Chapter 1 – General Administration

Departmental and non-departmental meetings, conferences, and conventions, when sponsored by the Department or other professional organizations, are positive methods to enhance general professional development and further CDC goals.

• Staff are encouraged to participate in authorized departmental and nondepartmental meetings, conferences, and conventions.

This section designates those responsible for selecting attendees, submitting of required forms, and approving authority for requests to attend meetings, conferences, and conventions.

All meetings, conferences, and conventions of ten or more people that involve travel, per diem, or other expenditures shall require approval of the appropriate Chief Deputy Director. By June 30 of each year, all Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors shall submit to the Chief, VSRP, a schedule of meetings, conferences, and conventions to be conducted during the following fiscal year. VSRP shall coordinate the final review and approvals by the Chief Deputy Directors.

• The CDC Form 1328, Meeting/Conference Schedule, shall be used for submitting this information.

• These activities shall be considered business meetings or business conferences and expenses incurred shall not be charged to training budgets, but to other appropriate budget allotments (e.g., travel).

The Chief, SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR), shall submit the meeting, conference, and convention schedules to the appropriate Chief Deputy Director for departmental approval. A copy of the approved schedule shall be returned to the submitting Deputy Director or Assistant Director. SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR) shall include the meeting, conference, or convention on the departmental master calendar.

No further approvals for departmental meetings, conferences, and conventions are required during the year provided no substantive changes occur in the previously approved schedule and the event is being held at a State facility.

Meetings, conferences, and conventions held at other than State facilities require YACA approval. (See DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12020.6.) Any request requiring YACA approval shall first be approved by the appropriate Chief Deputy Director.

The SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR) shall review and coordinate the approvals for submission to the Chief Deputy Directors and YACA.

Changes to approved schedules requiring departmental approval include:

• Any increase in the number of events.

• A location change requiring YACA approval.

• Additional costs exceeding the original estimate by 10 percent or more.

45 Days Prior

• Details of the requested amendment shall be submitted to the Chief, SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR), 45 days prior to the meeting, conference, or convention to allow sufficient time for the necessary approvals.

With the aim of achieving program goals and objectives, an agenda shall be prepared for each meeting, conference, or convention. Specific benefits to CDC such as increased productivity, problem solving, or other staff improvements should be especially noted.

The agenda shall include the title of the event, the dates, meeting location, and an outline of the major items to be discussed.

30 Days Prior

• The Deputy Director or Assistant Director shall submit the agenda to the appropriate Chief Deputy Director at least 30 days prior to the meeting, conference, or convention.

In compliance with criteria established by the Governor’s Office, written approval from the Secretary of YACA, or designee, shall be obtained prior to scheduling any state-sponsored meeting, conference, convention, or training session which includes the rental of an off-site facility.

Request to Rent

• Requests to rent an off-site facility shall include a comparison of costs from various private facilities and explain why it is not feasible to use a State facility.

60 Days Prior

• The appropriate Deputy Director or Assistant Director shall submit to the Chief, SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR), a YACA Form 83-9-1, Request to Schedule Conference or Meeting, at least 60 days prior to the scheduled event. The SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR) staff shall review the submitted paperwork to confirm that all necessary information is included. The appropriate Chief Deputy Director shall approve or deny the request and SPBState Personnel Board (see CalHR) shall return the request to the appropriate Deputy Director or Assistant Director.

This section pertains to non-departmental meetings, conferences, and conventions sponsored by professional organizations including “bona fide associations” as defined by the DPADepartment of Personnel Administration (see CalHR).

• Meetings, conferences, and conventions sponsored by professional organizations are to provide opportunities for general professional development.

• Meetings, conferences, and conventions sponsored by “employee organizations” are excluded from these guidelines per GCGovernment Code 3525.

Request and Approval

• To achieve consistency and provide guidelines for attendance at the meetings, conferences, and conventions of professional organizations in California, each Deputy Director or Assistant Director is responsible for screening and submitting all non-departmental conference requests to the appropriate Chief Deputy Director for final review and approval.

  • Programs involving partisan political speeches or activities or employee organization functions are not eligible for consideration.

Maximum of Ten

• Normally CDC shall not send more than ten people to individual non-departmental meetings, conferences, and conventions. Attendance by more than ten people shall require separate approval by the appropriate Chief Deputy Director.

Upon Approval

• Upon approval, a copy of the approval shall be sent by the requesting Deputy Director, Assistant Director, or designee to the Accounting Services Section in headquarters.

• Note: This procedure applies only to headquarters and P&CSDParole & Community Services Division (see DAPO) staff.

  • Additional employees participating in a nondepartmental meeting, conference, or convention program as speakers or panel members may be granted time and expenses as required, determined by the duration of their participation. Such expenses shall be paid from local travel budgets.

