Item B: Joint Meeting with Human Rights Commission

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Human Rights Commission FY10/11 Work Plan ?Utilize the roles of commission liaisons to stay on track with other department and community group goals, opportunities for collaboration, and emerging issues As a result of the commission’s recent process of developing this work plan, the commission agreed to address a series of procedural issues with suggestions for improvement. This work will take place in conjunction with upcoming Agenda Committee meetings. One of the main objectives members shared an interest in is to strengthen the Human Rights Commission’s relationship with the City Council and City organization. - Suggested actions include: meeting with the City Manager on a semi-regular basis, scheduling joint meetings close to the beginning of the fiscal year, and the creation of Memorandum of Understandings with the City Manager’s office and a council liaison clarifying and defining the collaborative partnership. A procedural issue of concern is the lack of follow-up to public comment. Some suggestions for improvement include keeping better track of what is said during public comment at the meetings, and contacting these public participants for further conversation. Work Plan Outcomes Increase Human Rights Commission effectiveness, efficiency and accountability, in responding to and aiding in, the resolution of incidents of OUTCOME 1. discrimination and harassment. In FY10/11, the commission will: ? ? Continue to meet the needs of community members who experience incidents of discrimination and harassment. ? Review and strengthen the human rights support system (HRRS): Develop a working definition of advocacy; o Assess recruitment and training of new HRSS advocates; o Review and improve the response and case management process; o Create an on-going evaluation of the program; o Develop a structure to respond to incidents of harassment and discrimination/bias; and o Begin pilot implementation of any new designs. o ? Work with Citizen Review Board (CRB) to clarify roles and responsibilities HRSS advocates and the commission can fulfill, and processes for successful collaboration. ? Explore diverse conflict resolution approaches and tools for HRSS advocate training. ? Report human rights violations and complaint trends: Develop system to track and report human rights trends in the City. o ? Explore proactive and effective approaches to respond to emerging issues. February 28, 2009 draft - 6 -