On Nov. 17, 2020, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors declared racism a public health crisis, asserting that racism and the health inequities therefrom constitute a public health crisis affecting the entire community.
As a result of analysis and feedback from the community and employees, a professional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion firm with experts in the field recommended the County create a DEI Cabinet, establish a Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer position, and expand outreach to the community to identify DEI issues and best methods for engaging with our community.
The DEI Cabinet developed the DEI Action Plan focused on creating strategic pillars: our employees, our community, and our program/policy/service delivery.
County DEI Action Plan
County Employee Pillar
1a. Building Inclusive Leadership Capabilities
1b. Create a Culture of Belonging
1c. Develop Strategic Talent Priorities to Attract, Retain and Develop Talent
- Embed DEI in County onboarding plan for new hires
- Develop recruitment goals based on department need utilizing inclusive hiring practices (i.e. diverse panel/states, sourcing, etc.)
- Develop Internship and Mentorship initiatives that create diverse pipelines for talent and build skills to address talent gaps for underrepresented groups
- Leverage Internship programs to tap into High School, Community College, and those who do not possess a college degree to build a diverse pipeline of talent for early career and entry level positions.
Community Pillar
2a. Create Community Racial Equity Committee
- Update bylaws to include Committee roles and responsibilities
- Identify members of Community/County Committee to establish charter, application process, and list and # of potential Sac County Community Racial Equity Committee members.
2b. Establish Community/County Feedback Loop
- Establish forum and format for listening, providing feedback, and sharing ideas/best practices
2c. Collaborate with Constituent Groups to Assist Building the Community Racial Equity Action Plan
- Identify community organizations to hold focus groups
- Determine programs, policies and processes to evaluate and assessment methods to identify structural barriers, systemic inequities, measure progress and establish a mechanism for reporting.
2d. Plan Community Engagement Activations that inform, educate, empower and inspire participants.
- Identify 3 Departments that will highlight a DEI initiative that has made an impact
- Pull together a committee to plan the event
Policy/Program/Service Delivery Pillar
3a. Deploy impact studies and surveys, research, assessments, disparity studies, and/or evaluation tools and techniques to identify structural barriers, systemic inequalities, and quality of services.
- DEI Cabinet members and Department Heads get trained on Racial Equity Tool
- Conduct RET Assessment of County Services and resident experience w/those services (i.e., protective services, homelessness and housing, economic development, criminal justice and law enforcement)
- Review budgeting practices and allocation of resources to determine if there are inequities
- Analyze procurement process to address structural barriers and advance racial equity
3b. Identify metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track, measure and evaluate progress
- Create DEI dashboard
- Create survey/audit tool to assess the impact of County policies and practices
3c. Embed DEI in training, policy, performance expectations, program, practice and service delivery and establish accountability measures
- Reviewed Hiring Process Training and made recommendations to content that included DEI principles. Complete a review of Sac County Employee Selection Handbook to embed inclusive hiring strategies.
- Review DPS Onboarding framework to include DEI principles
- Revisit and prioritize DEI Assessment policy suggestions (i.e., contractors/temp path to full time; performance review standardization; Create County wide ERGs; expand parental leave; include explicit injunctive remedies and codified definition of retaliation in the Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Policy)
- Review policies w/DEI lens to ensure gender neutral, values based language and DEI principles are embedded
3d. Use multi-media platforms and varied communication channels for powerful storytelling, reporting, and recognition
- Update County website to include DEI philosophy, plan, priorities, people sharing stories