FACILITIES, SECURITY, AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Roybal Realignment Space Planning Efforts Continue
In 2014, the Court continued to participate in an extensive space planning effort with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), AO contractors, Ninth Circuit Space and Facilities staff, General Services Administration (GSA), and other Central District court units. The objective of this effort is to realign the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Roybal) to accommodate additional magistrate and senior judges, as well as U.S. District Court and U.S. Pretrial Services staff currently housed in the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles.
The new Los Angeles Courthouse, scheduled for completion by 2016, provides insufficient space to house all the judges and staff that will be required to vacate the Spring Street Courthouse. Additional courtroom and office space in the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is needed to house displaced judges and staff. Tentative plans call for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California to release over 33,000 square feet of Clerk’s Office space and 24,000 square feet of judicial space in the Los Angeles Federal Building and Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, and include a new requirement for all Roybal bankruptcy judges to share courtrooms. The project is expected to continue over the next three to five years, as funding, design, construction, and relocation efforts must be finalized. As of the end of 2014, GSA continued to evaluate the proposed housing plan to meet the estimated budget and define the master housing plan for the civic center, to include a strategy for backfilling the Spring Street Courthouse.
COOP Webpage Launched
On March 6, 2014, the Court launched its Continuity of Operations (COOP) webpage. This was the first step in the creation of a COOP-related informational hub, intended to house a variety of useful information and tools that educate and empower court staff. Future updates will include additional videos, documents, and training, further enhancing the usefulness of this versatile resource.
In furtherance of the Court’s mission, serving the most populous and diverse district in the country, the COOP webpage is an integral component enhancing the Court’s ability to respond effectively to disruptions and continue to provide vital services during the most challenging of circumstances.
AO National Judicial Emergency Management Webcast on Exercise Design
On March 18, 2014, the Continuity of Operations (COOP) team represented the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California at the first Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) national emergency management webcast on exercise design. The COOP team was accompanied by the Court’s Emergency Preparedness team, which assisted in the delivery of vital information.
In the future, the webcasts will focus on various aspects of emergency management, further strengthening the core resilience of the Judiciary as a whole. Participation in this and other endeavors demonstrates the Court’s commitment to ensuring employees of the Court have the tools necessary to tackle the challenges of an unexpected event.
Court Hosts FEMA Continuity Planners Workshop
From May 15 through May 17, 2014, the Court hosted the first local offering of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) L550 Continuity Planners Workshop for the Los Angeles region in over two years. This workshop focused on the need for emergency management practitioners in the region.
Administrative Specialist and COOP Coordinator Herbert Seales represented the Court as a co-facilitator of the workshop, which included representatives from various local, state, and federal agencies. Attendees had an opportunity to work through scenarios and discuss their successes and areas of improvement with other emergency management professionals, giving them a unique opportunity to gain a fresh perspective.
Emergency Management Overview for Federal Agencies
On July 8, 2014, Administrative Specialist and Continuity of Operations (COOP) Coordinator Herbert Seales from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and Emergency Preparedness and Security Officer Christina Johnson from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California hosted the Emergency Management Overview for Federal Agencies training. Arranged by the Downtown Los Angeles Federal Agency Training Consortium, this training covered emergency preparedness (planning, emergency communications, and evacuation and shelter-in-place) and continuity of operations (creating a plan, elements of a viable COOP plan, and benefits of COOP planning for your agency).
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Seales discussed how agencies plan for disasters, the cost of preparation, and the likelihood of survival. In addition, they provided emergency tips and continuity of operations best practices that will limit interruption to operations during and after an emergency. Although the target audience for this program was designated for people who wanted to increase their knowledge of emergency response and continuity of operations, all federal employees were invited to attend the one-hour session.
Continuity of Operations Training
Between late September and mid-November, all members of the Clerk’s Office staff attended a Continuity of Operations (COOP) Awareness training session. Held in each division, the one-hour training classes covered the events and tasks that would follow the activation of the COOP in the event of an emergency. Attendees learned about the notification process, essential functions, relocating to another worksite, and how compensation, leave, and benefits are affected during a COOP activation.
May Day COOP Telework Exercise
On May 1, 2014 (May Day), the Clerk’s Office performed a telework exercise in the Los Angeles Division. The exercise tested the performance of the Court’s network and various elements of operations that will be heavily relied upon in the event of a Continuity of Operations (COOP) activation. Following U.S. Marshals Service reports that thousands of protesters were likely to gather in the Civic Center area on May Day, the Court used the opportunity to encourage staff members at the Los Angeles Division to telework from home or work in another division. More than half of the Los Angeles Division’s staff teleworked that day, and teleworkers did not experience any significant degradation in remote access to the Court’s automated systems during this exercise.