Attendance Without Reimbursement

• If the request is to attend a non-departmental meeting without the sponsorship of CDC, the following guidelines apply:

  • The attending employee shall pay all expenses including travel, per diem, and registration costs.

  • The attending employee shall use vacation or other accrued time off, such as compensatory time off, holiday, etc.

  • The employee’s attendance at the meeting, conference, or convention shall not result in any cost to the State or create a burden on CDC operations.

Training Credit

• An employee who attends formal training workshops at a conference or convention may request training credit. This credit can be applied toward the 40-hour annual training requirement that each employee is expected to complete.

How to Apply

• In order to receive this credit after attending such an event, the employee must send the ISTIn-Service Training Manager or Regional Training Coordinator verification of attendance and a copy of the conference agenda detailing the workshops to be considered for credit.

Type of Credit

• Only career-related out-service training credit may be granted.

Amount of Credit

• Credit will be granted on an hour-for-hour basis, not to exceed a maximum of eight hours per year, per employee.

Reimbursement Not Allowed

• The granting of training credit does not entitle an employee any reimbursement of expenses for attending a conference or convention. If an employee has been approved to attend on State time at State expense, no training funds may be used to cover the approved costs.

Restriction on Granting Credit

• Training credits may not be granted for meetings, conferences, or conventions of “employee organizations” as stipulated in GCGovernment Code 3525.

Need Prior Written Approval (100 Miles)

• Prior written approval shall be obtained from YACA when 10 or more employees are required to travel more than 100 miles from their headquarters in order to participate in a meeting, conference, or convention not sponsored by the State.

  • This policy applies whether or not such a meeting, conference, or convention is paid in total or in part by State or federal funds.

60 Days Prior

• A YACA Form 83-9-1 shall be prepared for the signature of the appropriate Chief Deputy Director and submitted to YACA 60 days prior to the date of the event by the requesting Deputy Director or Assistant Director.

To attend an out-of-state meeting, conference, or convention not already in the approved out-of-state travel blanket, all requests for attendance shall be submitted through the appropriate Deputy Director or Assistant Director at least 90 days prior to the date of the event. The request (by memorandum) shall include:

• The name of the meeting, conference, or convention.

• Location.

• Date(s).

• Costs.

• A copy of the agenda.

• A justification describing the benefit to the State and the consequences of not attending.

• An assurance that participation shall not interfere with service to the public or operation of CDC’s programs.

The memorandum shall have an approved/disapproved signature block for the Deputy Director or Assistant Director.

Final Approval

• Upon initial approval, the request shall be forwarded to Accounting Services Section for verification of funds. Accounting Services Section shall obtain final approval from the appropriate Chief Deputy Director and notify the appropriate staff. Any additional required approval shall be obtained by Accounting Services Section.

The CDC facility located in the geographic area of the conference or convention shall coordinate the placement of a CDC recruitment booth at that conference or convention. Other CDC facilities or divisions interested in participating in staffing the recruitment booth may do so by contacting the responsible recruitment coordinator.

Limit of Booths

• Normally, there shall be no more than one CDC booth per conference or convention. But if the departmental recruitment manager concurs that a large number of applicants are anticipated for classifications being recruited, another booth and additional staff may be requested.

  • The booths shall be placed side by side.

  • No more than four recruiters shall be used to staff a booth.

  • The recruiters shall not be conference and convention attendees or participants.

  • The recruiters’ function shall expressly be to staff the booth and respond to employment inquiries.

  • The recruiters shall not need to be included in the conference and convention approval process.

Use of Booths

• Recruitment booths shall only be used at those conferences or conventions in which it is reasonable to expect applicants. The appropriate staff shall also be used (i.e., sworn staff used in recruiting peace officers and medical staff used in recruiting medical professionals). The decision to send a recruitment booth team to the annual conferences and conventions of the following groups shall be made by the departmental recruitment manager:

  • Asian State Employees Association.

  • Association of Black Correctional Workers.

  • Black Advocates in State Service.

  • CAFE de California.

  • Chicano Correctional Workers Association.

  • Filipino American State Employees Association.

  • Latino Peace Officers Association.

  • Mexican American Correctional Association.

  • Mexican American Political Association.

  • United Black Correctional Workers.

Note: At these conferences and conventions, an advertisement in the conference or convention program shall be the extent of our recruitment participation unless it is determined to be in CDC’s best interest to also use a booth. Should it be determined that a booth is needed, the responsible facility shall be advised and shall coordinate its placement and staffing.

The Assistant Director, OOCOffice Of Compliance (see OACC), or designee is responsible for ensuring that the contents of this article are kept current and accurate.

SAMState Administrative Manual §§ 0731, 0732, and 0733.

GCGovernment Code § 3525.

DPADepartment of Personnel Administration (see CalHR) Rule 599.866.