  Thank you for all of you who have already done so!    If you aren’t sure if you have or not, please send HR an e-mail.  Thanks!

FROM our Staff Development Coordinator, Jenn Johnson:

• We are starting to offer more Ethics trainings not only for BA’s but also for our BI and PSI staff.  We hope this will help everyone to better understand their role and the role that the BACB code of ethics plays in our work.  In a recent training we ended up discussing being friends with clients/students on Facebook.  It was a great discussion and lead to additional thought about where we are at with some of this and what we should consider.  There have been some clients who have Facebook accounts and are learning to use Facebook as a way of interacting socially.  So, staff are often helping them set up accounts and helping them to post pictures and comments.  Along the way staff have then become Facebook friends with clients/students.  The intent has always been to help support clients but by being friends on Facebook we may be opening ourselves up to having what is identified in the code of ethics as a multiple relationship or conflict of interest.  You can go to the bacb.com and look up the code of ethics code 1.06 sections a, b and c to read the codes we reviewed when thinking about the Facebook friend dilemma.  Moving forward, in order to  avoid multiple relationships with clients/students we would ask that staff do not request clients/students as friends on Facebook or accept friend requests from clients/students.  If you would like support in how to decline a friend request please seek out your supervisor.

• If you are already a friend with a client on Facebook please see that client’s BA to discuss next steps to find a positive way to make changes and to weigh the necessary factors. We don’t want to catch clients or families off guard or make changes without them having the rationale and information.  BA’s please seek support from Coordinators if necessary.

• We continue to learn and grow in many ways and there will likely be times in the future that we identify ways we can improve our adherence to the BACB ethical codes.  We hope to keep discussions open so we can learn and evaluate and when necessary make changes to best support our clients, families, staff and field.  As a general reminder, you can always bring ethical questions to the ethics email listed on the company website.  Thank you all for your help with this!

Around the office…

• It’s time to help celebrate a birthday but SHHHHHH it’s a surprise!  One of our adult clients is turning 26 years old.  We are planning a party for client 26 at our office in Williston and need your help.  Please join us in celebrating him on March 23 at 1:00 in the big room (where the bikes are).  I just need to know who will be attending so we can plan accordingly for pizza, cupcakes and drinks.  There will be a sign up sheet at the front desk.    Thank you!  It should be a blast!!   P.S. Feel free to bring clients you are working with in the building.

• PLEASE ENTER A SUBJECT LINE WHEN Scanning and Emailing documents so they have a title!

INSTRUCTIONS ON ENTERING SUBJECT LINE WHEN
SCANNING AN EMAIL:

1.       Log in to your account
2.       Press Send
3.       Choose the Advanced Setup tab (5^th tab on the bottom)
4.       Choose Email Subject/ Body (right hand column, middle row)
5.       Select the Subject tab (to the left of Subject field)
6.       Enter subject
7.       Press “Ok”
8.       Press “Ok”
9.       Select destination tab (1^st tab on the bottom) 
10. Choose recipient

Enjoy the rest of this snowy week.  Be careful out there on the roads!
Smiles,
Lesha