FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 20, 2014
DEP
PARTICIPATES IN JOINT REGULATORS MEETING
~Multiple agencies meet to increase efficiencies and communication~
ORLANDO – State agencies are collaborating to help make finding services easier for Florida residents. The Florida
Department of Environmental Protection’s Central District participated in a joint
regulators meeting hosted by the Florida Department of Health’s Orange County
office Tuesday. The
goal of the meeting was to improve customer service and efficiency by meeting
counterparts in other agencies to gain a better understanding of each group’s roles and responsibilities.
“These
interactions with local agencies are essential to optimizing customer service,”
said Central District Director Jeff Prather. “Having a better understanding
about each other’s roles and where responsibilities might overlap benefits
everyone involved, especially our customers.”
Each
participating agency representative provided a brief presentation with an
overview of the respective agency to help familiarize attendees with programs
and responsibilities of each agency. Once the presentations were complete, a
roundtable discussion was held to further discuss common issues encountered,
what does or does not fall under each agency’s purview, how to better
coordinate and how to address items that might not fall to any agency.
“Agencies
that work together help make it easier for the people we serve to find the
services they need,” said Dr. Kevin Sherin, director of the Department of
Health in Orange County.
An
increase in inter-agency knowledge and communication leads to increased
efficiency because when customers call, they are able to be routed to the
correct person, program or agency more quickly and efficiently than in the past.
Approximately
35 representatives of local and state agencies were present at the meeting,
including the Departments of Health and Environmental Protection, as well as
Orange County Environmental Protection Division and the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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