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Home My WebLink AboutBOARD STANDING COMMITTEES - 08212023 - Equity Cte Agenda Pkt EQUITY COMMITTEE August 21, 2023 10:30 A.M. District I Office 11780 San Pablo Avenue, Suite D El Cerrito, CA 94530 or District V Office 190 East 4th Street Pittsburg, CA 94565 The public may attend this meeting in person at either above location. The public may also attend this meeting remotely via Zoom or call-in. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://cccounty-us.zoom.us/j/3501763799 Or Telephone, dial: 1-888-278-0254 Conference code: 219464 Or Telephone, dial: 214-765-0478 888-278-0254 (US Toll Free) Conference code: 219464 Supervisor Federal D. Glover, Chair Supervisor John Gioia, Vice Chair Agenda Items:Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee 1.Introductions 2.PUBLIC COMMENT: Persons who wish to address the Equity Committee during public comment on matters within the jurisdiction of the Equity Committee that are not on the agenda, may comment in person, via Zoom, or via call-in. All public comments will be limited to two minutes. 3. RECEIVE and APPROVE the Record of Action for the July 31, 2023 meeting of the Equity Committee, with any necessary corrections. 4. RECEIVE update and PROVIDE DIRECTION on the hiring process for the Co-Directors of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice. 5. ACCEPT the report on the equity efforts of the Office of the Public Defender and provide input/direction as needed. 6. RECEIVE update and PROVIDE DIRECTION to staff on the establishment of the Ad Hoc African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasbility Study Steering Committee as needed. 7. CONSIDER accepting reports from the W. Haywood Burns Institute and the Office of Reentry and Justice on the progress and activities of the County's Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) in 2022 and recent 2023 activities, RECEIVE the RJOB's "Public Statement on Racial Disparities in Local Policing," and PROVIDE DIRECTION to staff as needed, as recommended by the Office of Reentry and Justice. 8.The next meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, September 18, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. Page 1 of 47 9.Adjourn The Equity Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend Equity Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Equity Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 1025 Escobar St., 4th Floor, Martinez CA, during normal business hours. Public comments generally will be limited to two minutes per speaker. In the interest of facilitating the business of the Board Committee, the total amount of time that a member of the public may use in addressing the Board Committee on all agenda items is 10 minutes. Your patience is appreciated. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time. For Additional Information Contact: Lara DeLaney, Staff Phone (925) 655-2057, Fax (925) 655-2066 Lara.DeLaney@cao.cccounty.us Page 2 of 47 EQUITY COMMITTEE 3. Meeting Date:08/21/2023 Subject:Record of Action for Equity Committee Submitted For: EQUITY COMMITTEE, Department:County Administrator Referral No.: Referral Name: Record of Action Presenter: L. DeLaney, Interim Staff to Committee Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057 Referral History: County Ordinance requires that each County body keep a record of its meetings. Though the record need not be verbatim, it must accurately reflect the agenda and the discussions made in the meetings. Referral Update: Attached for the Committee's consideration is the draft Record of Action for its July 31, 2023 meeting. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): Attachments DRAFT Record of Action Page 3 of 47 D R A F T EQUITY COMMITTEE RECORD OF ACTION FOR July 31, 2023 Supervisor Federal D. Glover, Chair Supervisor John Gioia, Vice Chair Present: Federal D. Glover, Chair John Gioia, Vice Chair Staff Present:Lara DeLaney, Senior Deputy County Administrator, Interim staff to Committee; Monica Nino, County Administrator; Paul Reyes, Senior Deputy County Administrator; Sonia Bustamante, Chief of Staff, District I; Karen Caoile, Risk Management Director; Antoine Wilson, EEO Officer; Melvin Russell, Assistant Chief of Probation; Ann Elliott, Human Resources Director Attendees:Gigi Crowder, See Attachment, Interns, Reverend Oranz and Co-Pastor Oranz 1.Introductions Chair Glover convened the meeting at 10:00 a.m., introducing himself and Vice Chair Gioia, noting both of their offices were open to the public for this meeting and members of the public were in attendance. 2.PUBLIC COMMENT: Persons who wish to address the Equity Committee during public comment on matters within the jurisdiction of the Equity Committee that are not on the agenda, may comment in person, via Zoom, or via call-in. All public comments will be limited to two minutes Public comment was made by Suzan Requa advocating for greater equity in public education, requesting particular focus on resources for Mt. Diablo and Pittsburg school districts. Public comment was also received from Call_in_User 1 who objected to the creation of another committee. Public comment was also received from Gigi Crowder of 40 Voices who advocated for additional behavioral health funding from the County. Vice Chair Gioia responded with a brief comment about the $30 million allocation of state Mental Health Services Act funding for community based services. 3.Staff recommends APPROVAL of the Record of Action for the July 6, 2023 meeting of the Equity Committee, with any necessary corrections. The Record of Action was approved as presented. AYE: Chair Federal D. Glover Vice Chair John Gioia 4.ACCEPT the update and PROVIDE DIRECTION on the hiring and outreach process for the Co-Directors Page 4 of 47 4.ACCEPT the update and PROVIDE DIRECTION on the hiring and outreach process for the Co-Directors of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice. HR Director Ann Elliott was out of the office today but provided the Committee with a brief report on the status of the recruitment for the Co-Director positions for the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice. She noted that recruitment had closed as of July 30. The County had received 146 applications for the Co-Director Race Equity & Community Empowerment position and 88 applications for the Co-Director Race Equity & Inter-Agency Engagement position. The review of applications would be starting the week of July 31 with a minimum qualifications review performed by Human Resources Staff, joined by Dr. Kerby Lynch. After that process is completed, notices would be sent to candidates regarding the appeal process. After the completion of the appeal process, invitations to candidates who met the minimum qualifications would be sent to candidates for the on-line screening process, which was a convenient process for candidates. Three additional Core Subcommittee members would assist with the scoring process along with Human Resources staff. Chair Glover expressed appreciation to the Core Subcommittee in particular for the number of candidates, increasing the recruitment outreach through their mailing lists. Vice Chair Gioia noted that the community engagement component will also be moving along and that the Board of Supervisors had approved the Subcommittee stipends for their participation in the process. Ms. Elliott thanked the Outreach subcommittee for their collaboration. Public comments were received from Call_in_User_1 who requested that the criteria for evaluation of the candidates and the functions of each position should be disclosed for transparency. Vice Chair Gioia responded that the entire process has been public, including Board resolution for the positions and the materials regarding the development of the positions. Public comment was also made by Mariana Moore who expressed that she was pleased and grateful for the collaboration which she indicated was deeply collaborative and transparent. Public comment was also made by Gigi Crowder who expressed she was happy with the progress and noted the process began with the community process. AYE: Chair Federal D. Glover Vice Chair John Gioia 5.PROVIDE input/direction to staff on the development of a solicitation process for a Feasibility Study for the establishment of an African American Holistic Wellness Hub for Contra Costa County. After a recap on the solicitation process for the Feasibility Study provided by Committee staff, Vice Chair