Closure of the Ombudsperson's Office

Greetings UPE Family!

On August 4, 2026, your UPE bargaining team met with the department regarding the closure of the Ombudsperson’s Office within DCFAS. The work was shifted to its respective divisions within the Office Technical (005) bargaining unit.

At the start of the meeting, the department presented year-to-date data regarding call volume. The most impact was within CPS (Child Protective Services), which your UPE team found to be of minimal impact. UPE requested that the classifications assigned to answer these calls be properly trained on over-the-phone de-escalation, as the current training available is more for in-person hostilities. We suggest that the department reach out to other departments that are call center-based to inquire about such training. The department said they will look into it. UPE was assured that there would be no consequences for the employees should the call time and/or hold time increase.

The department has committed to sharing more stats as UPE requests and reconvening if necessary. With one of the current BOS pushing for the County to use more AI (in order to save money on their portion of retirement and healthcare benefit contributions), let’s look at this from the perspective of the glass half-full, with more work being the equivalent of job security.

If you have any questions regarding this flyer, don't hesitate to get in touch with Tezra Sledge, Business Agent, UPE.

Thank you for your advocacy, Elyse Avila, Sylvia Garcia, and Zack Kollross.