County continues its response to racism amid the pandemic
After its Board of Supervisors declared racism the jurisdiction’s second public health crisis in 2020, Santa Cruz County staff is focusing on equity and anti-racist policies through its pandemic response first and foremost.
Just before the close of Black History Month, county spokesman Jason Hoppin reminisced on the resolution passed partially in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. At the time, just 48 hours after the August CZU Lightning Complex fires began, Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel supported the decision despite the massive tragedy the county was experiencing.
“You’ve heard a lot from me about COVID-19 over the past six months, and indeed COVID is the worst public health crisis in a generation,” Newel said at the time. “But there is a second pandemic impacting our county now, a pandemic that has ravaged our country for centuries: racism.”
Today, the county’s look at health equity in its response is the literal implementation of measures to better the area for people of every race and ethnicity.
“For many reasons including lack of workplace protections and crowded living situations, communities of color are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Hoppin said. “While these underlying issues are systemic to our nation, we have worked at the local level to mitigate the impacts of these inequities, including specific measures such as locating health resources in highly impacted communities (including testing and vaccination facilities).”
Hoppin also mentioned partnering with community-based organizations such as nonprofits and lowincome clinics to reach disproportionately impacted communities, investing in messaging to reach them and designing programs with equity and cultural competency in mind.
Work done
In serving the population beyond the pandemic, the county is focusing on providing equitable services and working to lower barriers to access them, Hoppin said. In terms of human services, this is visible through the county’s Collective of Results and Evidence-based (CORE) investments program.
“Our CORE community funding program is focusing on increasing equity through our allocation process,” Hoppin said of the institution focused around community elements like stable, affordable housing and shelter and a safe and just community. “The results of these efforts went before the board this week.”
All departments under the county have been given equity resources based on practices from groups such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity and Californians for Environmental Justice, Hoppin said. Those recommendations are being studied and instituted in an equity lens in the development of the county’s Strategic Plan. The plan, called Vision Santa Cruz, includes values such as accountability, collaboration, compassion, respect and transparency.
Every objective in the 2019-21 Operational Plan includes an intersection to provide opportunities to all, including areas around sustainable environment and dynamic economy. For example, an objective around the comprehensive health and safety element includes local justice, or increasing public safety through practices that “respect victims and reduce recidivism.”
“Our second training on this occurred this week,” Hoppin said.
In terms of criminal justice reforms, county law enforcement has a history of being open to discussing how to increase trust between its agency and the public. In the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement, Hoppin said, Sheriff Jim Hart visited the White House to speak with then-president Barack Obama.
Following those conversations, Hart created the Sheriff’s Office Task Force on 21st Century Policing in late 2015; the task force includes deputies and support staff. The task force met with the Sheriff’s Advisory Team, which was composed of community members, to get citizen input.
“The county also has a long history of focusing on equity, from welcoming immigrants to improving living conditions for farmworkers to criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing disproportionate impacts in communities of color, particularly when it comes to the juvenile system,” Hoppin said.
Work to be done
At the time of the resolution, discussion of forming an established committee or task force to address local racism was prevalent. Hoppin said the county is still working toward the formation of such a body but is first considering other standing committees such as the Latino Affairs Commission and the Justice and Gender Commission.
“We are working informally with a group of community representatives at this time, and may enlist the assistance of an outside consultant to assist with the creation of a strategic plan,” Hoppin said. “We do plan to take our next steps to the Board (of Supervisors), although we do not have a timeline for that at this time.”