Gioia requested the development of a community-based Steering Committee to work closely with the Feasbility Study developer, staff, the and Equity Committee. He recognized this would extend the timeline of the project. Chair Glover expressed support for the solicitation model provided and referenced Berkeley's Feasibility Study, noting this process would need to be specific to Contra Costa County. Public comment was made by Call_in_user_1 who questioned the constitutionality of this project and why Measure X funds were being used. They made additional comments to contest the project as not in the Committee's "purview," and that they didn't wish to pay for the project, and the County would be sued. Public comments in support of the project were made by Phil Arnold, Akili, Barbara Howard, Jeralynn, Kenneth Robinson, Taun Hall, Alfonzo Edwards,Mariana Moore and Wanda Johnson. Their comments included support for services for transition-age-youth and the reentry community, support for the Feasibility Study being conducted by and led by African Americans, support for a hub to be located in Antioch (first). Faith leaders in Supervisor Glover's offices also made public comment in support of the project. Chair Glover expressed appreciation to 40 Voices for bringing this to the attention of the Board of Supervisors. He noted his vision includes satellite offices, hubs around the county. To move this forward, he noted the process is important as is a Steering Committee. Vice Chair Gioia also thanked 40 Voices. He noted his vision is that this may be multiple centers, not just one center in one city but places across the county, perhaps starting in Antioch. He noted the population of African Americans in Richmond, Antioch,and Pittsburg, but wanted to look at this from a countywide perspective. He also agreed that the Page 5 of 47 planning process must include community voices and supported a Steering Committee being established. He provided direction to staff to do a call for applicants for a Steering Committee that wold oversee the process for the selection of an entity to do this work, through the County Administrator's Office and through the Equity Committee. He also noted that the RFQ would not go out until after the establishment of a Steering Committee. Chair Glover noted we wanted to be sure to be efficient with the timeline of this project. The Committee then provided direction on the length of the solicitation process for the Steering Committee and settled on 13 members who would be representative of the African American community and include TAY, formerly incarcerated, LGTBG+, and a diversity of ages and abilities. AYE: Chair Federal D. Glover Vice Chair John Gioia 6.The next meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, August 21 at 10:30 a.m. 7.Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 11:16 a.m. For Additional Information Contact: Lara DeLaney, Senior Deputy County Administrator Phone (925) 655-2057, Fax (925) 655-2066 lara.delaney@cao.cccounty.us Page 6 of 47 Board of Supervisors Equity Committee Attendance Start Time End Time Duration Participants Name (Original Name)7/31/2023 9:40 7/31/2023 11:16 96 49 Supervisor Federal Glover Lara DeLaney# interim staff to Committee# sher/her (LARA DELANEY) Melvin Russell Suzan Requa Stephanie Rivera (Lazarex) Phil Arnold (Phil Arnold NAMI Contra Costa) Miriam Orantes Call_in_user_1 Lawanna Bradford Roxanne Carrillo Garza# Healthy CC (Roxanne Garza) BOS1 - Sup. John Gioia Conf. Rm Tyler Bradford Ann Elliott MONICA NINO Kerby's OtterPilot Paul Reyes shannon BOS1 - Sup. John Gioia Conf. Rm Solomon Belette ECCCA (Solomon Belette) ISABEL LARA Barbara Howard Kimi Barnes# she/her Mariana Moore (she/her) Alfonzo Edwards Jill Ray# Office of Supervisor Candace Andersen Antoine Wilson Sonia Bustamante Taun Hall Akili Kerby Lynch Kameron Peter Myers shannon John Dante' Tyler Bradford CCH Equity Team Alejandra Sanchez Jeralynn Kenneth Robinson LATRECE MARTIN Armand’s iPhone Akili Sandra Naughton (she/her)# First 5 Contra Costa Kimi Barnes# she/her Alfonzo Edwards kcaoile KarenPerkins Page 7 of 47 EQUITY COMMITTEE 4. Meeting Date:08/21/2023 Subject:Outreach and Hiring Process for Co-Executive Directors for ORESJ Submitted For: EQUITY COMMITTEE, Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2023-01 Referral Name: Staffing for the ORESJ Presenter: Ann Elliott and Core Committe Representatives Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057 Referral History: Since its first meeting on February 9, 2023, the Equity Committee requested that this item be included on the Committee agenda. Referral Update: The County's Human Resources Director and Manager along with representatives of the Core Committee's Hiring subcommittee will be in attendance at the Equity Committee meeting to provide an update on the hiring process for the Co-Directors of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT the update and PROVIDE DIRECTION on the hiring and outreach process for the Co-Directors of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice. Attachments No file(s) attached. Page 8 of 47 EQUITY COMMITTEE 5. Meeting Date:08/21/2023 Subject:DEI Efforts of the Office of Public Defender Submitted For: EQUITY COMMITTEE, Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2023-04 Referral Name: Department DEI Efforts Presenter: Ellen McDonnell, Public Defender, and Brandon Banks, Chief Assistant PD Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057 Referral History: At their February 9, 2023 meeting, the Equity Committee directed staff to include on future Committee agendas presentations and information about County departments' efforts to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion in their service delivery and operations. Referral Update: The County's Public Defender, Ellen McDonnell, and Chief Assistant Public Defender, Brandon Banks, will be providing the Committee with a presentation of their office's equity efforts and practices. (Attachment A) Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT the report on the Office of the Public Defender's equity efforts and provide input/direction as needed. Attachments Attachment A: Office of the Public Defender Presentation Page 9 of 47 Public Defender Equity Update Ellen McDonnell, Public Defender Brandon Banks, Chief Assistant Public Defender Attachment 5-! Page 10 of 47 MISSION STATEMENT We are dedicated to ensuring justice for indigent persons accused of crimes. Our overriding goal is to serve the best interests of our clients in everything that we do. We tirelessly fight for our clients and ensure that individuals receive excellent representation. 2Page 11 of 47 Equity Efforts: Who the Public Defender Represents •Majority of Public Defender clients are people of color: approximately 37% are Black and 30%are Latino •All clients are indigent •Many clients are unhoused, suffering from mental health issues, and have experienced past trauma Page 12 of 47 Public Defender Programs Advancing Equity •Holistic Intervention Partnership (HIP) •Stand Together Contra Costa •Clean Slate Program •Post-Conviction Unit •Youth Early Intervention Partnership (YEIP) •Social Work & Reentry Services Unit Page 13 of 47 Public Defender Community- Based Equity Work •Outreach work: Clean Slate, Immigration, Know Your Rights, Voting Rights Education •Engagement with community-based providers, racial and immigrant justice groups •In-house Client Services team connects clients with community-based reentry resources •Bilingual attorneys and staff ensure language access to clients and community-members Page 14 of 47 Racial Justice Work •Racial Justice Act Litigation: leading the state in litigating disparities in the criminal legal system •Newly hired Racial Justice Act attorneys will expand litigation challenging systemic racism •Data collection to identify racism in policing, charging, and sentencing •Leadership role on the County’s Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) Page 15 of 47 Advancing Racial Equity Internally •Leadership and culture focused on DEI •Developed DEI training framework for attorneys and other staff •Appointed 1st departmental Equity Officer in July 2022 •Prioritize diversity in recruitment and retention •Host equity centered staff events Page 16 of 47 EQUITY COMMITTEE 6. Meeting Date:08/21/2023 Subject:Ad Hoc Steering Committee for African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasibility Study Submitted For: EQUITY COMMITTEE, Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2023-08 