During the budget there were several amendments creating this office, but this is the first I have seen of any kind of comprehensive description of what it all means. The Equal Opportunities Commission will be discussing this tonight (5:30 Room 421, City-County Building)
Here’s a report that was done that had 5 recommendations. (I don’t remember ever seeing that this report was commissioned and I don’t know who did. Sometimes, things just appear completed at the county . . . perhaps the agendas were unclear, perhaps it just never really appeared on agendas, who knows. ) And, I didn’t edit the report, but I was really tempted . . . I know, I should talk. 🙂
Alignment of Office of Equity & Inclusion and Dane County Equity rate AnalysisThe analysis conducted by the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI) and Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) put forth a plan that encompassed five recommendations to deepen understanding of and commitment to racial equity. The five recommendations were: (1) develop infrastructure and tools to increase Dane County employees and residents understanding of an ability to advance racial equity. (2) implement strategies to e
nsure Dane County is an effective and inclusive government that engages community and is responsive to its needs. (3) ensure that Dane County’s communities of color share in the county’s economic prosperity. (4) ensure that all neighborhoods and people are safe and racial disproportionality’s in the criminal justice system are eliminated. (5) ensure that all residents have healthy outcomes.The creation of the new Office of Equity & Inclusion, in itself, provides the infrastructure recommended in the analysis to implement priority recommendations and house related County work/functions. The office will serve as the hub for all racial justice and equity work throughout the county.
Recommendation 1:
Develop an infrastructure and tools to increase Dane County employees and residents understanding of
an ability to advance racial equity.
– The new office of Equity and Inclusion will serve as the new infrastructure under which the Equity Analysis recommendations are implemented in an effort to increase the understanding of Racial equity among county employees and residents.
– the Manager of Policy and Program Improvement will be responsible for developing tools and to assess equity among Dane County department policies and practices. These tools will be developed in consultation with department heads, employees, and best practices
– the Manager will also work closely with RESJ team to strengthen its goals to develop action plans, develop trainings, and creating a racial equity tool for all County departments
– the Diversity Recruitment Specialist will support the efforts of the RESJ team around the training. training will include new hire, departmental, and educational series lunch and learns.Recommendation 2
Implement strategies to ensure Dane County is an effective and inclusive government that engages community and is responsive to its needs. To this end, a significant portion of the OEI’s work is geared towards fulfilling this recommendation
– continue the implementation of “Access to Opportunity” plan with established goals, benchmarks, and timelines.
– begin planning for phase 2 goals of “Access to Opportunity” plan in time for the 2017 County budget
– communicate to employees and general public around efforts undertaken to improve racial equity.
– work with community groups, public, and private entities on collaborative programming to improve equity and reduce racial disparities.
– develop and maintain relationships with public and private entities and community groups working in the areas of equity and disparities. Serve as the County Executive’s liaison to these organization.
– serve as a general resource for constituent questions or concerns, especially those regarding racial, gender or disability equity.
– Further develop and maintain relationships with community organizations in order to increase minority applications to Dane County jobs
– provide outreach to community organizations and County departments on how to navigate County recruitment process including the online application
– assist the RESJ team and Community Connections subcommittee in their efforts around community engagement by providing supports such as community focus groups, surveys, educational series.Recommendation 3:
Ensure Dane County’s communities of color share in the County’s economic prosperity
– work closely with the Contract Compliance officer, the Department of Employee relations, the Department of
Workforce development, to assess and identify disparate allocation of County resources. Develop a corrective action plan to address such disparities
– provide ongoing outreach and supports to community and disadvantaged businesses on how to apply for County contracts and become a purchase of County goods and services
– coordinate County efforts to ensure workforce equity in hiring and promotion” (P 19)
– continue and expand upon the initial success of Project Big Step.Recommendation 4:
Ensure all Dane County neighborhoods and people are safe and racial disproportionalities in the criminal
justice system are eliminated.
– Work closely with the new Dane County reentry team created in the 2016. The team, comprised of Human Services and’s Sheriff Department staff will work directly with sentence inmates sense of the employment, housing, or substance abuse challenges they may face using a new assessment tool. Failure to successfully reenter society is the primary driver of disparities in incarceration and revocation. Ensuring that supports are available to facilitate successful reentry will go a long way in addressing disparities in Dane County.
