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MI TRI-SHARE CHILD CARE:
AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE FOR WORKING FAMILIES
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Kalamazoo County is now an official Michigan Tri-Share Child Care Program participant thanks to a 3-year pilot project funded by the Board of Commissioners.
What is the Tri-Share Child Care Program?
Tri-Share is an innovative approach to increasing access to high-quality, affordable child care for working families, with the cost of child care shared by an employer, the employee, and the State of Michigan. The program aims to increase the labor market by allowing employers to offer a child care subsidy to help retain and attract talent.
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Eligibility
To participate in Tri-Share, an employee must:
- Reside in the state of Michigan
- Be ineligible for the Child, Development and Care (CDC) program (commonly called the child care subsidy)
- Meet the income-level requirements
- Be a Kalamazoo County employee
Eligible child care includes all licensed part-time or full-time care, including before- and after-school care, preschool programs, and summer care/camps. Children ages 0-17 qualify for Tri-Share, as long as they receive care from a licensed provider.
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Income Qualifications
Eligibility is determined using the employee’s family size and household income, which is based on the income of all contributing adults who live in the home. Unless a waiver is granted, an employee’s household income must be between 200% and 325% of the federal poverty level (as of February 2023).
Seasonal income is considered contractual income if it is income meant to cover the other months when that household member is not working. For example, if an employee works for six months of the year, the hub would calculate their average monthly income by dividing their total income by 12 months.
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16 EMPLOYEES ENROLLED TO THE PROGRAM SO FAR
“I am hopeful it will help out several other current and future County employees besides myself. 😊 Side note the point of contact so far has been good at responding to all questions I have had which has been helpful in this process.” – Kalamazoo County Employee
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Questions? Contact Chelsea Smith at csmith@https://ccr4kids.org
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Willa DiTaranto
Housing Project Manager
Housing Department
Left: Willa with her husband, Jim, and their three daughters: Evelyn (8), Marielle (6), and Louise (4).
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Why did you join the County?
I am extremely passionate about finding solutions to the hurdles communities have in creating safe and affordable housing. I was excited to join the County because of the opportunity to work towards finding these solutions in a wide array of municipalities: urban, rural, big, small, etc.
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What are you looking forward to most in this new role?
I think what I am most looking forward to in this role is being able to work with a dedicated Housing Millage. It will be a new challenge for me to figure out how to use these funds to leverage up other resources and plug funding gaps in projects to create new units and rehabilitate aging housing stock.
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Who inspires you?
I know it's cliché, but I am so inspired by my three daughters. I want them to grow up and inherit a more peaceful, equitable, sustainable world than the one we live in now, and that helps motivate me to think creatively and give it my all in the work that I do.
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What else should we know about you?
I wouldn’t consider myself “outdoorsy”, but I do love being outside with my family: we spend a lot of time at the beach in the summer and skiing in the winter!
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Are you eligible to use the Employee Health Center?
If you're on the County's health plan, you and your dependents may be eligible. If you have any questions about your health benefits, please contact benefits@kalcounty.com.
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Is your current information with HR correct?
Don't miss any important notices or documents – please make sure your current address and contact information is on file with Human Resources. Sign in to Employee Services to update.
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Women's History Month – Kalamazoo County Herstory is Women's History
In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s also celebrate the remarkable women of Kalamazoo County. Thank you for all you do!
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Marathon Health Center
2280 S. 11th St., Kalamazoo, MI 49009
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Employee Survey Deadline: April 5
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We value your insights and perspectives in shaping our organization’s future. As we embark on the strategic planning process for 2024, your feedback as an integral part of our team is invaluable. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to help us understand and address your needs and aspirations.
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Your participation in these surveys is essential for us to develop strategies that reflect our collective vision and goals. The surveys will remain open until April 5.
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Please note that this survey is anonymous. No County staff will review raw data from this survey, only generalized themes that are non-identifying (no direct quotations or responses tied to departments) will be shared. Organizational consultant Allyson Brunette and her team will be the only ones reviewing raw survey responses.
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THERE'S A POLICY FOR THAT
Employee Handbook Policy 5.01
Technology and Electronic Communications
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Use of Recording Device: Recording conversations using a recording device without the knowledge and consent of all persons being recorded will be considered a violation of County policy.
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In adherence to County policy, all employees are required to respect the privacy and consent of others when utilizing recording devices. Specifically, recording conversations without the explicit knowledge and consent of all parties involved is strictly prohibited.
This policy underscores our commitment to maintaining a professional and respectful workplace environment, where the privacy and rights of individuals are upheld. By complying with this guideline, employees contribute to fostering a culture of trust and integrity within our organization.
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County leaders celebrating outstanding recognitions!
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Eric Bjorkman, Deputy Director Operations & Maintenance at the airport gave a presentation titled, “Developing a Capital Improvement Program for Small Airports” at the recent meeting of the Michigan Association of Airport Executives. His presentation highlighted the development of the plan in conjunction with a capital asset inventory and was well received by peer airports.
Craig Williams
Airport Director
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport
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I would like to recognize both Marissa Eldred, Accountant, and Jennifer Wagner, Financial Reporting Manager, for their ongoing collaboration in spearheading the EnterpriseERP@kalcounty.com email group, utilized by various departments and Elected Offices in Kalamazoo County for submitting support tickets related to Munis/ERP issues. Since the summer of 2023, Marissa and Jennifer have dedicated a significant portion of their time (at least 50%) to managing these tickets alongside their regular responsibilities. However, due to the increasing volume of support tickets and a reevaluation of the initial ERP implementation, Kalamazoo County is now searching for a new ERP Administrator to address these tickets and reassess the current implementation.