Referral Name: Feasibility Study for an African American Holistic Wellness Hub Presenter: L. DeLaney, Interim Staff to Committee Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057 Referral History: At their July 31, 2023 meeting, the Equity Committee directed staff to pursue the establishment of an ad hoc Steering Committee for the Feasibility Study of an African American Holistic Wellness Hub for Contra Costa County. At their August 15, 2023 meeting, the Board of Supervisors took action to establish the 13-member Committee. (See Attachment A.) The 13-member ad hoc African American Holistic Wellness Hub Steering Committee will guide the Feasibility Study planning effort through a representative, inclusive, and extensive community engagement process. The Steering Committee will provide input and collaboration to County staff and the contracted Feasibility Study developer, ensuring the community voice is represented throughout the process and the outcomes. Referral Update: Subsequent to Board action on August 15, 2023, staff issued a press release (in both English and Spanish) and began the solicitation process for applicants to the ad hoc Steering Committee. The Equity Committee (Chair Glover/Vice Chair Gioia) is expected to consider applicants and make recommendations to the Board at their September 18, 2023 meeting. The Board of Supervisors' consideration of recommendations from the Equity Committee is expected at their October 3, 2023 meeting. The deadline to submit applications for consideration is 5:00 p.m. on September 8, 2023. To submit online applications, an application form is available at: https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6433/. Applications can also be emailed to: ClerkoftheBoard@cob.cccounty.us or mailed to: Clerk of the Office of the Board of Supervisors at 1025 Escobar Street, 1st Floor, Martinez, CA 94553. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): RECEIVE the update on the establishment of the Ad Hoc African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasbility Study Steering Committee and provide input/direction to staff as needed. Attachments Attachment A: Board Order Page 17 of 47 RECOMMENDATION(S): ESTABLISH the Ad Hoc African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasibility Study Steering Committee and its committee composition. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact is anticipated from the establishment of an Ad Hoc Steering Committee for the African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasibility Study. BACKGROUND: During the FY 23-24 County Budget Hearings, on April 24, 2023, the Board of Supervisors designated that $80,000 of Measure X funding be allocated for the purpose of studying the feasibility of an African American Holistic Wellness Hub in Contra Costa County. The findings and recommendations of the Feasibility Study will provide guidance to the Board of Supervisors in its decisions regarding next steps in the development of an African American Holistic Wellness Hub for Contra Costa County. The Hub, which may include multiple sites, is intended to provide space for culturally appropriate and community-defined services that will welcome, support, heal and empower the African American community in Contra Costa County. The Board of Supervisors referred this matter to the Equity Committee for consideration and development. At its July 31, 2023 meeting, the Equity Committee directed staff to pursue the establishment of an ad hoc Steering Committee for the Feasibility Study. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 08/15/2023 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: August 15, 2023 Monica Nino, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: , Deputy cc: C. 25 To:Board of Supervisors From:EQUITY COMMITTEE Date:August 15, 2023 Contra Costa County Subject:Establishment of an Ad Hoc Steering Committee for African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasibility Study Attachment 6-A Page 18 of 47 BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) MISSION: The mission of the Ad Hoc African American Holistic Wellness Hub Feasibility Study Steering Committee is to to guide the Feasibility Study development effort through a representative, inclusive, and extensive community engagement process. The Steering Committee will provide input and collaboration with County staff and the contracted Feasibility Study developer, ensuring the community voice is represented throughout the process and the outcomes. MEMBERSHIP: The Ad Hoc Steering Committee will consist of up to 13 community members with direct experience of system harms and inequities who are committed to eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone, and shall strive to include representatives from the following: LGBTQ+ community transition-aged youth the formerly incarcerated. The Equity Committee is expected to consider applicants at its September 18, 2023 meeting. MEETINGS: After formation, the Ad Hoc Steering Committee will provide input to the Equity Committee on the development of the solicitation process for a Feasibility Study developer, meet regularly with the Feasibility Study contractor and County staff on the public engagement and study progress, and shall provide input and guidance throughout the process. Meetings held by the Ad Hoc Steering Committee will be facilitated by the Feasibility Study contractor, with support from County staff, and are subject to public meeting rules governed by the Brown Act and Better Governance Ordinance. TERMS OF OFFICE: Board of Supervisors' consideration of Equity Committee nominees to the Steering Committee is expected at the October 3, 2023 meeting. The Ad Hoc Steering Committee will be dissolved once the Feasibility Study is delivered to the Board of Supervisors. STAFF: Senior Deputy County Administrator, Lara DeLaney, interim staff to the Committee until the Co-Director of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice is hired. Attachment 6-A Page 19 of 47 EQUITY COMMITTEE 7. Meeting Date:08/21/2023 Subject:Report on progress of the Racial Justice Oversight Body Submitted For: Esa Ehmen-Krause, County Probation Officer Department:Probation Referral No.: 2023-09 Referral Name: Racial Justice Oversight Body Presenter: Christopher James, W. Haywood Burns Institute Contact: Referral History: This item was agendized for the August 7, 2023 Public Protection Committee (item 6); however, the Committee referred it to the August 21, 2023 Equity Committee agenda, due to insufficient time at the Public Protection Committee and as recommended by staff (Patrice Guillory). In April 2016, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) accepted recommendations from the Public Protection Committee to form a 17-member Racial Justice Task Force and then appointed members to this Task Force in September 2016. After Resource Developments Associates was awarded a contract by the County in February 2017 to provide facilitation and data analysis services, the Racial Justice Task Force was convened from April 2017 through June 2018. During this time the Task Force reviewed data on local criminal and juvenile justice systems and processes, discussed best practices and emerging practices to address racial disparities in those systems and processes, and ultimately developed a set of recommendations that would help the County reduce the identified disparities. In July 2018, the Board of Supervisors adopted the "Racial Justice Task Force - Final Report and Recommendations" (Attachment B) with the exclusion of recommendations #18 and #19. The first recommendation called for the establishment of a Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) that would “meet on a quarterly basis” to “oversee the implementation of the recommendations” and provide the County with a report of its activities “on an annual basis.” Based on this recommendation, in November 2018 the Public Protection Committee nominated individuals for appointment to the RJOB, and on December 4, 2018, the Board made the appointments. After the Office of Reentry and Justice staff concluded a contractor solicitation process, on April 16, 2019, the Board of Supervisors approved the execution of a contract with the W. Haywood Burns institute (BI) to provide committee consulting and development services for the Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB). In this role, BI was contracted to perform the following services: Support meaningful participation by all members and efficient and effective decision making;1. Create a structure that will allow the RJOB to achieve its objectives;2. Assess progress toward two-year work plan for the RJOB, and facilitate RJOB meetings and activities in a way that ensures engagement and participation among RJOB membership in order to meet the Body’s objectives; 3. Engage and support stakeholders in their efforts to implement recommendations of the Racial Justice Task Force;4. Provide the RJOB with research support and subject-matter expertise in areas related to racial justice, criminal and juvenile justice reform, data and evaluation, and community engagement; and 5. Produce and present a final public report detailing the RJOB’s progress in addressing racial and ethnic disparities of the local criminal and juvenile justice systems. 