– Provide direct support to County departments (such as the Sheriff’s office and Juvenile Delinquency ).
– Aforementioned supports such as equity plan development, departmental equity training, recruitment assistance, etc. will be provided to public safety departments
– Support the RESJ team in its efforts to eliminate disparities across all indicators of well-being including those related to the criminal justice system.Recommendation 5:
Ensure that residents have healthy life outcomes
– Provide support as needed to the public health department in health equity efforts and initiatives.
– Serve as the bridge between the health department and the RESJ team in advancing goals of eliminating disparities such as breast-feeding, co-sleeping, prenatal care, etc.
This document from Joe Parisi’s Office (ah . . . maybe that is why we haven’t seen this stuff until its done, so he can take the sole credit . . . ) is the framework for the office.
Some quick highlights include
Mission:
To work with elected officials, such as the County Executive, the County Board, Sheriff, District Attorney
as well as county departments on improving Dane County’s efforts in promoting racial, gender and disability equality in the county’s workforce, internal operations, contract/service opportunities and service delivery models.
Description:
The Office for Equity & Inclusion furthers Dane County’s proven and ongoing commitment to addressing racial, gender and disability disparities. The Office directs Dane County’s Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, Contract Compliance and Civil Rights compliance functions in order to achieve the most effective outcomes to affirmatively enhance employment and contracting opportunities for minority persons, women, and people with disabilities within County government; in addition to ensuring a safe and harassment free workplace for all county employees. The Office also develops and administers community wide programs which enhance opportunities for minority persons, women, and people with disabilities in employment, housing, recreation, and economic development with the assistance of the Dane County Equal Opportunity Commission, and the Racial Equity Strategic planning committees.The impetus for creating the new office of Equity & Inclusion emerged from key recommendations in the 2015 Dane County Racial Equity Analysis conducted by the Center for Social Inclusion and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity. The report suggested that the County, “create infrastructure for overall implementation of report recommendations by creating a new office for racial equity and social justice”. The new office for Equity and Inclusion will be charged with meeting many of the goals and recommendations contained in the report. In addition, the new office will serve as a resource for all County departments around issues of equity, disparities, conflict resolution, staff development and best practices. In an age where much attention is being placed on racial disparities, the creation of this office demonstrates a long term commitment to address these issues and institutionalize the work of heightening awareness, eliminating disparities, and achieving equity.
Structure
Director of the Office for Equity & Inclusion
– Evaluate, assesse & prioritize recommended policy and program changes in order to improve racial, gender & disability equity in Dane County.
– Prioritize RESJ initiatives and work plans.
– Assist county departments with Implementing RESJ Initiatives
– Work with community groups, public and private entities on collaborative programming to improve equity.
– Supervises the Office, the Manager of Policy & Program Improvement & Director of EOE
Manager of Policy and Program ImprovementManager of Policy and Program Improvement
– Evaluate contract compliance program
– Evaluate diversity recruitment strategies.
– Phase 2: Work with departments to analyze and develop policies that advance racial equity, lead implementation of a Racial Equity Tool, and coordinate interdepartmental teams.
– Work with OEO director to evaluate workplace initiatives.
– Provide robust analysis of community indicators, e.g. much of Dane Co. data focuses on differences between whites and African Americans, leaving Latinos, Asian
– Pacific Islanders and Native Americans inappropriately excluded.Diversity Recruitment Specialist
– Work with Employee Relations on diversity initiatives.
– Identify and assess racial equity training priorities for County
– Title VI, ADA, Preventing Sexual Harassment Training & EEO/AA Orientation.
– Work with all county departments with questions re ER online application system.
– Outreach duties: job fairs, community organizations, businesses, including those outside of Madison.Director of Office of Equal Opportunity
– Assists Departments in forming balanced interview panels;
– In compliance with DCO 19.14, investigate alleged complaints of discrimination.
– Provide assistance to department managers on investigative procedures.
