County of Santa Cruz Government Center

General Description of what students will be doing at this Site:

The County of Santa Cruz is currently building operational capacity for continuous process improvement to better County business practices and outcomes and launched the County’s Continuous Process Improvement initiative, known as PRIMO.

The program work areas include: Engagement—Spreading awareness and enthusiasm of the program and concepts of Lean Six Sigma Projects—Supporting projects that build momentum and experience towards continuous improvement Learning—Providing employees with resources needed to build capacity & skills in process improvement PRIMO’s mission is to build a common culture of improvement centered around customers and the community we serve, driven by the employees who do the work, and focused on measurable outcomes. All County departments participate in the program, including Health and Human Services.

The selected CHHS intern will work with the program team to support the program operation, contribute to its administration, perform data collection and analysis, and evaluate program performance. There will also be an opportunity for the intern to work with Health and Human Services staff as they look to improve the processes that are currently in place with the goal of better serving the community.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Program Evaluation and Development: Participate in meetings; coordinate and collaborate with County staff, partners and others to evaluate the program and achieve a common purpose and mutual agreement on the future of the program; conduct research and provide input on development of the PRIMO program; assist with content development for website

2. Communication: assist in communicating our program efforts to County staff at all levels through internal and external engagement methods including website updates, meetings, focus groups and/or workshops

3. Program Administration: participate in compilation of information and data gathered through the planning and evaluative process

Desired Intern Characteristics: - Strong writer and communicator, able to work in Word and Excel, comfortable with data analysis, able to meet deadlines, familiar with local government, organized, active listening skills, punctual and reliable, skills in webpage design are highly desirable

the following CHHS Major Learning Outcomes (MLOs) that the student will be exposed to:
- Collaboration
- Information Management
- Knowledge of Health & Human Services (SW or CH)
- Leadership
- Personal & Professional Communication
- Systems Management

Training on continuous process improvement, Lean concepts and tools, will be offered.