6. In July 2019, BI convened the first quarterly RJOB meeting. Since then BI has helped the body develop Bylaws, structure itself into three subcommittees that have met monthly, and assisted each subcommittee in working toward their objectives as identified in their work plans. Page 20 of 47 Referral Update: Please see the attached status report (Attachment A) detailing the progress the RJOB has made to date, as provided by W. Haywood Burns Institute and approved by the Office of Reentry and Justice. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT reports from the W. Haywood Burns Institute on the progress and activities of the County’s Racial Justice Oversight Body in 2022 and 2023, as approved by the Office of Reentry and Justice; 1. RECEIVE the Racial Justice Oversight Body "Public Statement on Racial Disparities in Local Policing;" and2. PROVIDE direction to staff as needed.3. Fiscal Impact (if any): None; this report is for informational purposes. Attachments Attachment A: RJOB Status Report Presentation Attachment B: Racial Justice Task Force-- Final Report and Recommendations Attachment C: RJOB 2022 Final Project Report Attachment D: RJOB Statement on Local Policiing Page 21 of 47 Racial Justice Oversight Body Progress Report Presented to the Public Protection Committee August 7, 2023 Attachment 7-A Page 22 of 47 Overview •What is the Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) •RJOB’s Mission & Work To Date •Future Directions •RJOB’s Data-Specific Work & Data Needs •RJOB’s Request to City Leadership Attachment 7-A Page 23 of 47 What is the Racial Justice Oversight Body? The Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) was established in 2018 following the Board of Supervisors adoption of the Racial Justice Task Force’s (RJTF) recommendations for improving racial equity within the County’s justice system. From April 2017-June 2018, RJTF met monthly to review local justice system data and assessed best and emerging practices for addressing racial disparities. Attachment 7-A Page 24 of 47 What is the Racial Justice Oversight Body? (cont.) RJTF Findings Presented to BOS, July 2018 The Task Force found disparities across the local justice system after review of data from law enforcement agencies, criminal and juvenile justice system. The highlighted findings included: 1.Higher arrest rates for Black youth and adults drive disparities in County juvenile and criminal justice processes in 2014 2.Black and Latino youth were more likely than White youth to be placed in custody, both pre- and post-adjudication 3.Differences in the rate of disparity across cities indicated that different local contexts drive these disparities. 4.A higher proportion of Black and Latino defendants have sentence enhancements, due to characteristics of charges and/or defendants 5.Black adults in Contra Costa County were more likely than Latino or White adults to be detained pre-trial 6.In 2014, Black youth were sent to secure confinement at a higher rate than all other races; relative to being a ward of the Court, Hispanic youth were securely confined at a higher rate. 7.Changes to County jury selection processes have increased disparities in who services on juries in Contra Costa County. Attachment 7-A Page 25 of 47 Data Snapshot: Summary of Race Data in CCC Criminal Justice Systems Attachment 7-A Page 26 of 47 What is the Racial Justice Oversight Body? (cont.) RJTF Final Recommendations Based on RJTF’s findings and analysis, a set of 18 recommendations were developed and adopted by the County’s Board of Supervisors. They cover the following domains: •Oversight and Accountability (formation of the Racial Justice Oversight Body) •Diversion •Data •County Support for Local Agencies •Community Engagement and Services •Practices Related to Trial & Adjudication Process •Confinement - RJTF Final Report to Board of Supervisors, June 2018 Attachment 7-A Page 27 of 47 RJOB’s Mission In adherence to the RJTF’s oversight and accountability recommendations, RJOB was assembled in 2019 with the objective to: 1.Prioritize and implement the RJTF recommendations 2.Establish subcommittees of RJOB members who bring expertise in and commitment to the topic areas 3.Develop subcommittee workplans The full body currently meets quarterly and reports to the BOS on an annual basis. Subcommittees meet monthly. Attachment 7-A Page 28 of 47 RJOB Subcommittee Goals/Objectives The RJOB has worked diligently to understand the various issues surrounding racial equity in the Contra Costa County justice system. Much of this work has been divided among three subcommittees: 1.Community Engagement and Funding Subcommittee •Establish formal partnerships with community-based organization to provide greater capacity for programming and services •Establish a community capacity fund to build the capacity of community-based organization •Collaborate with the CCP-EC to consider increasing realignment funding for community services 2.Data Subcommittee •Work with County criminal justice agencies and local law enforcement to improve the collection of individual level data on all encounters within the justice system •Review and publish race-specific data for the purposes of improving transparency and accountability •Support analyses of interventions to measure efficacy and assess impact on racial disparities 3.Diversion Subcommittee •Recommend countywide criteria and protocols for formal and informal diversion. The recommendations shall be evidence-based and follow established best practices •Separate recommendations to be developed for adult and juvenile populations Attachment 7-A Page 29 of 47 RJOB Actions To Date •8/6/20: Approved joint statement on racial equity in light of COVID-19 and its impact on people who are incarcerated •2/4/21: Approved diversion definition and guidelines developed by the Diversion subcommittee •5/6/21: On behalf of the CEF Subcommittee, to strongly recommend to the BOS that they endorse the creation of the Miles Hall Non-Police Response Unit and AB 988 (The Miles Hall Lifeline Act). •5/6/21: On behalf of the CEF Subcommittee, to request initial funding from the BOS for technical assistance with development of a proposal for a two-phase, hybrid cohort community capacity fund. •5/6/21: On behalf of the Data Subcommittee, request a commendation to Probation at the BOS for their engagement in the subcommittee and their willingness to share data and promote transparency. •8/5/21: RJOB urges the BOS to create a Sheriff Oversight Board pursuant to government code section 25303.7 and refer back to RJOB for recommendations regarding its charge and composition. •11/4/21: Approved membership changes – seat vacancies and subcommittee roster updates •11/4/21: Approved bylaws changes to allow for meeting discussions to continue despite lack of quorum with action items repeating at the following meeting •6/6/23: Approved statement in response to racist text message scandal involving Antioch Police Department Attachment 7-A Page 30 of 47 RJOB’s Activities & Accomplishments To Date •Community Engagement and Funding SubcommitteeoEstablishing guidelines for a community capacity fund for reentry Community Based Organizations o Strategizing to build a Youth Advisory CounciloMore accessibility to public membersoCo-hosting community forum with Data Subcommittee (2022)o Preliminary planning for Youth Advisory Council proposal (2022) •Data SubcommitteeoDevelopment of decision points matrixoCollection of current data from Probation, Sheriff’s Office, County of EducationoProposed development of commendation for participating agenciesoConducted analyses drawing from CA DOJ dataoReceiving and sharing