Also on May Day, the Court’s Crisis Communication team successfully used the Court’s upgraded Emergency Notification System (ENS) for the first time. The Los Angeles Division Clerk’s Office staff received ENS test messages by email, phone, and text. Additionally, the Court’s new ENS, updated each business day with data from InfoWeb, enables the Crisis Communication team to survey the staff following an emergency.
Resilient Angel Annual Continuity Preparedness Workshop
On December 4, 2014, Administrative Specialist and Continuity of Operations (COOP) Coordinator Herbert Seales represented the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California as a presenter and facilitator at the annual Resilient Angel Continuity Preparedness Workshop, hosted by the Greater Los Angeles Federal Executive Board (LA FEB), U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX, and LA FEB Continuity of Operations (COOP) Working Group (GLAFEB-CWG). Office Services Manager Roland Blanco was also in attendance.
This event was held at the Joint Forces Reserve Center in Bell, California, and consisted of panel discussions focusing on the major areas of COOP such as activation and relocation, plan and checklist development, recovery and reconstitution, and defining the role of COOP and emergency management. This yearly event not only provides valuable tools to federal, state, and local agencies, but also provides an opportunity to exchange best practices across jurisdictional lines, and aids in the creation of long-term local relationships that are essential to the Court’s ability to respond effectively to emergencies.
Floor Warden/Emergency Preparedness Training
In 2014, the Emergency Preparedness team conducted Floor Warden/Emergency Preparedness training in every division. Multiple training sessions were offered in the Riverside Division in February, the Santa Ana Division in March, the Los Angeles Division in May, and the San Fernando Valley and Northern Divisions in June. Additionally, on April 22, 2014, floor wardens throughout the Central District participated in the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training, conducted by the WMD coordinator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Additionally, the Clerk’s Office continues to improve and distribute emergency preparedness reference materials. In May, the Emergency Preparedness Quick Reference Guide and emergency contact information cards were distributed throughout the Central District and the evacuation maps for each division were updated.
New Workstations for Courtroom Services
On January 7, 2014, the Clerk’s Office completed the replacement and reconfiguration of 48 workstations in the Courtroom Services Department. The project, which had been delayed by several weeks due to General Services Administration (GSA) furloughs, began in November 2013. The new workstations are frame-and-tile-systems that can be easily reconfigured, rebuilt, and repaired. The new workstations provide a number of advantages over the older workstations, including additional filing space, convenient power outlets, slots for cables, and ergonomic design.
Northern Division Reconfiguration
The Clerk’s Office reconfigured the Northern Division to accommodate the arrival of Chief Judge Peter H. Carroll and the retirement and recall of Judge Robin L. Riblet. As Chief Judge Carroll prepared to relocate to the Northern Division in May 2014, and Judge Riblet approached her retirement and subsequent appointment as a recalled judge, the Clerk’s Office improved both chambers in the Northern Division to suit each judge’s needs. Chief Judge Carroll moved into the resident judge’s chambers previously occupied by Judge Riblet, and Judge Riblet moved into the chambers that had been designated for use by visiting judges and shared with Judge Deborah J. Saltzman, who hears matters in-person and via videoconference from the Los Angeles Division. In addition, the building library, which occupied roughly 700 square feet of space, was released to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and converted into a magistrate judge chamber.
New Wall Covering in Roybal Building Jury Rooms
On May 2, 2014, the Clerk’s Office finished installing new wall coverings in the jury rooms on the 13th, 15th, and 16th floors of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles as part of the Court’s cyclical maintenance program.
Inventory and Property Management Update
During this year’s district-wide inventory reconciliation, the Clerk’s Office successfully accounted for 100 percent of the Court’s property listed in the Master Personal Property Record. There were no items missing or unaccounted for in any of the Court’s divisional offices.
The Clerk’s Office completed revisions to its property management procedures in 2014, appointing a senior custodial officer and an IT custodial officer in the Los Angeles Division, and one custodial officer for each of the remaining divisions. It also initiated the migration from its former property management software, IntelliTrack, to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) supported and web-based Judicial Inventory Control System ( JICS). After fine-tuning the database structure to accommodate the Court’s needs, personnel migrated inventory data into JICS and verified its accuracy. Then, staff members created new court identification tags for every item in the system and affixed them to the items.
A brief training session at the December Winter Education Seminar reviewed the new property management procedures and in-depth training will follow at each divisional office in 2015.