More than 24 million Californians now live in jurisdictions participating in the Governmental Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) Capitol Cohort. They are being trained to identify structural and institutional inequities.
The teams, including one at CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), are sharing information and resources to assist government agencies to advance racial equity in their departments and the communities they serve.
CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz and CCHCS Receiver J. Clark Kelso have designated the Office of Civil Rights under the oversight of Director Guillermo Viera Rosa to take the lead on furthering the important work and recommendations developed by the 2018 GARE Team. This included a five-year strategic plan to advance race and gender equity within the department’s workforce.
Governmental Alliance on Race & Equity strategic plan
- increasing departmental awareness through communication and outreach
- implicit bias and other sensitivity training
- and review of recruitment, hiring, retention and promotional practices.
“California is leading the way with Alliance on Race and Equity,” said Viera Rosa. “I look forward to supporting and guiding CDCR and CCHCS GARE Team as they work collectively to put in place an action plan in 2019. This will serve as our guiding practices and core strategies for California. Together, we can have a positive impact across the corrections profession while collectively raising the level of racial and gender equity in the workplace.”
For the second consecutive year, representatives from CDCR and CCHCS are participating in GARE.
Other participating state agencies include:
- Department of Public Health
- Housing and Community Development
- Department of Transportation
- California Environmental Protection Agency
- Department of Education
- Department of Social Services
For information about work being done by the CDCR and CCHCS team, contact the Office of External Affairs at cal_externalaffairs@cdcr.ca.gov or phone (916) 445-4950.
See more stories about CDCR facilities, training and jobs.
Follow CDCR on YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter). Listen to the CDCR Unlocked podcast.