Probation, COE, and Sheriff’s dataoSupporting/promoting county race/ethnicity data websiteoSupporting/making data requests, written as well as via Zoom, to local county agencies/organizations •Diversion SubcommitteeoCompleted a list of all current diversion programsoDeveloped a definition of diversion and a list of guidelines for countywide useoDiversion program staff presentationsoDevelopment of preliminary recommendationsoDeveloping list of offenses excluded from diversion meant to expand eligibility (2022)o Developing pilot program to receive direct feedback about student needs in West Contra Costa Unified School District (2022) Attachment 7-A Page 31 of 47 RJOB Activities 2023 Public Statement in response to racism scandal in Antioch Support and development of community healing spaces Request for more clarity on role in implementation of the RJTF’s Recommendations Continuing to develop dialogue between RJOB and Board of Supervisors/subcommittees Attachment 7-A Page 32 of 47 Questions? Attachment 7-A Page 33 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Task Force – Final Report and Recommendations June 2018 | 1 RJTF Recommendations Oversight and Accountability 1)The Racial Justice Task Force recommends that the Board of Supervisors appoint a Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) to oversee the implementation of the recommendations made by the Task Force, as specified by the Board of Supervisors. The RJOB would meet on a quarterly basis and report to the Board on an annual basis. The RJOB shall be made up of the following members: 1.A representative from the Superior Court, as a non-voting member 2.The Sheriff or his designee 3.The Chief Probation Officer or his designee 4.The Public Defender or her designee 5.The District Attorney or her designee 6.A representative from a local law enforcement agency, nominated by the Contra Costa County Police Chiefs’ Association 7.A representative from the Contra Costa County Board of Education 8.A representative from Contra Costa County Health Services 9.Eight community-based representatives, that include at a minimum: a. Two members of the Racial Justice Coalition, b. Two individuals with prior personal criminal or juvenile justice system involvement, c. Three representatives from community-based organizations that work with individuals in the justice system, including at least one person who works directly with youth d. One representative from a faith-based organization Any individual may meet more than one of these qualifications. The RJTF further recommends that the work of this body be staffed by the County Office of Reentry and Justice, and that funds for facilitation be allocated through an RFP process. 1)a. The RJOB should or a subcommittee thereof should review local criminal and juvenile justice data in order to identify and report on racial disparities. This will include a review of use-of-force data, as available from the California Department of Justice’s Open Justice data. Diversion 2)With the goal of reducing racial disparities in the Contra Costa County criminal justice system, form a committee to recommend countywide criteria and protocols for formal and informal diversion. The recommendations shall be evidence-based and follow established best practices. In considering what criteria and protocols to recommend, the committee shall 1.Develop separate recommendations for adult and juvenile populations. 2.Strive to ensure the broadest possible pool of eligible participants. Attachment 7-B Page 34 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Task Force – Final Report and Recommendations June 2018 | 2 3. Strive to ensure that prior criminal justice involvement does not bar a person’s eligibility for diversion. 4. Ensure that the inability to pay for the costs of diversion will not prohibit participation. 5. Recommend, as appropriate, partnerships between law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations to provide diversion services and oversight. This committee may be a subgroup of the Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) and will report to the RJOB. 3) Expand the use of crisis intervention teams, mobile crisis teams, and behavioral health assessment teams so they are available across the County. 4) Local law enforcement agencies shall issue citations and establish non-enforcement diversion programs as an alternative to arrests. Data 5) All Contra Costa County criminal justice agencies and local law enforcement agencies shall collect individual-level data on all individual encounters with criminal and juvenile justice systems and processes. In so doing, they should consult best practices to balance data needs with confidentiality regulations. a. Office of Reentry and Justice shall publish race-specific data online on all of the above to create greater transparency and accountability of the County criminal justice agencies and local enforcement agencies. b. All Contra Costa County criminal justice agencies and local law enforcement agencies shall improve capacity for data collection and analysis including expanding staff with data analysis capabilities. c. Office of Reentry and Justice shall support analysis of interventions implemented through the RJTF to measure efficacy and assess impact on racial disparities. County Support for Local Agencies 6) The County shall work with local enforcement agencies to seek funds that support the integration of de-escalation and behavioral health intervention trainings into local enforcement agency regional academy and/or department orientations. a. The County shall work with local enforcement agencies to seek funds to implement improved procedural justice practices and implicit bias training. i. Identify funding for procedural justice training utilizing the train the trainer model. ii. Work with the Chief’s Association to create a forum to share information and strengthen promising practices around procedural justice and implicit bias trainings. 7) In addition, local enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County should: i. Ensure inclusion of de-escalation and behavioral health intervention trainings into local enforcement agency regional academy and/or department orientations Attachment 7-B Page 35 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Task Force – Final Report and Recommendations June 2018 | 3 ii. Provide procedural justice and implicit bias training to all staff 8) The County Office of Education shall provide resources to incentivize school districts to explore, evaluate, implement or expand existing non-punitive discipline practices, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions Support (PBIS) and Restorative Justice (RJ) practices. i. Identify funding for continuous training and technical assistance to all schools in the County to support implementation of PBIS and Restorative Justice, as well as data collection to assess implementation and impact. 9) The County Office of Education shall work with school districts to provide behavioral health services such as counseling, peer support, and early intervention services for youth presenting signs of emotional, mental, and/or behavioral distress. Community Engagement and Services 10) County criminal justice agencies shall establish formal partnerships with community-based organizations to provide greater capacity for i. diversion, ii. reentry programs, iii. alternatives to detention iv. pretrial services v. in custody programming All community-based organizations receiving funding from the County shall be evaluated for efficacy and effectiveness of program goals and objectives to ensure populations are appropriately served. Community input shall be an integral part of this process. 11) Establish a community capacity fund to build the capacity of community-based organizations – especially those staffed by formerly incarcerated individuals – to contract with the County and provide services to reentry clients. 12) The County and/or RJOB shall collaborate with the Community Corrections Partnership- Executive Committee (CCP-EC) to consider increasing realignment funding for community services. Practices Related to Trial and Adjudication Processes 13) Encourage the Superior Court to return to the process of jury selection whereby jurors are called to service to their local branch court for misdemeanor trials. 14) The Public Defender’s Office shall hire social workers who can assess clients’ psychosocial needs and link them to services. 