Equal Access

Equal Access and Opportunities for Everyone

We are consistently looking at our programs and services through an equity lens to make sure they work for everyone, especially those in underserved communities. We use data, lived experiences and input from the community to weave equity into all that we do.

In the past year, the County’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice implemented its new Budget Equity Assessment Tool to put you at the center of our budgeting priorities. The tool helps County departments prioritize equity-centered services and allocations by using a series of questions and public input to better understand how department allocations affect communities that have been historically marginalized, are vulnerable, plagued by low-income, and have suffered, or do suffer, inequality.

Expanding health services and health education to parts of our county that lack medical facilities and public transportation is the goal of the Sheriff’s Department and Health and Human Services Agency’s Community Health and Injury Prevention Initiative. In phase one, County Fire personnel offer training in drowning prevention, helmet safety, provide car-seat checks, in-home hazard assessments for seniors and people with disabilities, smoke detector checks and other health education.

With police practices ever present in the spotlight, this year a Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board townhall meeting discussed a Center for Policing Equity report on San Diego County Sheriff’s Department practices.

Moreover, with study after study showing a problem with period poverty, the County expanded its Free4ME program, putting free tampon and menstrual pad dispensers into County sites to make sure everyone has access to menstrual products.

Another element in putting people at the center is assuring they have access to the information they need to participate in the decision-making process. This means making that information available in many languages as possible. With that in mind, we are increasing translation and interpretation services to give people who primarily speak languages other than English more access to County programs and information.

Further expanding access in health and labor, our new Office of Sustainability and Environmental Justice will work to make sure all communities have equal protection from health hazards while the San Diego County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement will serve as the central location for education and resources for employers and their workers. It will undertake research and data analysis regarding worker issues and pursue enforcement measures to protect workers.