– Provide technical assistance to county departments
– Staff the Equal Opportunity Commission & receive advisory recommendations from Commission.
– Gather, review and analyze data of county’s workforce. DCO 19.08(1)(2) (Also part of the data analyst duties in the RESJ report).
– Supervise preparation of all required state & federal AA reports on Dane County programs. 19.08Contract Compliance Officer
– Continue to work with the targeted business enterprises certification program, DCO 19.67
– Report to COE and EEOC re contract compliance & targeted business goals & objectives. DCO 19.67
– Oversee contract compliance program including civil rights compliance plan for POS agreements.
– Investigate and attempt to resolve service delivery complaints. DCO 19.71
– Contract Compliance assistance and training to contractors. DCO 19.66ADA Coordinator
– Ongoing review of County ADA compliance with Fed & State laws and regulations
– Conducts and/or assists departments in conducting facility access evaluation
– Obtains input du okay so right here ring the ongoing evaluation process from staff & citizens
– Coordinates resolution of external and internal complaints and grievances regarding ADA
– Works closely with county management and staff in developing and implementing ADA program activities.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion will also rely on the work of other departments that are engaged in complementary efforts to address equity. These collaborations will maximize the reach and capacity of the Office of Equity & Inclusion. The Countywide Designated Resources to the OEI will include:
Department of Public Health – Health Equity Coordinator
– Work with the County Executive’s office and the County Board office to co-lead and provide project management support to the Dane County Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative.
– Establish a racial equity lens/ paradigm, commonly used in Public Health, that is integrated across all county departments, functions and programs.
– Advance recommendation #5 of the Racial Equity Analysis, which aims to ensure that all Dane County residents have healthy life outcomes.
– Work closely with staff, Dane County residents, partners and local policymakers to advance environmental changes and that promote health equity, data collection, and the evaluation of outputs and outcomes related to health equity and well-being.Department of Employee Relations –Human Resources Analyst
– Increase much needed capacity in the Employment Relations Division to reduce delays in the recruitment process when which may deter minority candidates.
– Work closely with diversity recruitment specialist to develop effective recruitment strategies and outreach plans in order to develop and retain a diverse pool of candidates.Racial Equity & Social Justice teams
– the OEI will work closely with the RESJ teams to ensure that efforts are seamless, unduplicated, and complementary. The relationship between the two entities will be reciprocal in nature as they share data, tools, best practices and implementation strategies.
Additional benefits of the new Office of Equity and Inclusion
– Accountability – The new office will create a level of accountability that has never before existed around issues related to equity and diversity. Departments will be held responsible for setting goals, formal reporting
and meeting performance measure/timelines to ensure that the County as a whole is actively engaged in strengthening inclusion and equity efforts.
– Organizational Capacity – The office will offer the resources needed for all staff (especially managers) to implement policies and practices that drive equity in all County operations.
– Sustainability – The creation of this office equates to a permanent and ongoing infrastructure for addressing
issues of equity and creating opportunities. Institutionalizing these efforts will ensure that equity remain a focus even as political priorities shift.
– Collaboration – While it is important for local government to work on issues of equity, to truly achieve equity goals local and regional government must work in partnership with communities. This office expands the county’s efforts around community engagement, outreach, and creating new collaborations.
– Coordination – the office will result in more coordination and consistency so that all departments are receiving the same information, following the same protocols and have similar expectations around addressing equity in an effort to leverage learning and maximize results. With this comes a consistency in the dissemination of information, training modules, planning goals, etc.
– New organizational recruitment strategies – the office will create an infrastructure for recruitment that will generate a diverse work pool and increase the overall number of underrepresented groups to County employment. This will be the first time in Dane County’s history that such an effort was created and sustained.
I hope this is a real step forward and not just another government restructuring to make it look like we are doing something. I look forward to them seriously taking some leaps forward in some of the goals. I’m also not holding my breath . . . government can work very, very, very, very slowly, too slow for me most of the time. Except, you know, when there is political will to do it differently, like Judge Doyle Square, then it’s suddenly rush, rush, rush . . . and the public get cut out . . .there has to be a happy medium!