15) The Public Defender’s Office, either directly or through partnerships with community-based organizations, should offer civil legal representation to clients. For youth, this should focus on educational advocacy. Confinement 16) Expand eligibility for Pre-Trial Services and increase Pre-Trial Services staffing, with a focus on reducing racial disparities and replacing the money bail system. Attachment 7-B Page 36 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Task Force – Final Report and Recommendations June 2018 | 4 17) Expand the current pre-release pilot to serve all individuals in custody. 18) Establish an independent grievance process for individuals in custody in County adult detention facilities to report concerns related to conditions of confinement based on gender, race, religion, and national origin. This process shall not operate via the Sheriff’s Office or require any review by Sheriff’s Office staff. 19) Establish an independent monitoring body to oversee conditions of confinement in County adult detention facilities based on gender, race, religion, and national origin and report back to the Board of Supervisors. Other 20) All County staff shall participate in and complete implicit bias training. Attachment 7-B Page 37 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 1 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body Final Project Report Introduction The W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI) was established to provide local jurisdictions with practical, proven approaches for reducing racial and ethnic disparities (R.E.D.). For over 15 years, the BI has successfully worked with jurisdictions in more than 40 states to reduce R.E.D. by leading traditional and non-traditional stakeholders through a data-driven, community- informed, and consensus-based process. It is the BI’s experience that local jurisdictions can implement successful and sustainable strategies that reduce R.E.D. by examining key decision- making points within the justice system. The purpose of this report is to provide feedback on the progress and potential of the Racial Justice Oversight Body to promote equity and reduce R.E.D. in Contra Costa County. This report is not intended to be a comprehensive assessment of Contra Costa County’s racial equity work nor a full assessment of whether and to what extent R.E.D. exists within the county. Rather, this report is intended to share observations and recommendations with Contra Costa County to guide the RJOB’s work with an equity lens. Structure The Racial Justice Oversight Body (hereinafter ‘RJOB’ or ‘Body’) is comprised of 18 overall members, including nine community representatives that include representatives of local community-based organizations (CBOs) and nine representatives from specified local County agencies. It is quite rare for the Burns Institute to see such an even representation of system and community stakeholders, an approach we consistently advocate for, but which is usually not fully executed (the court is one of the nine County agency members and hold the seat as a non- voting member). In keeping with this composition, we encouraged the Body to elect two co- chairs, one a community stakeholder and one a systems stakeholder. In 2021, the Body duly Attachment 7-C Page 38 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 2 elected Ellen McDonnell of the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office and Tamisha Walker of the Safe Return Project as co-chairs. Additionally, the RJOB has three subcommittees which meet monthly to allow for more intensive and subject-matter specific action in their respective areas. Those subcommittees are as follows: • Community Engagement & Funding (CEF) Subcommittee, chaired by Jeff Landau of the Contra Costa County Racial Justice Coalition • Data Subcommittee, chaired by Chala Bonner of the Safe Return Project • Diversion Subcommittee, chaired by Stephanie Medley of the RYSE Center Over the course of 2022, the Community Engagement & Funding Subcommittee has met a total of twelve times, while the Data Subcommittee and the Diversion Subcommittee both met for a total of six times. Background Over the course of this year, the RJOB has had to confront its own capacity and limitations. While the Body has continued to work hard to accomplish its objectives, it is clear that there is a need for more communication, collaboration, and alignment between RJOB, the Board of Supervisors, Public Protection Committee, and various other county agencies and institutions in order to truly fulfill the many community-issued directives which make up its charge. Consider the fact that the Body went without making new recommendations to the Board of Supervisors this year and spent the majority of the year following up on the recommendations it made in 2021, many of which seemed to pass without the Body’s knowledge or direct feedback until the beginning of this year and thus were destined to repeat as the major tenets of the Body’s agenda. Additionally, the RJOB has had some new members appointed to its membership over the course of this year, with more new appointees beginning the work early next year. Bringing new members up to speed on the RJOB, its charge and progress while continuing to move the various projects forward has presented its own challenges, some of which will continue into next year as we seek to orient and integrate new members as quickly and sustainably as possible. Attachment 7-C Page 39 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 3 Observations and Findings I. Activities and Accomplishments As mentioned above, RJOB did not make new recommendations this year, and instead sought to follow up on recommendations from last year, with emphasis on the following: • 5/6/21: On behalf of the CEF Subcommittee, to request initial funding from the BOS for technical assistance with development of a proposal for a two-phase, hybrid cohort community capacity fund. • 8/5/21: RJOB urges the BOS to create a Sheriff Oversight Board pursuant to government code section 25303.7 and refer back to RJOB for recommendations regarding its charge and composition. With both of these recommendations being presented to the BOS at the beginning of the year during a presentation of last year’s final report, RJOB essentially got feedback asking for more fleshing out of the Community Capacity Fund proposal before funding for a technical assistance provider could be properly considered. Additionally, RJOB managed to bring the prospect of a Sheriff Oversight Board to the BOS’s attention and agenda, leading to much community discussion. Ultimately, the BOS decision fell short of providing community members with the authorization to potentially review law enforcement conduct which was central to the recommendation, and community members have expressed the desire to continue advocating for a Sheriff Oversight Board. In addition to these undertakings, efforts continue at the subcommittee level to develop projects and stated goals until they are ready to be submitted to the Board for approval. A. The Community Engagement and Funding subcommittee held a special meeting on February 16th, in collaboration with the Data subcommittee, to share basic race/ethnicity data centered around justice system outcomes with community members. This meeting was decently attended, although it was somewhat hastily put together in order to keep a pre-determined deadline. There has been much discussion, particularly in the weeks that followed, on how to refine the approach so as to make sure as many as possible can attend. The CEF subcommittee also spearheaded the call to reinstate the original RJTF Recommendation to create a Sheriff Oversight Board and received much public comment Attachment 7-C Page 40 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 4 after the BOS took action on the item. Finally, the CEF is currently in the process of developing a more robust proposal for the Community Capacity Fund, and will continue to work with RYSE and the BI to equitably launch the Youth Advisory Council once youth input for how best to structure and coach up the council has been received and participating youths have been recruited. B. The Data subcommittee held its last meeting of the year on July 28th. While RJOB continues to receive quarterly data reports from Probation Department, the county’s Office of Education, and the Sheriff’s office, the latter data was presented in raw form due to a lack of data analysis capacity at that time