Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer:
The County has never stood still, and we’ve always modified our operations to keep up with evolving needs. But the pace and scope of those changes have really stepped up in the last year. They’ve been the result of initiatives by our Board, state legislation, and internal visions to improve our structure.
You’ve probably heard of a few of these along the way, but there are so many, I thought it would be good to do a high-level review of what’s different. Some of these moves have been in place a bit, others are getting settled, while others still are just underway with the start of the new fiscal year. Let’s dive in:
The Health and Human Services Agency is undergoing a large revision to better address two priority challenges for the region: equity and homelessness. The agency is establishing a Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities, led by a Community Operations Officer. That will have separate offices for each of those areas, an Office of Homeless Solutions and an Office of Equitable Communities, as well as include the existing Office of Strategy and Innovation. The functions of the Integrative Services department will be absorbed by this new structure.
We’re establishing an Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs within HHSA. San Diego is home to many immigrants and is one of the top regions in the country for refugee resettlement. The office will help ensure these individuals and families are connected to important information and resources they need.
Among the most high-profile steps we’ve take in response to calls to address structural racism was creating the Office of Equity and Racial Justice. It reports directly to the CAO. The office will work with the community on eliminating systemic bias within the County and making sure we are serving our residents equitably.
Our Department of Environmental Health has been reconfigured and renamed to Environmental Health and Quality. This reflects the broad variety of programs that fall under the department.
In March this year, the Air Pollution Control District became an agency separate from the County, and our full Board of Supervisors no longer acts as its board of directors. While we will continue to provide the district with a variety of support services, but you’ll no longer find it as part of our structure.
The Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board moved from the Public Safety Group to Finance and General Government Group. This was the earliest of all the changes laid out here, taking place last year. This positioning gives it distance from the departments for which it provides oversight.
The County Fire Authority was renamed the San Diego County Fire Protection District at the start of the year. That formalizes a long process of unifying and professionalizing fire protection services throughout the County’s unincorporated area.
As of July 1, Emergency Medical Services moved from HHSA to the Public Safety Group under County Fire. This will better integrate the functions of fire and medical response.
We’re just getting off the ground in establishing an Office of Evaluation, Performance and Analytics. We started down this path a few years ago with our Data and Performance Analytics Unit, but this new office greatly expands the vision and resources for this work. The team will rigorously measure the effectiveness of our operations, with a particular emphasis on County priorities and guiding future spending.
The newly authorized Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement is in its early stages of development and will be part of FG3. This office will be a hub for workers questions and connections to resources, assist workers and employers in navigating the complicated labor laws, undertake analysis to identify opportunities to advance fair and safe workplaces in the region, and develop enforcement strategies.
Also in the early stages is an Office of Environmental and Climate Justice, part of the Land Use and Environment Group. This office will work with the community to improve public health, with special focus on ensuring no communities are disproportionately affected by pollution or climate change.
Whew! And that’s just some of the high-profile stuff. There’s lots of shifting beyond that.
You may know, especially if you were following our recently approved budget closely, that we are adding hundreds of positions to our workforce. Some to cover roles in the new offices I described above, many to bolster our efforts in existing areas. The help is welcome, but bringing lots of new personnel on board will also be part of the challenge and excitement of the transformation we are now immersed in.
The County is such an enormous and diverse operation that it’s hard to keep track of all the moving pieces at any time. I hope laying out these changes keeps you up to speed on the big picture of how we are reorienting to meet the current needs and expectations of the entire San Diego community.
