Two promoted to fill top civil service positions
(CNS): Two Caymanian women already working in the Department of Community Rehabilitation (DCR) have been promoted within the department to take the two most senior positions. Melissa Rivas is now acting DCR director and Erica Ebanks is the acting deputy director, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced.
The DCR is responsible for providing reports, risk assessments, intervention programmes, quality supervision, and the rehabilitation of offenders in the community and institutions as mandated by the courts and Conditional Release Board.
Working in partnership with various agencies, it also coordinates the rehabilitation of offenders while reducing the occurrence of re-offending, provides victim support services, and protects the wider public and community.
Prior to her current appointment, Rivas served as the senior probation officer (SPO) for DCR Specialised Services, where she was responsible for leading the implementation of that new departmental team, which merged two existing teams, namely Domestic Violence and Mental Health Offender Management.
The merger also led to the formation of the Intensive Supervision Team. Before that she served as the acting deputy director until her appointment to the position of SPO in 2019.
Rivas graduated from the University of North Florida, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English, minoring in Sociology and History. Before attending graduate school at the Florida Metropolitan University, she interned with Family Resource Centre, and the then Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture and was a data collector for the Gender Socialisation, Violence, and School Research Project.
An honours graduate with a Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree, while studying she also certified as a Domestic Violence Victim Advocate. As a case manager, she gained a wealth of experience combining theoretical and practical knowledge in supporting public and victim safety. She also successfully established the first probation officer post for Domestic Violence Intervention Services, which is a specialised service.
Erica Ebanks received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a minor in Criminal Justice, and later earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology. During this time, she worked as an intern in DCR on summer vacations, joining full-time in September 2011 as a probation officer graduate and eight months later moved into the position of Probation Officer.
Ebanks has worked across different areas within the department, including the General Court Team, the Specialised Services Team including Drug Court, and the Through and After-care team. She was promoted to Senior Probation Officer in March 2017.
“These appointments highlight our continued commitment to nurturing homegrown talent,” said Home Affairs Acting Chief Officer Michael Ebanks. “I look forward to working with Acting Director Rivas and Acting Deputy Director Ebanks to further the policies of the ministry and support our wider community.”
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Category: Government Administration, Jobs, Local News, Politics
Is the acting Director not now reporting to a close relative? If this is the case how can this be right.
Can the Department please enlighten us as to what happened to the two employees who previously held these positions. All we here of in the Civil Service is about Caymanian promotions, because I suppose nobody ever gets demoted or dismissed as in the real world.
Anon I am getting worried about you again.
The director of DCR was promoted to acting Deputy Chief Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
These promotions provide a sound opportunity for Caymanian to gain valuable experience.
I Just can’t understand why this is such a bad thing.
Can you please advise which Company boasts of its dismissals?
That’s why civil service people, goes to work late, wont answer their phones, always getting something to eat (most of them are fat ) with bad work ethics, BECAUSE THEY ARE NEVER DEMOTED OR FIRED, and they all know it .
3 53 you are just making this stuff up. Shame on you.
Where do you get the nonsense about no one getting dismissed our fired?
8:11 am, do you know 2 people that was demoted and 2 that was fired out of thousands civil service workers. They get laid off with full pay until retire age then get their full pension.
FMU is a joke of as school that no longer exists. There were numerous complaints about other real colleges not accepting credits “earned” at FMU.
Lawsuits ensued etc. etc. The place is now called Everest and some might say the degree isn’t worth very much in the real world. As in no reputable employer is going to look favourably on it…
No one checks references or credentials in the Civil Service so we have a bunch of people running around with questionable qualifications. The sad part is that most of them likely don’t even realize that they were ripped off by a sketchy for-profit “University” in the U.S.
Also if you ever have to pick between a directional U and a real school, always pick the one without a directional modifier.
University of Florida is objectively better than University of North, South, Central, East-West or whatever school.