Ryan Post
Finance Director
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When a jury is in deliberation, no one except Staff Attorneys is permitted to enter the deliberation chambers. A sign is placed on the door indicating “no overnight cleaning, please” to enforce this rule.
This morning [February 22], within the workspace of the Staff Attorneys, there was a box of supplies meant to replenish and refresh the rooms and bathrooms. While a seemingly small gesture, it really is key in making jurors feel safe, comfortable, and welcomed. Amy Keeley and Bill Merchant consistently go above and beyond and have frequently provided supplies as needed, demonstrating their commitment. Given the inherent stresses associated with pre-trial, trial, and post-trial
Lewis "Lou" Smith
Staff Attorney
9th Circuit Court
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The implementation of brand-new Early Voting requirements has been a big undertaking and a team effort in Kalamazoo County. We want to recognize a number of departments and individuals who have worked with the Clerk/Register’s office to navigate new problems, tight timelines, and a lot of uncertainty to deliver in-person Early Voting as constitutionally required by Proposal 2022-2.
To Human Resources – Kristine Cunningham, Jean Michaud, Claricia Atkins, Meri Tolbert, Jaishree Frank, Lauren Brady, Stephanie Wrisley, thank you for working with us to establish a new and innovative process to mass-appoint election inspectors to staff early voting sites.
To Finance & Purchasing – Ryan Post, Phil Chajkowski, Georgia Bryant, Marissa Eldred, thank you for helping us to budget and procure equipment and election inspectors for 4 new voting sites.
To Buildings & Grounds – Eric McNamara, Pat Skelton, Brendan Frank, thank you for finding storage solutions and upgrading our tabulator storage room with the best electrical circuitry and security features in Michigan!
To PIO Taylor Koopman and Deputy Administrator Lyndi Smith – thank you for supporting us in developing communications to prospective election inspectors and the public.
To Parks & Expo – Thank you Dave Rachowicz and Mandy Eldred for being patient, accommodating, and excellent hosts for one of our early voting sites.
To Planning & Development – Rachael Grover, Alex Franchi, Tyler Jennings, thank you for quickly developing a new “Find My Early Vote Polling Place” tool for our website.
To Information Technology – Aasim Turk, Jasen Webster, Scott Adams, Jeffrey Parshall, Patty DePouw, Autumn Kovales, Jose Alvarez, Monica Spencer, Aisha Sturkey, Derik Berwald, Aria Gunther, thank you for supporting us in the procurement and setup of a large amount of new technological equipment to use at our polling sites.
To Corporation Counsel Angelina Barnes – thank you for working with us under tight deadlines to finalize a county agreement with eighteen participating local jurisdictions and on many new procurement contracts necessary to carry out Early Voting.
Thank you to Elections Coordinator Shardae Chambers and Elections Specialist Abby Simpson for working hard every day to tackle new challenges and get the job done.
To Administrator Kevin Catlin and Deputy Administrator Terrell Cole – thank you for recognizing the scope of the task before us and marshaling an effective internal team response.
To the Board of Commissioners – thank you for your support of our adopted county agreement and related funding to allow procurement and future reimbursement processes to move forward. Thank you all!
Meredith Place and John Curran
Clerk/Register of Deeds and Chief Deputy Clerk/Register of Deeds
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Sheriff Rick Fuller, Scott Erdos, and Undersheriff Jim VanDyken at the Jan. 16 Board of Commissioners meeting
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Commissioner Abigail Wheeler with Carolyn Windmon at the Feb. 6 Board of Commissioners meeting
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We are thrilled to celebrate and honor our esteemed employees in the spring of 2024 who were recognized by the Board of Commissioners for their incredible dedication and commitment to Kalamazoo County Government.
Among those commemorated for their remarkable 25 years of service, we proudly acknowledge Scott Erdos from the Sheriff's Office, Carolyn Windmon from the 9th Circuit Court, and Rebecca Perigo from the 8th District Court, who was unable to receive her honor in person.
Congratulations to all of our exceptional employees for their remarkable milestones and the profound impact they have made within Kalamazoo County.
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SPRING WELLNESS
2024 Wellness Incentive
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New this year, the County will partner with Marathon Health to track employee progress as they complete the necessary steps to qualify for the 2024 wellness incentive. Again this year, 8 hours of annual leave will be granted to employees completing the "3 steps to Wellness" by September 30, 2024:
3 Steps to Wellness
- Complete the Health Risk Assessment via the Marathon Health portal
- Biometric Screening – with either your medical provider or Marathon Health
- Annual Physical – with either your medical provider or Marathon Health
The link to the Marathon Portal is https://my.marathon-health.com/login. If you have not already done so, sign up for the Marathon Health portal today. You can track your Wellness progress on the portal!
If your medical provider completes your biometric screen and annual physical, the 2024 Kalamazoo County Annual Physical and Biometric Screening Form must be completed and sent to Marathon Health. You must complete the Health Risk Assessment on the Marathon Health portal.
Each month, Marathon Health will provide Human Resources staff with a list of employees who have completed all three wellness activities listed above. During that month, HR will add the 8 hours of annual leave to the employee's balance.
Common concerns and questions:
- You do NOT need to be enrolled in the County's medical insurance to participate.
- County employees will not receive your personal health information.
- Suppose your wellness appointment is scheduled after the deadline of September 30; your doctor can complete the Biometric Screening Form based on your most recent wellness exam as long as it has been within the last year.
- If you have your biometric Screening and annual physical with Marathon Health, you do NOT have to complete the attached screening form; Marathon Health will input that information into their portal.
If you have any questions regarding the 2024 wellness incentive, please email benefits@kalcounty.com.
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