The Channel

Iowa public money can’t pay for rooms at non-certified hotels
We recently learned that any hotels we reserve for staff, beginning next month, need to have their employees trained in recognizing human trafficking. Below is the information received from the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS).  Per the new Iowa Code section, 80.45A, effective January 1, 2022, for any public money to be used at a lodging provider, the lodging provider must certify with DPS that all of its employees have received approved human trafficking training. Further information is available at stophtiowa.org. A list of certified hotels is posted at stophtiowa.org/certified-locations. If rooms are already booked at hotels not on the list, DPS suggests calling the hotel to ensure it plans on becoming certified before the date of the stay. 

Health Savings Account (HSA) Calendar Year Maximums
The Health Savings Account (HSA) calendar-year limits are set for 2022.  Please email benefits@centralriversaea.org, if you would like to change your HSA contributions. We will create a life event on the Portal that will allow you to change your monthly contribution. 

403b Calendar Year Contribution Maximum
As we look forward to 2022, it’s a great time to review your retirement plan.  Employees contributing to a 403b will want to double check to make sure their contributions do not exceed the maximum contribution limit for 2022.   Please complete the salary reduction form found on the Portal > My Benefits > Retirement and submit to benefits@centralriversaea.org.

If you don’t have a retirement account such as a Roth IRA or a pre-tax 403b account, maybe this is the year you consider saving a little extra for retirement.  (Note: Those of you on our $3,500 High Deductible Health Plan could consider maximizing contributions to a Health Savings Account as part of your retirement plan as well).

Questions can be directed to Michael Kalvig, Chief Financial Officer or Pam Morrissey, Accounting Manager

As we reported last month, the Information Technology (IT) department sent out “fake” emails to staff in an attempt to collect data on what specific phishing emails trip staff up the most so that we can develop future training.  The following slide presentation and video screencast contain the results of our experiment. Please view the preferred format below:

• Screencast
• Slides

If you have any questions regarding the experiment, please contact Sarah Nelson, Director IT/Special Programs.

Central Rivers AEA staff will have the opportunity to support our Youth Shelter classroom staff and students this holiday season. 

Our goal is to collect $1,000 by December 13 to purchase holiday stockings filled with goodies for each student and a special catered holiday meal at each location (Four Oaks, Woodhaven & Francis Lauer Youth Shelters). Any excess funds will be used to purchase classroom games, books, supplies and personal items. 

Central Rivers AEA provides temporary educational services to students in our three youth shelter programs:

1. Four Oaks in Independence
2. Francis Lauer Youth Shelter (FLYS) in Mason City
3. Woodhaven in Waverly

Supporting up to 26 students ages 11-18 that live on-site, the children often come to us with nothing but the clothes on their backs and from tough situations including:

• rescued from human trafficking
• removal from an abusive situation by DHS
• awaiting a court date for a criminal charge
• awaiting a foster care placement

Please consider spreading a little more cheer and help make the holidays brighter for the children! Donate through a ”GoFundMe” account or you can send monetary donations to Barb Schroeder, 1521 Technology Parkway, Cedar Falls, IA. 

Contact Sarah Nelson, Director of IT/Special Programs, Barb Schroeder, Administrative Assistant, or Robin Billerbeck, HR Specialist with any questions.

American Education Week is a great time to celebrate the amazing work that each and every one of you do for the children, families, and educators that our agency serves. Simply put, you make a tremendous positive difference! Take time during American Education Week to reflect on your many contributions…and thank you!

As we shared in the October edition of The Channel, statistically, phishing emails are the leading cause of data privacy incidents. Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent message designed to trick a human victim into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious software.

Over the course of the next month, the Information Technology (IT) department will send out “fake” emails to staff in an attempt to collect data on what specific phishing emails trip staff up the most so that we can develop future training. Rest assured that while we hope staff are not “tricked” by the fake phishing emails, there will be no real consequence if staff do respond to them.

Please take a minute to review the message and search for any of the five common red flags shown below:

1. Message is unexpected or oddly timed
2. Message contains odd spelling or grammatical errors
3. Message urges actions like clicking links or opening attachments
4. Message appears to be time sensitive or threatens consequences for inaction
5. Message is requesting money or personal information

When you receive any suspicious communications: Stop and think before you click!  

If you suspect a phishing email, please contact the Help Desk at 319-273-8231 or helpdesk@centralriversaea.org.  Questions? Contact Sarah Nelson, Director of IT/Special Programs.

Plan now to join Chief Administrator Sam Miller on Friday, December 10, at 8:00 am for a virtual update on agency events and current trends in K-12 education. 

So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite morning beverage and get any questions you might have answered or use the time to express your thoughts & concerns. 

Zoom:

• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/89137644516
• Meeting ID: 891 3764 4516
• One tap mobile  +13126266799,,89137644516# 

With winter almost here, be sure you are signed up to receive Central Rivers AEA weather alerts via text, call, or email regarding office closings or professional learning cancellations. Staff members can contact Shirley Horak, Human Resources Coordinator for assistance on signing up.

Don’t forget to change your voicemail greeting and schedule an “away” message to your email during both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday breaks so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you.

Voicemail example:

“Hello, this is (your name). Our office will be closed beginning Thursday, November 25 and will reopen on Monday, November 29. Please leave your name, telephone number and a brief message and I will return your call on the 29th.  Thank you and happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Central Rivers AEA.”

Email “away” message example:

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office beginning Thursday, November 25 and will respond to your email upon my return on Monday, the 29th. Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*Please note the office closure dates for the Christmas holiday break are Friday, December 24 – January 2, 2022. Offices will reopen on Monday, January 3.  

If you need assistance with either task, please contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@centralriversaea.org or 319-273-8231.

