Summary of objective implementation status (achievements or progress over last year; significant delays or issues, etc.)
Implementation of this objective is directly related to work taking place through implementation of Racial Equity and Social Justice objective 4-1: Establish a process for engagement and collaboration with community members and stakeholder groups, and launch a community engagement strategy with a focus on racial equity.
The Board of Supervisors approved the development of a Community Engagement Plan in September 2022. In January 2023, the Office of Equity began an evaluation of the existing community engagement efforts within County departments, followed by engagement with nearly 200 County staff and community members across Sonoma County. The resulting draft Community Engagement Plan went before the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in January 2024. The Community Engagement Plan included strategies to enhance community engagement processes with local communities of color, and other communities who have historically experienced government disconnection and underservice. At that meeting, the Board of Supervisors requested the plan be adapted to reflect a focus on Boards and Commissions.
On June 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors accepted the Community Engagement Plan and Informational Brief on Intergovernmental Relations with Native Nations as informational reports for the County. The Board also approved the Office of Equity’s proposed Community Engagement toolkit, which provides recommendations on culturally sensitive community engagement practices to be implemented by County Departments, as funding permits. The Board also adopted the Boards and Commissions Plan, which seeks to expand access to and participation on, Boards and Commissions for communities of color and communities not currently represented.
Key milestone update (include relevant metrics, if applicable)
- In September 2022 the Board of Supervisors delegated authority to the Director of the Office of Equity (OOE) to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Equity First Consulting, LLC for community engagement consulting services for a not-to-exceed amount of $450,000
- In January 2023, the project began an evaluation of the existing community engagement efforts within County departments, followed by engagement with nearly 200 County staff and community members across Sonoma County
- In January 2024, after a yearlong process with nearly 200 staff and community members across Sonoma County the Office of Equity presented a draft Community Engagement Plan to the Board of Supervisors. The draft Plan included 28 strategies that were represented under five categories including, hiring/development, policies and procedures, training and collaboration, accountability, and opportunities for equitable community governance. At this meeting, the Board of Supervisors directed the Office of Equity to adapt the Plan to focus on Boards and Commissions.
- On June 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors:
- Accepted the Community Engagement Plan as an informational report. The report includes key findings and strategies to enhance community engagement processes with local communities of color, and other communities who have historically experienced government disconnection and underservice. Suggested strategies in this report included 1) creating structural changes to remove participation barriers for historically underserved communities with a vision to move towards community-driven decision-making, 2) creating internal supports for County staff, such as training and collaboration spaces to support community engagement efforts across departments, and 3) assessing and documenting progress on community engagement efforts.
- Accepted the Informational Brief on Intergovernmental Relations with Native Nations in Sonoma County as an informational report. The Informational Brief includes findings and recommendations drawn from interviews with a Native Nation Chair, members of Native communities, and Native County staff members on how to foster intergovernmental relationships that are culturally responsive between County agencies and local Native Nations. The Informational Brief responds to the intricacies of conducting community engagement with community members who have their own sovereign government and recognizes that conducting engagement with Native community members and federally recognized tribes requires a focused understanding of existing government-to-government relations. The recommendations presented are informational only and provided for future consideration as bandwidth and funding for additional community engagement planning work becomes available.
- Endorsed the Sonoma County Community Engagement Toolkit guiding resource. The toolkit is the Board’s endorsed guiding document for County departments seeking to conduct culturally sensitive community engagement efforts not tied to the work of existing Boards and Commissions. The Toolkit provides actionable guidance on how to start implementing culturally responsive community engagement efforts, build accountability mechanisms to plan, implement, and reflect on engagement efforts, as well as examples of healing vs. harmful practices across different phases of engagement. The Toolkit may be implemented by County Departments, as funding permits.
- Adopted the Sonoma County Boards and Commissions Plan for all County Departments and Board-controlled Agencies and directed staff to implement as resources become available.
- Approved a permanent allocation for a Community Engagement Manager for the OOE, who will launch the Boards & Commissions Plan.
Coordination and partnership update
The Office of Equity with support from Equity First consulting developed the Community Engagement Plan. Following Board direction, the Office of Equity will work closely with the County Administrators Office to begin implementing the Boards and Commissions Plan beginning in 2025.
Community, equity, and climate update
A racial equity analysis was applied to the development of the Community Engagement Plan.
If this objective received Strategic Plan funding, please provide amount spent to date for non-position related funding
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