Dennis Kidd: New Board Member for Janus of Santa Cruz

Janus of Santa Cruz, the county’s leading provider of substance use disorder treatment services, announced the appointment of Dennis Kidd to the Janus Board of Directors. Mr. Kidd began his term effective November 27, 2017.

Mr. Kidd brings to the board over thirty years of experience working in emergency public safety communications; first with the Huntington Beach Fire Department for ten years and then with Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1, starting as a dispatcher in 1996. Serving as General Manager of Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 since 2011, Mr. Kidd has worked to develop programs that improve emergency response times and increase services to citizens in Santa Cruz County. He developed the county’s first “Reverse 9-1-1” system and established a life-saving “Text to 9-1-1” project that offers direct emergency communications from the deaf community and others in distress.

Mr. Kidd also implemented PulsePoint, a state-of-the-art smartphone app that alerts citizens trained in CPR to respond to a nearby person in need of help in San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. Mr. Kidd’s vast experience in managing large budgets and working to foster exceptional relationships with local government officials and agencies promises to be a great asset to the Janus Board of Directors.

“Opioid use increases, opioid misuse and related overdoses have become a public health crisis with devastating consequences, including the rising incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy,” says Edison A. Jensen, Janus Board Chair.

“The increase in injection drug use has also contributed to the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C in our community. Dennis Kidd will help Janus fight this serious problem by improving access to treatment and recovery services. We could not be more pleased to have him on board as a valuable part of our dedicated team,” Jensen added.

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Mr. Kidd earned his BS in Business Management and a Master of Public Administration from San Jose State University. He is active in the community, volunteering as a youth baseball coach for 10 years and as a current sitting member on the Board of Trustees for United Way Santa Cruz.

For more than 40 years, Janus of Santa Cruz has provided compassionate and effective substance use disorder treatment while guiding thousands of people toward wellness and recovery. As a private nonprofit organization, Janus offers quality programs to over 2,500 clients annually using the full continuum of care for substance use disorder.

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For more information about Janus of Santa Cruz, visit www.janussc.org.