Gilpin County adds Human Services to four-day schedule, to begin March 16

The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-0 on Feb. 10 to include the county's Human Services Department in the existing four-day, 10-hour workweek used by other county offices.

Human Services Director Janie Barker told commissioners she surveyed department staff and met with leadership before proposing that the public be served four 10-hour days and that the office remain available on Fridays by appointment. Barker said the posted public hours would be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the four in-person days and 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays by appointment. She told the board the department plans to begin the schedule on March 16.

"We did a survey of my staffand it came back that everybody would like to change our hours a little bit," Barker said during the presentation.

Commissioners pressed for safety and operational details. Barker said the building would not be open to the public on appointment-only Fridays unless a client had scheduled a visit and that the county would ensure at least one staff member, and typically two, were present when appointments occur. She added the county must post hours required to distribute EBT cards and will provide signage directing residents to alternate resources if staff are unavailable.

Commissioner (speaker 3) moved to adopt the resolution to include Human Services in the four-day schedule; the motion was seconded by Commissioner (speaker 8) and adopted 3-0. Barker confirmed senior services, including senior lunch and transportation, will continue under the current Friday schedule.

The board asked staff to monitor operational issues during the transition and to ensure signage and staffing plans are in place for appointment-only Fridays. The formal resolution adopted identifies compliance with applicable law as a condition of the change.