Junta De Supervisores Creará Oficina De Equidad Para El Condado De Sonoma

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

July 7, 2020

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today for the approval of an Equity Office for the county, with instructions to immediately focus on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the Latinx and indigenous communities in the region.

The creation of the independent Office of Equity comes after years of strategic initiatives by the county in collaboration with local nonprofits and community leaders who came together to raise the need to respond to racial inequities in Sonoma County.

Recent natural disasters such as the October 2017 fires and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the disproportionate challenges that communities of color face on a daily basis, ”said Susan Gorin, Chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “We are in the midst of a national awakening to the need to respond to these racial and social disparities at various levels. The urgency is real and the time to demonstrate that this is a priority in Sonoma County is now. ”

The Board of Supervisors took the first step in that direction in January when they committed to including a “Racial Equity and Social Justice” pillar as part of the county's Strategic Plan. County employees, including groups such as SoCo REAL (Sonoma County Alliance and Leadership for Racial Equity), SoCo LERN (Sonx County Latinx Employee Support Network) and the Human Resources department, reviewed different governance models that would elevate equity work within the county structure. The recommendation to create the Office of Equity was also supported by a special committee that includes President Gorin and Supervisor James Gore.

Following models of independent equity offices in Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, the Sonoma County Equity Office will serve as “the hub for driving equity initiatives in the county and will be a focal point for connecting and evaluating policies, programs, and county department services and general initiatives, ”according to the staff report.

Among other responsibilities, the Equity Office:

• You will work with multiple county departments to identify policies and practices that could result in inequality and disparities.
• It will present public policy recommendations to reduce disparities.
• It will build infrastructure to ensure that public policy decisions are evaluated through equity lenses to create equitable access to county programs and services.
• It will provide leadership and vision to ensure the development and management of innovative and effective strategies that achieve racial equity for the residents of Sonoma County.
• It will implement "management principles and practices of institutional changes related to racial equity," the staff report stated.

The new office will be led by an Equity Officer, who will serve as the department head and report directly to the Board of Supervisors. The Board anticipates appointing a qualified Equity Officer at the July 14 meeting. Staff will return to the Board on August 4 with a plan to hire a permanent director.

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government>. The views expressed here are the author's own.