Then we have Caymanian scholarship money going to a bunch of BS religious school in the U.S. which are terrible as well.
I’m not making this up and our “world class” Civil Service should have more controls on where students go in the U.S. when they are spending our money as scholarship recipients.
‘take the two most senior positions’
Hmmmm….acting and acting deputy are certainly NOT the two most senior positions? Being the actual Director is surely the most senior position? They sure do love an acting, assistant deputy, senior next-in-line of anything here.
10:43 so you want elitist only in your organisation. I bet you are one of those persons who refuse to employ capable Caymanians because they didn’t go to the right school.
Get a life some where else please.
Not saying that this is the case here, but many acting positions in the CIG are used to move individuals who should have been fired for incompetency in their substantive post, or to promote connected individuals who have neither the qualifications or experience to carry out the role. The outcome is that the CIG never really progresses as many of the acting leaders, who eventually become permanent post holders, do not have the aptitude or skills to move their respective Ministries or Departments forward. This is such a missed opportunity that is unfortunately compounded by the fact that these individuals are often protected, rise to the top and then stop younger talent coming through because they become bulletproof. Welcome to the reality of the next 20 years of the CIG when you really look at the current occupants in the top posts.
10:09;what a load of s##t. You are just making this stuff up. Clearly you are tired and need rest.zzzzzzzz
Congrats. Two capable Caymanian ladies who have worked their way up through this department. Well deserved and I do hope they are appointed in due course.
Hope they can get the mental patient who parades in front of the Government building in a batty rider some help. She clearly needs help and is being ignored. Congrats to both.
So many capable Caymanians are being promoted in our civil service. If only this would happen in the private sector
I am also pleased to see so many women being promoted into leadership positions.
Isn’t in time to beat up on our Deputy Governor. I haven’t seen a negative comments in some time.
Thanks for your input Franzplant. Shouldn’t you be busy organizing a 5k or something?
8:25 the jealousy. I am sure our DG is busy promoting and training Caymanians. You mean you are blind or just unwilling to admit the transformation of the Civil Service in the last 5 years.
Not only is the civil service providing excellent customer service at home. But is now a world leader in performance.
Stop the crabs in the bucket mentality. Go and conduct your Government business online and leave our DG alone.
10.54am The problem with our Civil Service is that too many of you suffer from serious delusions like calling yourselves “world class”. Almost everyone that has to deal with civil servants laugh out loud when they read these self congratulatory plaudits, which could not be further from the truth.
Is Florida Metropolitan University accredited? I heard very bad things about it.
Also, what colleges did Ms. Ebanks earn her degrees from?
I ask because if someone were proud of their degree they would tell you where it was from.
4;34 what a horrible world you live in. Poor you.
No, 6:01, concern about the validity and quality of qualifications from some of these US institutions, particularly Florida, is entirely justified.
How would you know if she didn’t? We continue ito tear down our own——feel sorry for you!
Congratulations to these dedicated and hard working women!
There are too many promotions within CIG when executives are tired of long term vacancies and answering questions about why those who have been acting for long duration aren’t being given the post permanently… the answer: you don’t want inexperinced or not fully qualified candidates in senior roles… it can put the organization back years or decades before they retire or bought out because of incompetence. There are already too much job hopping and promotions in CIG just for higher salary. CIG could do worse than stick with acting roles and only permanently appoint people that show well and capable in these acting appointments.
Congratulations to both ladies.
Civil Service must be giving out Oscars this year with all their actors. Who is acting in place of those two? And who is acting in place of them?
CNS: It is standard practice in the civil service to be ‘acting’ in the position for a while before being given the position permanently. In an institution where it is impossible to be fired or demoted, this is a good idea – no slight intended to these two ladies who appear to be eminently suited and qualified for their new posts.
Cns where did you get the idea that it is impossible to be fired or demoted. Read the 2020 Portfolio Annual Report which was recently submitted to parliament.