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17 <br />1 <br />2 <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />3 <br />4 <br />Commissioner Jacobs suggested looking at theEno Haven property as well. <br />5 <br />6 <br />6. Regular Agenda <br />7 <br />8 <br />a.Department of Human Rights and Relations <br />9 <br />The Board consideredvoting to approve the County Manager’s recommendation to <br />10 <br />separate the Division of Human Rights and Relations fromthe current Department of Housing, <br />11 <br />Human Rights and Community Development into a separate Department referred to as the <br />12 <br />Human Rights and Relations(HRR). <br />13 <br />14 <br />BACKGROUND: <br />15 <br />After passage of the Civil Rights Ordinance in 1994, the Board of County Commissioners (the <br />16 <br />“Board”) authorized the creation of the Department of Human Rights and Relations on <br />17 <br />December 20, 1994. <br />18 <br />19 <br />The core functions of the Department of Human Rights and Relations included: <br />20 <br />Enforcement of the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance; <br />21 <br />Administration of the Housing and Urban Development Fair Housing Assistance <br />22 <br />Program Agreement (“FHAP”) ; <br />23 <br />Education, Outreach and Training on rights under the Civil Rights Ordinance; • Staffing <br />24 <br />the Human Relations Commission and their education and outreach activities; and <br />25 <br />Coordinating County efforts to eliminate or reduce limited English proficiency as a <br />26 <br />barrier to accessing or understanding Orange County government services, program or <br />27 <br />benefits. <br />28 <br />29 <br />The Board approved changing the Department to the Office of HumanRights and Relation <br />30 <br />within the County Manager’s Office on March 6, 2008. To improve efficiency and service <br />31 <br />delivery to residents, the County Manager subsequently recommended merging the Office of <br />32 <br />Human Rights and Relations with the Department of Housing and Community Development. On <br />33 <br />February 16, 2010 the Board approved merging the Office of Human Rights and Relations into <br />34 <br />the Housing and Community Development Department (the Commission for Women was <br />35 <br />moved to a non-profit agency). <br />36 <br />37 <br />During the last FHAP performance period (July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017) eight (8) Fair Housing <br />38 <br />cases were closed. Currently, there are twelve (12) cases under investigation. The dramatic <br />39 <br />rise in hate crimes motivated by intolerance, racism, sexism and xenophobia over the last <br />40 <br />several years has demonstrated the need for increased focus on improving interpersonal <br />41 <br />communications and human relations. In addition, there is also a need to not only effectively <br />42 <br />enforce the civil rights of residents but to also educate them on their rights and responsibilities <br />43 <br />under the law. <br />44 <br />45 <br />The separation of the division of Human Rights and Relations from Housing and Community <br />46 <br />Development would allow the County to focus on civil and human rights training, education, <br />47 <br />outreach and enforcement. In addition tothe core functions the department previously provided, <br />48 <br />it would also include a compliance function. The director of the department would be designated <br />49 <br />as the Civil Rights Compliance Officer for the County. The Civil Rights Compliance Officer <br />50 <br />would coordinate the County’s efforts to comply with its civil rights obligations under federal and <br /> <br />