choiceshr.com

Free Money Management Skill workshops

choiceshr.com — 9/4/2010

Expand your money management IQ. These workshop will show you simple and effective techniques to help improve your life. Take advantage of these opportunities and take charge of your future.

(Brown Bag Workshops, all starting at Noon at Needmore))

a. Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Money Matters

b. Thursday, September 23, 2010 To Your Credit

c. Tuesday, September 29, 2010 Charge it Right

d. Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Pay Yourself First

e. Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Borrowing Basics

Contact HR to confirm your attendance. Attend as many as you would like.

September 2010 1st Aid and CPR classes

choiceshr.com — 8/29/2010

For the month of September, 2010 the 1st aid and CPR classes will be held on Thursday the 16^th.

CPR – 10 am to 12:30

First Aid 1 – 3 pm.

Program Administrator hired for Taywood

choiceshr.com — 8/16/2010

Gwen Peoples has joined CICL as the Program Administrator of the Taywood program effective immediately. Feel free to extend a warm CICL welcome to Gwen and best wishes for continued success.

2010 Employee Service Award Nominations

choiceshr.com — 8/4/2010

The Recognition Committee is accepting nominations for the 2010 Employee Service Award. Employees or clients of CICL may nominate an employee for the recognition. Please submit your nomination to Human Resources by September 3, 2010. As a part of your nomination, please provide a brief statement why you believe that the employee should receive the award. The purpose of the award is to recognize employees and their actions that have helped make Choices In Community Living a better place for co-workers and /or clients.

If you would like to complete the actual form, you can request one from your supervisor. But feel free to complete your nomination by email or on-line and submit it to Human Resources by September 3, 2010 for consideration. If you would like to remain anonymous, we understand, but that will require you to complete the actual form versus using the email or on-line options.

Remember, the submission deadline is September 3, 2010.

Sincerely,

The Recognition Committee

Safe Driving Tip

choiceshr.com — 7/11/2010

You are responsible for ensuring your safety and the safety of the clients. Please review this information related to what can happen when you are a distrated driver.

Recent studies by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Highway Loss Data Institute, and National Safety Council all reaffirm that talking on the phone, texting and driving do not mix. The National Safety Council estimates that 28% of all crashes each year are caused by drivers talking on the phone and or texting. A 2006 study by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that almost 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes involved some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds of the event

International Paper paid a $5.2 million settlement to a woman that was rear ended by a company driver that was talking on a cell phone.

FYI: Safety Information

choiceshr.com — 7/11/2010

It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but to wait until they get to a gas station.

Lauren listened to her parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

Whether this story is true or not, women driving alone have been sexually assaulted by rapists pretending to be patrolmen (and in certain rare cases by actual police officers). So the advice the story gives about not pulling over in deserted areas when signaled to do so by unmarked police vehicles is really good advice. Especially since there are a lot of old police cars that have been put out of service driving around these days.

Although in a few states calling *77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol, that code is far from universal. Rather than frantically trying to figure out which one will work in the area you're in, police generally recommend that the best approach is to get around the problem by trying 911 first. If you're curious as to what each state's number is though, this is a good website to visit: http://www.911dispatch.com/911/mobilenumbers.html

If a suspicious cop car tries to pull you over at night, turn on your flashers, slow down, and keep driving until you get to a well-lit area where there are other people around. The best thing to do is to call 911 to tell them what's happening and ask them to relay to the officer in pursuit your intent to continue traveling until you've gotten to a lighted area with lots of people around.

So while this story may not be 100% true, the moral of the story is something that everyone should remember. Someone who is impersonating a police officer is planning on the victim ignoring any of the small things that aren't quite right, and just taking it on faith that the officer is who they makes themselves out to be. I just felt like sharing this with you so you know what to do in a situation like that. I hope you're never put in a position to have to use this information, but if you are, then you can now protect yourself and those with you safely and effectively.

To Your Success,

For Your Information from United Healthcare

choiceshr.com — 10/23/2009

"Health Care Lane" Gives Members an Entertaining, Interactive Community Online to Learn How Health Benefits Work

Launched in time to prepare consumers for this year's benefits open enrollment season, Health Care Lane's "online community" goes beyond helping select the right health plan and provides straightforward conversations about various health-related topics.

Health Care Lane (www.healthcarelane.com) discusses many of the UnitedHealthcare programs available to members. Members can visit the online town to interact with fictitious businesses and their employees, each representing a different health care topic. Visitors can learn about both basic and complex health insurance topics such as what a premium is, the difference between generic and brand-name prescriptions, or the advantages of a Health Savings Account (HSA).

As individuals stroll through town, some of the businesses they can visit include:

The WiFi Café to learn about online health tools and calculators;
The Town Bank to learn about Health Savings Accounts;
The Public Library for definitions of various common health insurance terms;
The Local City Market for tips on how to reduce their health care costs;
The Fitness Center to learn about wellness programs and healthy lifestyles; and many others.

Healthcarelane.com was designed to make it easier for consumers to understand how their health coverage works and the different options available to them. We realize health insurance can be complex, so we created an entertaining and educational experience that we believe will help keep people engaged and assist them in getting more out of their benefits.

Visit the Web site at www.healthcarelane.com and share the site and flier with your employees.

For more information, contact your broker or UnitedHealthcare representative.

Financial Assistance Programs

choiceshr.com — 6/26/2009

Many of us are dealing with the financial impact of the current economy. Unfortunately, many times the stresses that are created during difficult times will surface in the work environment. In an effort to keep our staff informed about support programs that may be of benefit to CICL staff, we will start providing you information as we receive it. I want to stress that CICL is not endorsing any of these programs, we are simply sharing the information. It is the individual's responsibility to ensure the integrity of the program and the organization offering the support.

National Employee Benefits Group, Financial Relief Program 888/341-8999, option 1: This organization bridges the gap between employees and creditors when modifications are needed to re-structure payment rates and terms.

Community Action Partnership (CAP) 937/617-2673: The CAP is accepting applications for their "Weatherization Assistance" program designed to provide assistance for issues related to seasonal weather. For example, there may be assistance for window air conditioners or fans in the summer, and energy bills. The determination is based upon your personal situation. If you would like an application, feel free to contact me.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Live Support

choiceshr.com — 1/15/2009

Until now only one employee was assigned to the live support role but now there are two. The live support button may be used by employees for any issue needing a response or answer from the office.

When you clcik on the live suupport button you will be asked to provide an email address and there is a box for typing your issue. (If you do not have an email address use employee@choicesincl.com) Providing an email address allows us to send a follow up or answer to you electronically.

The live support will take the question or problem you have and forward it to the proper office employee for follow up. They can also get a message to your manager or director.

The next time you are tempted to call the office try using live support instead.

Personal & Client financial safety practices

choiceshr.com — 4/11/2008

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. Do NOT Sign the back of your credit cards . Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DONOTput the complete account numberon the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of you r home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Neverhave your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It
printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contentsof your walleton a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(S) ordered a n expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.
But here's some critical information to limit the damagein case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancelour credit cardsimmediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. Filea police reportimmediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all : (I never even thought to do this.)
7. Callthe 3 national credit reporting organizationsimmediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289

4) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about..