The County of San Diego is a large and diverse public service organization. We are in public service because we want to make a difference in people’s lives. Every single day, we see the positive impact we are making, and we know it is the result of all the individual efforts of our dedicated employees. We are moving forward because they are moving us forward.

This year, we have found ambitious opportunities to reimagine, reorient, and rise to the current needs and expectations of the diverse tapestry of our San Diego community. Prioritized into everything we do is protecting the public’s health and safety, making our county sustainable for future generations to come, and creating a supportive infrastructure where all of us can flourish. Under last year’s Framework for the Future, we began a fundamental reshaping of our direction as a County with an intentional human-centered approach that is core to Diversity and Inclusion work. The latter end of this fiscal year brought us to the next leg in this journey - Building the Future – deepening our commitment and putting an emphasis on addressing mental health and substance use, homelessness, sustainability, justice transformation and more.

The County is taking concrete actions to examine our operations. The budget equity assessment tool we used to develop this year’s Operational Plan lets us better prioritize dollars to address inequality. We’ve restructured our Health and Human Services Agency to focus on equitable communities, helping connect people in our community to food, housing and health care, strengthening families and caring for our most vulnerable neighbors. A new cannabis program is designed to redress harms that were done due to the war on drugs and past criminalization that fell disproportionately on the Black community. We are launching initiatives to uplift boys and men of color, and to give children with little access to the outdoors more opportunities to have that experience.    

This is an evolution strengthened by our Board’s initiatives, state legislation, internal visions, employee input and community engagement. With this chorus of voices and fortified visionary path, we commit to expand and co-create outcomes in:

• Exceptional Services to Our Diverse Customers
  
  
• Inclusion for All Employees & Customers
  
  
• Motivated & Engaged Workforce
  
  
• Organizational Effectiveness & Innovation

The story of Diversity and Inclusion is human centric and made possible by the wonderful and dedicated humans who have chosen to serve our great County. Enclosed in this report is a survey of our actions and accomplishments over a remarkable year. We invite you to spend a few minutes clicking around and reading. Then join us on the path forward.