Tuesday morning, I met scores of my new Children’s Services colleagues at our Cordell Hull central offices in Nashville. I shook lots of hands, and I enjoyed getting a chance to meet those who will help me to continue and advance the good work that has taken place at DCS.
For those of you who couldn’t be here in Nashville, I wanted to share with you a bit of what I said.
First, I am very glad to be here working with you as of Saturday. I am humbled and honored to be asked to serve -- particularly by this Administration. I believe we are on the threshold of a new era for Tennessee under Governor Haslam.
I am aware of the enormity of the challenges before us, but as those of you who know me have already seen, I am up for a good challenge. I want to thank all of you for the good work you have already done. There is no question that DCS has moved forward in recent years, and I am sure you are aware that much remains to be done.
We will need to maintain our progress and meet our targets for the safety, permanency and well being of the families we serve.
And we will also need to focus in new ways on:
· Efficiency
· Transparency
· Customer Service
Our No. 1 job is to be a resource to all of our customers. The families. The citizens. The taxpayers.
Without a doubt, this a time of change and uncertainty. I know that can be stressful. But you should also consider that this change also brings leadership opportunities -- no matter who you are, or in what capacity you serve, there are leadership opportunities for you. We will need each and every member of our team to move this agenda forward.
I want to remind you that not only will we need to be excellent, we will also need to be very efficient and able to demonstrate our effectiveness. So please be thinking how you want to contribute to that mission.
I am one of you now. Together, we will be looking for good ideas and great collaborators going forward -- both within our ranks at DCS and in all of the communities we serve.
For those of you who couldn’t be here in Nashville, I wanted to share with you a bit of what I said.
First, I am very glad to be here working with you as of Saturday. I am humbled and honored to be asked to serve -- particularly by this Administration. I believe we are on the threshold of a new era for Tennessee under Governor Haslam.
I am aware of the enormity of the challenges before us, but as those of you who know me have already seen, I am up for a good challenge. I want to thank all of you for the good work you have already done. There is no question that DCS has moved forward in recent years, and I am sure you are aware that much remains to be done.
We will need to maintain our progress and meet our targets for the safety, permanency and well being of the families we serve.
And we will also need to focus in new ways on:
· Efficiency
· Transparency
· Customer Service
Our No. 1 job is to be a resource to all of our customers. The families. The citizens. The taxpayers.
Without a doubt, this a time of change and uncertainty. I know that can be stressful. But you should also consider that this change also brings leadership opportunities -- no matter who you are, or in what capacity you serve, there are leadership opportunities for you. We will need each and every member of our team to move this agenda forward.
I want to remind you that not only will we need to be excellent, we will also need to be very efficient and able to demonstrate our effectiveness. So please be thinking how you want to contribute to that mission.
I am one of you now. Together, we will be looking for good ideas and great collaborators going forward -- both within our ranks at DCS and in all of the communities we serve.
- Kate O'Day
Ms. O'Day: Welcome to DCS; I am sure Governor Haslam made a wise decision in selecting you for our Commissioner.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned above that this will be a time of opportunity for leadership coming from all ranks. As a secretary with 2 college degrees and a very positive work history with experience at all levels of government, I ask that you consider upgrading opportunities for secretaries to be re-classified to a higher level. We have not had a raise in about four years and our workload has tremendously increased. We provide a lot of the quality customer service to our clients that you speak of. Thanks. J. Davis, DCS Knox
Thanks so much for your note!
ReplyDeleteI wanted you to know that I hear you, and we'll be taking good look at your suggestion.
Obviously, I have a lot of issues under review, so thank you for your comments.
-- Kate O'Day