SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The $20,000 CPS HR Talent Management Innovation Grant was recently awarded to Connecticut’s Department of Correction by CPS HR Consulting. The funds will be used to further the Post-Incident Workplace Employee Reference (POWER) Program, a post-incident crisis response system offering direct support and assistance to employees impacted by trauma at work.
CPS HR extended its grant program to encourage innovation in human resources. The CPS HR Talent Management Innovation Grant was to be awarded to a public service that fosters quality, fairness, equity and solutions to organizational needs.
“While CPS HR awarded numerous public agencies grants in the past through its partnership with IPMA-HR, we wanted to continue recognizing innovation with a grant of our own,” said Jerry Greenwell, CEO of CPS HR. “It seemed fitting to present this grant at our inaugural client conference. The Connecticut Department of Correction’s POWER Program exceeded our eligibility requirements, and we are eager to see the results of this system.”
Through the POWER Program, CT DOC envisions empowering employees, contractors and volunteers with support, informational resources, and referrals to victim services, counseling, and trauma-centered programs and services. The grant will be used to launch the development of resources that include an Employee POWER Card to provide essential information about available programs, services and agencies that can be of assistance to a person who has, or is experiencing, trauma.
An internally-operated POWER Hotline will provide staff with guidance and counseling. No such resources currently exist in Connecticut’s correctional system. The program is expected to fill a critical gap in getting important information to employees when they are most vulnerable and unfamiliar with available resources to know where to turn for help.
“The POWER Program is an important initiative for our agency to take care of our employees who have faced a serious workplace trauma,” said Cheryl Cepelak, deputy commissioner – administrative division of CT DOC. “Receiving this grant will allowed us to raise the bar on our goals, enabling us to produce better quality materials; have access to expanded training; and initiate a hotline for confidential use by our employees. We cannot thank CPS HR Consulting enough for this opportunity!”
To be eligible for this grant, applicants had to:
- Be a government agency in the U.S.
- Use the funds for internal staffing and expenses (not external consultants)
- Have the program be results-oriented
- Implement a program new to the agency that was linked to the agency’s future goals or strategic plan
- Demonstrate how the funds were used
In addition, the agency has to implement the award within eight months of receiving the grant and then publish the results of the program to enable other agencies to use it as a model.
For more information about CPS HR and the grants it offers, visit: http://cpshr.us/about_us_grants.html.
About CPS HR Consulting
CPS HR Consulting, based in Sacramento, California, is a self-supporting public agency providing a full range of integrated HR solutions to government and nonprofit clients across the country. CPS HR consultants have expertise in the areas of organizational strategy, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, and training and development. For more information, visit www.cpshr.us or connect with them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
