Deputy Speaker Williams questions ACS racial equity plan goals
Williams asks about short and midterm racial equity goals. Jones-Gaston lists short-term goals including school-based prevention and community referrals, and midterm goals including staff training, community spaces, reducing unnecessary SCR reports, and restorative approaches in juvenile justice.
Okay, Deputy Speaker Williams, followed by Councilmember Mealy.
Good morning.
I'm just going to ask a few questions about the racial equity plans.
I'm asking all the agencies these questions.
We're super excited to have the prelim plans and want to make sure that as we talk about the budget, that we have a lens of racial equity.
So what has ACS determined are the short and midterm goals to achieve in relations to the equity plan?
Good afternoon.
I started to say good afternoon.
Good morning, Deputy Speaker.
It feels like afternoon already.
I know I said this for another question, but I just want to say for the record that first Deputy Commissioner's, Wynette Saunders, who's leading this work for us, wanted to be here to be able to answer this question, but is not.
So I'm here answering it for her, but she unfortunately couldn't make it today for a medical appointment.
We love her.
It's okay.
Okay.
So on the short-term goals, we have launching school-based early support prevention.
Increasing community-based referrals to prevention.
And those are the short term.
Do you want me to do the middle term?
Yeah, just do it.
Middle term is continuing to invest in training ACS staff and providers to provide quality services and to foster a psychologically safe work environment that embraces equity and transparency.
And another one is investing in the development of community spaces that contribute to healthy child development and family strength, such as the FECs.
Another is to continue to decrease unnecessary child welfare reports by promoting a citywide culture shift among mandated reporters so that they're not calling the SCR when there's a child who doesn't have a safety reason.
And another is to strengthen restorative approaches to addressing conflict in juvenile justice settings.
And then do you want me to do the long term?
No, the short and midterm is fine.
Okay.
I'm happy to share the full plan with you.
I think it's public.
Yeah, it's public.