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Lucas County
Commissioners Announce Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
for County Offices
Special to
The Truth
The Board of Lucas County
Commissioners announced last week that the Department of
Diversity and Inclusion will be established to develop
priorities that promote racial equity, county policy
initiatives in diversity and inclusion, and implement
strategies to address social injustices in Lucas County.
“We are proud of the work that
the Board has accomplished over the past years to promote
racial equity and diversity and inclusion in county
operations. However, we realize we must take the necessary
steps to provide a more comprehensive and strategic approach
on how we address the challenges that hold back the minority
populations in our community,” said Tina Skeldon Wozniak,
president of the Lucas County Commissioners. “Today, we are
happy to announce a critical first step to enhance
engagement in social justice and inclusivity by creating the
Department of Diversity and Inclusion.
The department will be tasked
with fulfilling the following responsibilities:
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Review current county
policies and procedures to ensure diversity and
inclusion in hiring practices and departmental
leadership, provide enhanced training and education
opportunities for staff that address racism and bias,
and offer resources and guidance to elected
office-holders and agencies.
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Develop a robust minority
business enterprise (MBE) and tracking program in the
county procurement system and provide additional MBE
growth opportunities.
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Engagement of the community
to focus on issues impacting minority populations and
provide enhanced opportunities for people of color to
get access to county services.
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Create inclusive workforce
development opportunities, social services, and
additional programming in the community.
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Oversee the county’s efforts
to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and
provide outreach to those with disabilities.
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Understand the effects that
racial inequality has on the delivery of our economic
development initiatives, the criminal justice system,
and social, public utilities, and safety services in our
community and develop solutions that address the
delivery of these services.
Commissioner Pete Gerken said:
“We are creating the office of Diversity and Inclusion to
become a living and breathing document for us to operate
under. It can inform us on language, employment, policies,
and compensation. It is also a guide on how we interact with
the community at large. An office like this will make the
county accountable in a real and authentic way.”
“This is only one step in a
making a change in the way we treat all people in our
community regardless of their color, race, or nationality,”
Commissioner Gary Byers said. “Until we recognize that the
malignancy of racial and institutional bias exist in our
society, we will not be able to fight it in a reasonable and
meaningful way. This is a big step in making that happen.”
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