Agenda

Return

D.1

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Date:	October 25, 2022

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Recommendations for the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/25/2022

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

Contact:

Sonia Bustamante (510) 942-2220

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 25, 2022
Monica Nino, County Administrator

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. RECEIVE presentation from Supervisors Federal Glover and John Gioia, and the CORE Committee of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) summarizing the research and community planning process for the ORESJ.


2. RECEIVE report and ACCEPT the recommendations from the CORE Committee of the ORESJ regarding “Recommendations for Contra Costa Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice” (CORE Committee Report).

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)

3. In the ORESJ’s first year (Fiscal Year 2022-23), the County will move forward to hire the following positions:

(a) Two Co-Directors: one Director to focus on coordinating and expanding the equity work of County Departments and one Director to focus on working more directly with the community. An Equity Committee of the Board of Supervisors (the existing Hiring Outreach Oversight Committee will be expanded in scope and re-named the Equity Committee) will work with the County Administrator’s Office to develop the hiring process for the two Co-Directors with meaningful community input. The Co-Directors will lead the efforts to form the ORESJ and hire the remaining staff. Once hired these Co-Directors will be staff support to the Equity Committee.
(b) Language Equity Coordinator to finalize development and implementation of a Countywide Equity Language Plan to ensure that residents and families have a meaningful and equitable opportunity to apply for, receive, participate in, and benefit from services offered by County departments.
(c) Reconciliation Coordinator to focus on strategies and actions to address historical harms and inequity.
(d) Data Analyst
(e) Budget and Policy Analyst

4. The ORESJ shall be established as a separate County department that reports directly to the Board of Supervisors with regular oversight by the Board of Supervisors Equity Committee; the Equity Committee shall ensure that the ORESJ is effectively staffed and operated to achieve the objectives of the Office.

5. Upon the hiring of the ORESJ Co-Directors, the ORESJ shall form an interdepartmental committee of representatives from each County department. This interdepartmental committee shall assess, support, and coordinate existing equity efforts across the County and develop a plan to expand this equity work in partnership with the County Administrator’s Office and the Board of Supervisors.

6. To create continuity within ORESJ governance, the CORE Committee shall serve as an advisory body to ORESJ until the office is fully phased into the Lived Experience Community Advisory Board (as described on page 36 of the CORE Committee Report) in the office’s second year.

7. The ORESJ will work with the County Administrator’s Office and the Board of Supervisors Equity Committee to develop a plan to implement the other recommendations in the CORE Committee Report.

FISCAL IMPACT:

For fiscal year 2022-23 $600,000 in Measure X funding is allocated, and $1.2 million in Fiscal year 2023-24.

BACKGROUND:

On November 10, 2020, the Board of Supervisors accepted the concept proposal by Supervisors Federal Glover and John Gioia to establish a Contra Costa County Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ). The Board also authorized the immediate launch of a Community Planning Process consistent with the Proposed Community Planning Process Document presented to the Board of Supervisors. This process was funded by foundations and businesses.

On November 16, 2021, the Board of Supervisors allocated $600,000 in Fiscal Year 2022-23 and $1.2 million annually, starting in Fiscal Year 2023-24, to fund an ORESJ. None of these funds have been expended.

The community planning process has concluded and the CORE Committee of the ORESJ, which helped coordinate and lead this engagement process, is presenting to the Board of Supervisors its “Recommendations for Contra Costa Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice.”

The recommendations of this Board Order begin to implement the recommendations of this report by establishing the ORESJ.

CLERK'S ADDENDUM

_{Speakers: Anna Ostrander, Healthy Contra Costa; Mariana Moore, Ensuring Opportunity Campaign; Gok Harness, Healthy Contra Costa; Tony Bravo, Monument Impact; Yehudit Lieberman; Kim Galindo, Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA);Danny Espinoza; Carlos Fernandez, Safe Return Project; Ogie Strogatz, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Contra Costa; Kimberly Aceves, RYSE; Teki Flow, ORESJ; Brian Berlinski, DeafHope.}

_{Written commentary received from: Jan Waren, Walnut Creek; Rachel Rosekind; Mahwash Hassan, East Contra Costa STRONG Collaborative Fund; Brian Berlinski, DeafHope; Debbie Toth, CEO, Choice in Aging (attached).}

A PowerPoint presentation was made available on this matte after the publication of the agenda. By unanimous vote the slide show is ACCEPTED into the record.

1. RECEIVED presentation from Supervisors Federal Glover and John Gioia, and the CORE Committee of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) summarizing the research and community planning process for the ORESJ;

2. RECEIVED report and ACCEPTED the recommendations from the CORE Committee of the ORESJ regarding “Recommendations for Contra Costa Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice” (CORE Committee Report) with the understanding that the CORE Committee will review the language in the Introduction on page 11 to clarify the meaning of the term “White Supremacy” to also include “a political and socioeconomic system where white people enjoy structural advantages and rights that other racial and ethnic groups do not”. 3. ACCEPTED recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the Board Order with the following changes:

Recommendation 3(a) was modified to add the words “and salary range” after the words “develop the hiring process”; Recommendation 4 was modified to read: The ORESJ shall be established as a separate County department with Co-Directors appointed by the Board of Supervisors that reports to the County Administrator with regular oversight by the Board of Supervisors Equity Committee; the Equity Committee shall ensure that the ORESJ is effectively staffed and operated to achieve the objectives of the Office.