within the agency. The RJOB and Office of Reentry and Justice have presented to the Public Protection Committee (May 23, 2022) and Internal Operations Committee (July 11, 2022) these concerns and to address specifically the need for more adequate fiscal and administrative support to satisfy RJOB’s ongoing data requests and analytic needs as outreach would continue to expand beyond county departments to municipal law enforcement agencies. Moreover, continuing to follow up on the many data requests which were made over the last year remains at a stalemate due to that lack of capacity to analyze the data in such a way that would yield meaningful insights which could inform implementation of recommendations or be useful to share with community members. There is hope that the launching of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) will address some of these gaps, particularly if there are data analysts embedded within the office, and because the office itself is situated within the County and should be considered a safe space for system agency data to be shared. Before temporarily suspending its meetings, the Data subcommittee, with much assistance from the Office of Reentry and Justice, had also been making great progress on securing federal funding by way of Congressman DeSaulnier’s to procure a training series for local law enforcement geared specifically toward interacting appropriately and successfully with teenaged youth, and we hope to see this effort result in course offerings within the County sometime next year. C. The Diversion subcommittee saw smaller workgroups collaborating to attempt to create a list of offenses which would be ineligible for Diversion referrals. The rationale for this project is that it would be easier to develop a shorter list of offenses which may not currently be considered for Diversion, after which all other offenses would be considered. Attachment 7-C Page 41 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 5 This undertaking is in direct compliance with the following excerpt from the RJTF Recommendations. “2) With the goal of reducing racial disparities in the Contra Costa County criminal justice system, form a committee to recommend countywide criteria and protocols for formal and informal diversion. The recommendations shall be evidence-based and follow established best practices. In considering what criteria and protocols to recommend, the committee shall: 1. Develop separate recommendations for adult and juvenile populations. 2. Strive to ensure the broadest possible pool of eligible participants. 3. Strive to ensure that prior criminal justice involvement does not bar a person’s eligibility for diversion.” This list is also facing setbacks due to a lack of data capacity. The question has been rightfully raised as to what the racial impact of such a list will be, and it seems that the list itself will not be moved ahead for BOS sponsorship or adaptation by the DA’s office - which has been a partner on this project and has expressed a willingness to implement such a list if/when sufficiently agreed upon and finalized - until there is data to show which populations, by race and ethnicity, will be most impacted by the proposed changes to Diversion eligibility. It is also noteworthy that the current draft is meant for adults and that this process will need to be repeated specifically for youth once the necessary data can be secured and the current project can be completed. Additionally, the Diversion subcommittee has been part of a planning process to launch a pilot program in West Contra Costa Unified School District, receiving direct feedback from youth about school climate and needs in order to help make schools more responsive directly to the needs of youth and to attempt to circumvent the school to prison pipeline. This is in direct service of the following excerpt from the RJTF Recommendations. “8) The County Office of Education shall provide resources to incentivize school districts to explore, evaluate, implement or expand existing non-punitive discipline practices, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions Support (PBIS) and Restorative Justice (RJ) practices. i. Identify funding for continuous training and technical assistance to all schools in the County to support implementation of PBIS and Restorative Justice, as well as data collection to assess implementation and impact. Attachment 7-C Page 42 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 6 9) The County Office of Education shall work with school districts to provide behavioral health services such as counseling, peer support, and early intervention services for youth presenting signs of emotional, mental, and/or behavioral distress.” The intent is to repeat this process, refining it based on lessons learned, for other school districts in other regions of the County to ensure equitable feedback and valuable insights. Such insights would help to inform which resources and incentives should be leveraged to the ends quoted above that will produce the greatest, most equitable, and most sustainable results. II. Attendance With the help of the Office of Reentry and Justice, RJOB has made major strides in avoiding quorum issues this year. That said, RJOB has welcomed multiple new members over the course of this calendar year and will welcome more when appointments have been confirmed. Thus, new steps will be taken to ensure proper subcommittee attendance once each new member has had the chance to select the subcommittee on which that member would like to serve, including orientation meetings and consultant one-on-one calls with members. As mentioned above, both the Data and Diversion subcommittees met six times each this past year. However, this was rarely if ever due to lack of quorum. The meeting cancellations were most likely due to scheduling irregularities for subcommittee chairs, crucial missing information/meeting attachments/presenters, or due to the lack of County capacity for data analysis which has left the Data subcommittee without meaningful updates of recent. Recommendations In addition to any relevant recommendations included in earlier reports, we also recommend the following: First, we recommend reducing the number of subcommittee meetings and allowing for smaller workgroups to carry more of the workload. In a setting such as RJOB, or any other collaborative space bringing community together with justice system agencies to address racial and ethnic equity, it is typically the case that the bulk of the action does not take place during meetings. Meetings are a place for discussion, sharing information, asking questions, or perhaps refining or Attachment 7-C Page 43 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 7 finalizing projects or proposals before submission. However, the development of proposals, strategies, or policy and practice changes, all of which call for meaningful and lengthy collaboration, usually takes place outside of the larger meeting spaces among smaller groups who may have the experience or expertise to contribute. For this purpose, there have been several discussions to date about the appropriateness of the current meeting cadence and whether or not it should be changed for more productivity. There is much hesitancy on the part of members to make such a change to the meeting schedule, and ultimately it is their decision. Barring a change in the discussions on this matter so far, we will need to develop alternatives to keep the work moving ahead and keeping all members engaged and contributing helpful thoughts and ideas as much as possible in every meeting they attend. Next, as mentioned above, for any of these recommendations to be fully implemented will always require significant communication and collaboration between RJOB, BOS, and implicated County agencies. We recommend developing a more intentional way forward to create that level of transparency, power sharing, and collaboration going forward. Steps have already been taken toward such an end with the PPC expressing willingness to attend meetings when invited. RJOB will finalize a form letter at the next Quarterly Meeting to ensure that such invitations are communicated in writing and memorialized on record, with the hopes of making a more formal and easily retrievable communication process which will result in direct dialogue between RJOB and the PPC whenever a recommendation is moved forward. It is extremely important that decisions do not get made based on