Minutes 01-24-2020 Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 Commissioner Bedford said she appreciated the video at lunch and wanted to remember how to get the other stories — should be an issue for governments. Chair Rich said it is important to have achievable goals at the end of every retreat. What is our achievable goal? What will we say we have as our goals six months or a year out of this? Commissioner Marcoplos gave the example of it being at the end of meetings and it is 11 pm and an issue comes up and they take about 10% of the time needed to discuss before making a decision. He stated he would like to avoid this and make sure there is time for discussion. Chair Rich noted you can ask to table an issue to the next meeting. Commissioner Marcoplos said sometimes it happens quickly and we're all ready to get home. Commissioner Dorosin shared his reflection that there is a need for short-term solutions. As elected officials, he noted, we need to be wary of thinking of systems thinking as external. When we talk about systems thinking, we as the policy makers in the County are the system and can change the system from the inside as opposed to being an activist or a nonprofit group trying to change the system from the outside. We are the people whose decisions entrench or expand those institutionalized processes or change them. Universal pre-k or kindergarten readiness is a good example. When we think about how to fix it, we're not looking at an external system; it's a system we have a hand in creating and influencing and changing. One of the slides was about how the system is working the way it's designed for it to work. We might say we want everyone to have enough food, but the policies we've put into place or are continuing to put in place are producing the outcomes they intend to produce. It's not like the policy work is great and something has gone awry in implementation. That's why it's called institutional racism or structural inequity— it's built into the structure. How we think about dismantling that is critical. One of the systems to look at is how the board operates. It would be interesting to look at how effective or efficient the work we do is. The board meets a lot. The idea that we should meet more isn't necessarily the solution. I want to challenge us to work more efficiently. If it's not efficient for us to be taking votes at 11:30, the agenda was too long and we need to push more to the consent agenda. Think about how many votes we take that are 7-0 with almost no discussion —that's not the best use of our time, staff time or the community's time. Commissioner Price said that with the retreat, the board has owned food insecurity as an issue/concern that needs to be addressed. We need to come up with some benchmarks/metrics to measure as we're going forward in order to assess progress. In terms of the systems approach, she said the board works from budget to budget, but staff has to look at the longer range, with board support. If the systems approach works for Ms. Heger, then the board needs to continue to back her up and any other programs that come into play. It might be a challenge for the board to map out the systems approach for hunger, but staff can take the lead. Identifying next steps Maggie Chotas Ms. Chotas asked Commissioners if they wanted to identify possible next steps in regards to Systems Thinking and hunger in Orange County. Commissioner Dorosin asked staff their thoughts about next steps. Nancy Coston commented on data, saying she thinks staff can fold the food insecurity data into their discussion of poverty and with the mapping that the human services group is working on. She will bring it forward at their next staff meeting.