Minutes 01-18-2022 Virtual Business Meeting

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19 community members have about government but also shows the frustrations that people feel that government talks about a lot of things but doesn't always move those forward. She said community members at the Department of Social Services who gave responses do not usually share much feedback with government entities and said it was telling that they expressed distrust in government agencies. She said that they will try to increase trust in government. Commissioner Greene said that is obviously tapping into broader distrust of government on all levels. She encouraged the team to think about how they can respond and gain trust. Erica Bryant said the community outreach strategy will begin to address this distrust. She said that this strategy will be used by all departments going forward and they will go to community members that government agencies don't usually hear from to seek their input in government. She said it is important to go where people are that usually don't have a voice, and this will help break down the systems of oppression. Commissioner Fowler asked how the other types of inequities Erica Bryant mentioned will be addressed. She asked if they will automatically be addressed by focusing first on racial inequity or if the process will need to be repeated for each one. Erica Bryant said that the system isn't working for any of us and is working even less great for people of color. She said that by remaking our systems all areas of marginalization can be addressed. She said race must first be addressed and then others. Nancy Coston said the GARE philosophy is that systemic issues of race are so institutional that they need to be addressed intentionally and focused on first, and that the framework can then be repeated as a philosophy with all populations. She said that people in the community don't come with one attribute anyway, so if we are better with our community engagement and outreach all inequities can be addressed in a better way. Sharron Hinton said that most responses came through the toy chest event and those respondents did not get to hear the presentation about why the county is doing this work. She said that moving forward, it is imperative to continue the community engagement and get additional feedback and to tell them the "why." She said when the presentation was at the Senior Center, it focused on members of the Mandarin community, and they were extremely involved and participatory. She stated that they want to return to the communities previously engaged to give them updates and to continue to get feedback from them, moving forward. Commissioner Richards asked if each jurisdiction is in a similar place and if being in lockstep is a goal. She asked if there is a timeline to completing initial training and data gathering and creating the history. Erica Bryant said that the jurisdictions are at different places in the process because they are moving at different paces. She said that Carrboro is ahead of the county, but the county's training is different and that is part of the flexibility that the framework provides. She said that the timeline is to normalize the conversation about race. She said the department directors and budget team will be trained first, and that is a strategic decision because they want to make the most impact by ensuring a racial equity lens is used when discussing the budget items. She said it is not a quick process but there is an expectation of seeing changes. Nancy Coston said this work isn't like a project, it is about imbedding a philosophy/process in how Orange County responds to issues. She said this will become how Orange County thinks differently about everything. Commissioner Richards asked if the staff would be completed with training before the next budget cycle. Erica Bryant said that she would need to defer to the County Manager, but the training staff does have the capacity to complete the training. Commissioner Richards said that she is trying to understand if there is any understanding of a timeline for training whether that be next year, or before next budget, or six months. She asked how long until the basic things are in place.