recommendations made by RJOB without hearing directly from RJOB and the community members who continue to advocate within its meetings. It is important for all of the parties mentioned to have the opportunity to directly address those with the ultimate decision making authority and to have their comments, ideas, and feedback truly considered and reflected as much as possible in the decisions that follow. Conclusion RJOB has the opportunity now to rethink its structure, to be reenergized by new members, and to strengthen relationships and familiarity with all of the many other players within Contra Costa County imperative to successfully attaining any of the lofty goals and recommendations set forth for implementation. Additionally, veteran members have the opportunity to step up and share more of the specific tasks necessary to achieve each of these goals in real time, allowing the Body as a whole to gain momentum. Beyond the above, the onboarding of the ORESJ will result Attachment 7-C Page 44 of 47 475 14th St. ⋅ Suite 800 ⋅ CA 94612 Telephone (415) 321 – 4100 ⋅ Fax (415) 321 – 4140 www.burnsinstitute.org 8 in several opportunities for County agencies to share information relevant to the RJOB’s many projects and endeavors. However, it is only by the willingness to employ new or emergent strategies that ensuring sustainable and racially equitable outcomes throughout the justice continuum will be possible. Relationship building will be crucial and may require additional time or forums in which to interact for those relationships to be forged in such a way that can yield promising results. All involved must remain flexible and willing to challenge the status quo in terms of even how and when to meet, who attends and who does not, as well as how to interact with one another. Concerted efforts toward this end must materialize soon. Additionally, crucial or contentious conversations may emerge as community members, system leaders, and other members of the Greater Contra Costa community begin unpacking patterns of thought, values, and beliefs that must be acknowledged and authentically addressed before system change can take place. This will take great courage and the capacity to embrace rather than avoid the uncomfortable. We will look forward to making time to build these crucial conversations and the development of shared values into the work while continuing to work toward the stated goals within RJOB. The BI continues to believe in the potential within the County to make pragmatic policy/practice changes as well as the larger cultural shifts necessary to achieve that vision, and we remain committed to the work such a vision will warrant. Attachment 7-C Page 45 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body 1025 Escobar Street, 1st Floor Conference Room Martinez, CA 94553 Phone Number: (925) 313-4087 The Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) oversees and monitor the implementation of the County board approved Racial Justice Task Force recommendations that seek to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the local criminal and juvenile justice systems. Voting Board Members Ex‐Officio Seats Ellen McDonnell, Public Defender (Co-Chair) Diana Becton, District Attorney Lt. Adalberto Garibay, Office of the Sheriff Esa Ehmen-Krause, Chief Probation Officer Other Appointed Seats Lynn Mackey, Superintendent, Office of Education LaShante Smith, WCCUSD Gilbert Salinas, CCHS VACANT, Local Law Enforcement Community-Based Seats Melvin Willis, CB-Rep. 1 Chala Bonner, CB-Rep. 2 (Co-Chair) Michael Pierson, CB-Rep. 3 Ronell Ellis, CB-Rep. 4 VACANT, CB-Rep. 5 Alisha Jackson, CB-Rep. 6 Cheryl Sudduth, CB-Rep. 7 Gigi Crowder, CB-Rep. 8 Stephanie Medley, CB-Rep. 9 To the Board Members of the Equity & Public Protection Committees: The Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB), in its capacity as an advisory body to the Board of Supervisors which seeks to be the embodiment of the hard work and organizing power of community and to implement strategies that will achieve racial equity in Contra Costa County criminal legal systems, is profoundly disheartened by the recent news of the racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic actions involving a significant number of officers within the Antioch Police Department. Specifically, we condemn those Antioch police officers who have been exposed in the ongoing investigation for their use of racist slurs, jokes, and memes in text messages over a period of more than two years targeting members of the Black and Latino communities. We also vehemently decry the recent actions of Antioch and Pittsburg police officers involved in ongoing corruption investigations of alleged fraud, bribery, drug distribution, and civil rights violations related to the use of force. We strongly condemn these actions in any form, but most especially among law enforcement agencies. We recognize that this has caused immense harm specifically targeted toward communities of color and has demonstrated an erosion of public trust. We know that these were not just meaningless words between officers but are indicative of racial bias and animus which has far-reaching implications as to how these officers, sworn to protect and serve the entire community, have directly impacted disparate outcomes for communities of color which the RJOB was assembled to address. We also believe it is important to state that this incident only confirms the often- ignored complaints, allegations, and suffering of Black and Brown community members throughout the County who are fully aware of the existence of such blatant racism based on their experiences, but whom so often do not have the evidence to prove it. This is outright, explicit, and overt racism. There is no amount of implicit bias or other such related training that can reverse deeply held beliefs that are openly shared and met with complacency and silence among the leadership and the rank-and-file. Over the last few years, the RJOB has worked tirelessly to uplift strategies and pursue opportunities to institutionalize change that will lead to a reduction in racial disparities across our local criminal justice system, and it is occurrences such as this that deter the County’s movement to realize racial equity and social justice. It is of utmost importance that we begin the hard work that is before us of addressing the larger systemic issues that allow systemic racism to be pervasive in our legal system. Attachment 7-D Page 46 of 47 Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body 1025 Escobar Street, 1st Floor Conference Room Martinez, CA 94553 Phone Number: (925) 313-4087 The Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body (RJOB) oversees and monitor the implementation of the County board approved Racial Justice Task Force recommendations that seek to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the local criminal and juvenile justice systems. We commend the Board of Supervisors for providing adequate resources to the county’s Public Defender and District Attorney Offices to support the swift and timely reviews of cases that may have been compromised by the involved officers. We also commend Congressmen DeSaulnier and Garamendi for their calls for federal investigation into this matter, as well as Attorney General Bonta’s pursuit of civil rights violations. While we understand the grave importance of the varying levels of governments’ ability to respond to the incidents currently at hand, we must also work diligently toward structural change locally, which will ensure that such racism does not continue. Finally, we call on County leaders to partner with experts in public safety redesign, such as the Center for Policing Equity, to identify, endorse, and implement strategies that will support making our ability to redesign public safety and justice a reality for all Contra Costa County residents. The Racial Justice Oversight Body looks forward to the day when we will no longer need to respond to the unveiling of entrenched racism within our local system, however, until that day comes, the work continues and we urge you to join us in leading that change. We strongly condemn racism, hatred, and violence towards Black people, Brown people, Indigenous people, impoverished people, and all people of color and demand equal protection for ALL and an end to state-sanctioned police violence. Respectfully, The Contra Costa County Racial Justice Oversight Body, Voting Members Attachment 7-D Page 47 of 47