The Charles County Department of Social Services (CCDSS) is committed to building alliances that promote self-sufficiency, empower families and increases personal safety and security and value The culture of the Agency is defined by our vision, our values and our actions. Three specific pillars form the basis of our culture and are practiced in the daily work of the Agency:

  1. CCDSS Visioning Statements
  2. CCDSS Value Statements
  3. GOLD Standard Customer Service

Our vision guides our daily work and provides a framework for where we are headed. These five key focus areas also define our culture and performance. Those visioning statements are:

  • We use data to assess what we do (compliance and quality), to identify gaps in programs (quality and needs), and design program improvements in order to provide the best service to internal and external clientele.
  • All available technology will be used to make our work easier (more efficient) and more effective. Effective means services are more accessible to our internal and external clientele.
  • We create and maintain empowering and positive relationships with partners both within and external to the Agency in order to best serve the community and our clientele.
  • Staff come together in a culture of service, self-expression and experimentation to identify and solve real problems for internal and external clientele.
  • Our Agency is a learning environment where people continue to develop and expand themselves, their skills and their careers.

There are five values that are consistent with the visioning statements and shape the actions of all employees in their interactions with each other, with the customers and with the community. Our goal is for each employee to demonstrate these values in all of the daily work that we do.

  1. Integrity – means honoring your word. Doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it. Integrity is doing complete work and doing it very well — the way it was meant to be done and not cutting corners. It includes saying when you are NOT going to be able to get something done as soon as you know you can’t.
  2. Accountability – is the obligation to demonstrate and take responsibility for one’s performance and actions. In the face of tough circumstances, the accountable person will improvise around what needs to get done — and get it done — “no matter what”. The words “not my job” are not in the accountable persons vocabulary.
  3. Authentic Communication – requires you to be truthful yet respectful in your communication with others; to imagine how others will receive your input and how they will perceive you as they listen.
  4. Generous Listening – is listening with our ears, eyes, mind and heart. It is a conscious choice to listen for what the other person is saying vs. how you hear what they are saying. It is listening to understand, not to respond. It requires you to put aside the assumptions you have about the person speaking, the subject being discussed or anything else that prevents you from hearing ONLY the other person’s message.
  5. Teamwork – means that you are for others as much as you are for yourself — that is, being “up to something” by creating something bigger and better than you alone can create. It is being aligned with your colleagues on the work and the direction of the Agency. Teamwork means being willing to hold others to account and to be held accountable; to “speak straight” and listen generously .

The State of Maryland, the Department of Human Services and the CCDSS are committed to providing the best possible customer service to our citizens. Our Customer Service Promise serves as the basis of all interactions between state employees and customers. The State of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with services in the following manner:

  • Friendly and Courteous: We will be helpful and supportive and have a positive attitude and passion for what we do.
  • Timely and Responsive: We will be proactive, take initiative, and anticipate your needs.
  • Accurate and Consistent: We will always aim for 100% accuracy, and be consistent in how we interpret and implement state policies and procedures.
  • Accessible and Convenient: We will continue to simplify and improve access to information and resources.
  • Truthful and Transparent: We will advance a culture of honesty, clarity and trust.