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OneOrange Racial Equity Framework Update.
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Staff: |
Department: |
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Loryn Clark, Deputy Town Manager |
Town Manager’s Office |
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Shenekia Weeks, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer |
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Overview:
In January 2021, the Government Alliance on Race & Equity Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force, OneOrange, established subcommittees to work on each section of the OneOrange County Racial Equity Plan: A Framework for Moving Forward. OneOrange includes staff from the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Orange County.
OneOrange is committed to creating a community where race no longer predicts life outcomes and is eager to share this plan with the community. There are five mutually reinforcing pillars of the Racial Equity Framework. Each is represented by a multi-jurisdictional subcommittee led by at least one jurisdictional member and includes staff from each jurisdiction. The subcommittees are Training, Racial Equity Tool Kit, now more aptly named the Racial Equity Assessment Lens (REAL), Community Engagement, Racial Equity Index, and Evaluation and Accountability; the plan is based on the work of these committees.
In January 2022, Council received and adopted the OneOrange Countywide Racial Equity Framework, if the key issues meet Council’s interest, we will continue operationalizing the OneOrange Racial Equity Plan into institutional processes that enable more equitable outcomes internally and externally.
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Recommendation(s): |
That the Council receive the update and provide feedback on OneOrange implementation strategies.
Background
In January 2022, all jurisdictions in Orange County received and adopted the OneOrange County Racial Equity Plan: A Framework for Moving Forward <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10419746&GUID=74F74114-F6C0-4780-9C4A-7E641896956F>. Since January 2022, the OneOrange staff team has worked to share jurisdictional implementation strategies and design the Racial Equity Index. Additionally, we have socialized the plan with potential jurisdictional partners; OWASA and Durham Technical Community College representatives attended a OneOrange staff team meeting to explore partnerships and the implementation of the OneOrange plan within their respective organizations.
Since the Plan was received and adopted, we have made the following progress:
• Created a DEI Training Plan
• Expanded the use of the Racial Equity Assessment Lens
• Identified opportunities to integrate Racial Equity Strategies into town functions and projects.
Key Issues: The OneOrange Countywide Racial Equity Framework Catalyst for Moving Forward relies on developing and implementing five pillars: Training, Racial Equity Assessment Lens (REAL), Community Engagement, Racial Equity Index, and Evaluation and Accountability. See development and implementation progress below.
1. Training & Organizational Capacity: DEI Training Plan
The DEI Training Plan leans heavily on the Government Alliance of Race and Equity Framework, the maturing assessment, and evolving needs of community and staff to develop an actionable, institutionalized Workforce DEI Training Plan that internally and externally align with Town goals and the One Orange Racial Equity Pan. Additionally, it establishes timelines and target audiences. Training topics include:
• GARE Racial Equity Training by workgroups
ü Human Services Advisory Board, Community Policing Advisory Committee, and Justice in Action Committee (offered)
ü Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion Academy Attendees(trained)
ü Black History Lunch and Learn Attendees (trained)
o Employee Forum (slated for April)
• Recruitment, Retention and Promotion Academy
• Social Identity
• Socialization
o Gender Customized Training
• Transit Supervisors (trained)
• Inspections Supervisors (trained)
• Interrupting Racism
• Results-Based Accountability
o Frontline Service Provider(slated for Summer 22)
2. Community Engagement: Community Engagement Compensation Pilot
The Affordable Housing and Community Connections Department is implementing a community engagement gap analysis to inform data-driven community engagement. There are four Gaps Analysis and Engagement Study components:
1. Engagement and Outreach Planning
2. Community Facilitation and Evaluation
3. Drafting Final Report
4. Proposed Recommendations and Study Result Sharing
Component 2, Community Facilitation and Evaluation, relies on the involvement of Community Organizers to conduct and lead community conversations relative to community engagement. We propose to pilot Community Engagement Compensation during this step.
The Community Engagement Compensation Pilot leans on the Government Alliance on Race and Equity and the One Orange Racial Equity Framework to assist the TOCH in creating an engagement process that centers equity and honors the wealth of knowledge found within our residents. As the Town seeks to uncover and address the impacts of systemic and institutional racists practices and policies, we need the communities historically excluded from governmental decision-making processes to help “fix” our processes.
A Compensation Guide is being developed in coordination with Business Management Department and Affordable Housing and Community Connections. The staff team currently recommends that the compensation plan coincides with the AIP2 Spectrum for Public Participation <https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.iap2.org/resource/resmgr/pillars/Spectrum_8.5x11_Print.pdf>2 levels of engagement (Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, and Empower) and is formulated based on responsibility and time commitment while providing a living wage. The following considerations will be incorporated into the pilot and further defined as the plan is scaled to include advisory board and commission members:
• IRS Tax Regulations and Guidelines
• Resident Income Implications
• Current Staff Administrative Capacity
• Inclusivity for all, i.e., unhoused and refugee residents
• Budget Implications
3. Racial Equity Assessment Lens: Results Based Accountability (RBA) Framework Community Capacity Building Training
Racial Equity seeks to transform systems. Implementing racial equity strategies and tools, such as the Racial Equity Assessment Lens steeped in a RBA Framework, is not self-implementing. A two-pronged approach of institutional restructuring and system capacity building is needed to build and sustain equity.
• Internally: REAL Lens Applications
o Human Services Funding Process (in progress)
o Board and Commission Recruitment (in progress)
o Splash Pad Feasibility (in progress)
o Let’s Talk Town (Completed)
o Parks and Recreation Demographic Collections (Completed)
o Public Library Weekly Schedule (in progress)
• Externally: Cross-System Results-Based Accountability and Community Asset-Based Development Community Partner Training to Frontline Service Providers
o Leverages Human Services Grants, Community Development Block Grant, and America Rescue Plan Act funding opportunities
o Builds capacity and strengthens the equitable outcomes of current and potential grantees
o Provides common language and the foundation for system alignment around anticipated population-level indicators revealed by a completed racial equity index
o Increases understanding of partners’ services
o Creates comparable performance metrics across the system
o Supports future local decision-making on who does what within a specific intervention and what difference it is making in the lives of residents confronting barriers.
Strategies Under Development
o When fully established and combined with community engagement, the Racial Equity Index informs community-level outcome measures and jurisdictional racial disparity reduction strategies. The SAS Data for Good representatives provided an update to the multi-jurisdictional leads on the Racial Equity Index sharing preliminary data analysis and challenges and needs to complete the index. The OneOrange staff team worked to identify jurisdictional staff leads and available and desired county and jurisdictional data to source the future Racial Equity Index
o The Racialized History and Reckoning Document is essentially a truth-telling document to help guide the Town’s approach in building, repairing, and addressing harms done to the community and seeks to avoid harm and at least mitigate harm in future initiatives and decision-making. Molly Luby, TOCH Community History Coordinator, has agreed to explore a multi-jurisdictional approach to meet this objective.
o Evaluation and accountability will measure the implementation of county-wide and jurisdictional racial equity initiatives.
Fiscal Impact/Resources: There is no fiscal impact at this time.
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Attachments: |
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• Draft Staff Presentation |
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The Agenda will reflect the text below and/or the motion text will be used during the meeting. |
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PRESENTER:: Shenekia Weeks, DEI Officer
RECOMMENDATION: That the Council receive the update and provide feedback on OneOrange implementation strategies.