The agency continues to monitor our COVID infection rates and the CDC for revised guidelines.  Currently, cases related to COVID (i.e., infection or exposure) in our staff are very limited (1-2% of staff).  While the low incident rates are positive, we want to share the latest CDC guidance.  Also, we would like to remind staff to remain diligent in their efforts to mitigate risk as they deem appropriate and necessary. 

General guidance:

Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID should quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure to that person, except if they meet the following conditions:

Someone who has been fully vaccinated and shows no symptoms of COVID does not need to quarantine. However, fully vaccinated close contacts should:

• Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until a negative test result.
• Get tested 5-7 days after close contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
• Get tested and isolate immediately if experiencing COVID symptoms.

Someone who tested positive for COVID with a viral test within the previous 90 days and has subsequently recovered and remains without COVID symptoms does not need to quarantine. However, close contacts with prior COVID infection in the previous 90 days should:

• Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days after exposure.
• Monitor for COVID symptoms and isolate immediately if symptoms develop.
• Consult with a healthcare professional for testing recommendations if new symptoms develop.

If you have any COVID related questions, please feel free to contact HR, so we can provide the appropriate guidance.

The 2022 all-staff meeting will take place on August 17, 2022. Details about the day, including the keynote speaker, will be shared in a future edition of The Channel. For now, please reserve this date on your calendar.

The digital accessibility training is required for all staff and must be completed by December 1, 2021. Complete details and instructions can be found in September’s issue of The Channel.  If you have any questions or need technical assistance, please contact the Help Desk at 319-273-8231 or helpdesk@centralriversaea.org.

Mental health is just as important as your physical health and deserves the same quality of support. In the past, we have shared information regarding our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), virtual mental health visits through Doctor on Demand and the ability to engage in face-to-face therapy through your medical insurance.

Starting October 15, we will be adding the “Reach Out Program” in-house, featuring a small group of confidential, trained, empathetic staff who can serve as a first resource for you when struggling with a personal or professional challenge. We are calling them “staff support allies” and they are listed below. 

• Kandy Bienfang-Lee, klee@centralriversaea.org
• Sarah Downey, sdowney@centralriversaea.org
• Angie Koop, akoop@centralriversaea.org
• Christin Squier, csquier@centralriversaea.org
• Monte Phillips, mphillips@centralriversaea.org

The Reach-Out program is designed to provide a safe and supportive thought partner to process and/or provide guidance and support. It is not meant to be therapy or for crisis situations. Our protocol for conversations is solution-focused. It is meant to be a short-term collaboration with a colleague, who has mental health training, to help provide support and find the right resources for you.

We recognize a need and desire to do better as an organization to ensure there is a responsive and empathetic work environment. Please hear us, when we say, “You are not alone,” and we want to provide help and support to you as an individual, a professional and as a member of our team. Our goal is to listen, provide a safe space and possibly help identify the next steps. 

The process is confidential, not only by design but by the professional ethics of each of our allies.

For more information, please join us on October 15, from 8-9 am for a special all-staff Zoom meeting to discuss this initiative further:

• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/84954741695
• Meeting ID: 849 5474 1695
• One tap mobile  +13126266799,,84954741695# US (Chicago)

Our agency’s annual review of mandatory policies and procedural items are now available! For viewing, please visit the document as there are important updates to read. A few examples include:

• Inclement Weather policies – We’re in Iowa and winter is just around the corner!
• Agency Operations (such as our vision, values, equity updates, etc.)
• Navigating and understanding the important items in your iVisions Portal

There is plenty of information to go through, please contact Shirley Horak or Robin Billerbeck, in HR with any questions.

In an effort to support a timely staff replacement selection process and assist in budget planning, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors has approved an incentive be provided for Certified, NUSS, and Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2021-22 work year.

The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

• Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2021-22 work year submitted by Certified, NUSS, or Administrative Staff, and
• Notification of resignation or retirement received in the Human Resources Office before January 3, 2022, and
• Accepted by the Board no later than the regular meeting on January 5, 2022,
• Will receive an early notification incentive payment of $2,000, payable June 20, 2022,
• Subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2021-22 work year. Staff resigning or retiring who separate prior to the end of the 2021-22 work year are not eligible for the early notification incentive.
• This incentive is not offered to CWA.

As was shared during the August edition of The Channel, the agency has contracted with the New York Leadership Academy to facilitate an equity audit alongside our agency equity committee. This month, the work focused on:

• Identifying success criteria
• Reviewing the timeline and steps in the audit process.
• Reviewing the results of a needs assessment survey.
• Laying the groundwork for roles and responsibilities of committee members.

At this point, no specific goals or action plans have been identified.  The equity committee will be meeting again in early November to identify specific focus areas for our audit process.  Once we have the focus areas identified, we will be seeking insights and feedback from our staff through surveys and/or focus groups.   

Interested in learning more? Check out this slide deck or contact one of the equity committee members or Karl Kurt.

Grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite morning beverage) and join Chief Administrator Sam Miller for an update on agency events and current trends in K-12 education. 

These informal meetings are a great place to get any questions you might have answered and an opportunity to express your thoughts & concerns. 

The first update was held on Friday, October 1 and the recording is available to view online. Please note that the passcode 3AV^QTH0 is needed to enable viewing. 

The remaining meetings will all be virtual and begin at 8:00 am. If you are unable to join us, the recordings will be available in The Channel. Dates, times, and Zoom information are listed below.

December 10, 2021

• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/89137644516
• Meeting ID: 891 3764 4516
• One tap mobile  +13126266799,,89137644516# 

February 4, 2022

• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/81908784702
• Meeting ID: 819 0878 4702
• One tap mobile  +13126266799,,81908784702# 

April 1, 2022

• https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/83459443089
• Meeting ID: 834 5944 3089
• One tap mobile  +13126266799,,83459443089#