No Time for Excuses: It’s Time for

Action
Report of the Commission on Racial and
Structural Equity (RASE)
Prepared for the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity by the
Center for Governmental Research
 i

Letter of Transmittal
March 12, 2021

Mayor Lovely A. Warren County Executive Adam J. Bello

City Hall County Office Building
30 Church Street 39 West Main Street
Rochester NY 14614 Rochester, NY 14614

Dear Mayor Warren and County Executive Bello,

You will find enclosed the final report of the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity
(RASE). We have completed a thorough analysis of laws, policies, practices and programs
that have supported and sustained systemic and institutional racial inequities, and
perpetuated systems that consistently exclude or constrain African-Americans, Latinx and
other people of color from full and unfettered participation in all aspects of society. We have
conducted research into the ways to design and implement more equitable and inclusive
systems and approaches, and we have set forth a list of transformative recommendations
which can be implemented by your respective governments.

While we found hardly any laws in the City and County which created and sustained racist
policies, we have found practices and conditions where diversity of race, ethnicity and
gender are nearly non-existent; where people of color are unable to fully participate and are
implicitly or explicitly excluded from opportunities that could enhance their economic,
social and mental health; and where people of color are denied the opportunity to
participate in the rule-making and decision-making that shapes our lives, from birth to
death.

Racism is deeply embedded in the culture and practices of Rochester and Monroe County.
This declaration may shock some people, but it affirms what many others have been saying:
the entire County of Monroe has a racial problem, one that is not contained within
its largest municipality, Rochester. And it is a problem that must be fixed. That is why this
report is submitted under the title, NO TIME FOR EXCUSES: IT’S TIME FOR
ACTION.

Your initial charge to the Commission was to focus our examination on the City and County,
and what you and your legislative bodies could accomplish within your respective powers.
As the work evolved, it could not be contained within those prescribed confines. We found
too many issues that cut across institutional and geographic lines, and affecting many
sectors beyond the reach of government. We discovered many points of intersection, and
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the inter-connectivity of these issues clearly require a broader systemic approach to solving
these issues.

We will stipulate that we have not addressed every racial inequity and instance of racial
bias that exists in our community, although we are confident that we have addressed the
most blatant. We were given six months to complete our engagement, and we have
identified enough problems to engage community resources for the foreseeable future. The
work does not end with the submission of this report; it is only just beginning.

We urge a careful examination of the nine Working Group reports that make up Part 3 of
the report. There are many details in the prioritized findings, as well as a discussion of
issues needing more community attention that could not be addressed in this report. We
urge you to carefully consider the Recommendations that are found in Part 2 that evolve
from the Working Groups. They set forth aggressive and creative remedies to problems
previously unacknowledged or ignored. We especially direct your attention to the
Implementation Strategies, also discussed in Part 2. These strategies lay out a roadmap of
the steps that must be taken, if the words in this report are translated into meaningful
action.

Several hundred people were engaged in this work during the past six months, including
over 160 citizens who volunteered their time to work with one of the nine working groups.
These groups have labored scores of hours. Even under the severe coronavirus restrictions
imposed on large public gatherings, they found ways to share and discuss their work with
citizens who have been adversely impacted by discriminatory systems, other interested
citizens, and advocates and practitioners in the field. The feedback from these meetings has
been most helpful in the development of our findings and recommendations.

The efforts of all who worked on this project must be commended: the twenty-one (21)
Commissioners who excellently facilitated the work of the nine Working Groups, which
added many hours to their already busy work schedules; the City and County staff who so
brilliantly supported this work while doing their regular jobs; the six (6) Interns from area
colleges who contributed greatly to our efforts while balancing their school work; the
excellent work of our consultant who answered every inquiry and compiled the input from
every source to write this incisive report; and the large number of volunteers who
participated for numerous hours. All are listed by name in the Acknowledgments section.
All of this human energy and ingenuity would be rendered null and void, if this report
suffered the fate of so many preceding Commissions and Task Forces, disregarded and
forgotten. We are determined that this Commission’s work will not be ignored. The
Implementation Strategy is an integral part of this work, and it will be the roadmap to the
future, which begins now.

Two commissioners have dissented from this report, citing recommendations that did not
come through the Working Group process. We have included their statement of dissent in
Part 2 of this report.
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We are most appreciative for the opportunity to chair this important work, and we look
forward to discussing these findings and follow-up strategies with you in person, in the
company of the full commission; and to work with you as you consider the next steps on
our journey toward a more just and inclusive, and less racist, community.

Sincerely,

William A Johnson, Jr. Muhammed Shafiq

William A Johnson, Jr. Arline Bayó Santiago Muhammed Shafiq, Ph.D.
Co-Chair Co-Chair Co-Chair
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Executive Summary
R ochester is a city with a unique and
conflicting history. We are proud of
our rich racial and social justice
legacy as the home of Frederick Douglass,
roles in local governance and law
enforcement, and 13 of whom were selected
through a community-led process described
in the body of this report. The Commission’s
Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony. Yet work was carried out through nine Working
today, half of Black children in the Monroe Groups, each facilitated by two to three
County live in poverty, compared to 12% of Commissioners, and complemented by
White children. The homeownership rate citizens who volunteered to serve. The focus
among White residents of our County is 71% areas for Working Groups represent the
and less than half that for Black and Latinx broad spectrum
residents. And, most recently, Rochester has •••
been the focus of national attention as the
community responded to the death of a Making our community
mentally distressed Black man after being
restrained by police. Making our community
more equitable and just,
more equitable and just for all of its residents for all of its residents,
has been the focus of the Commission on
Racial and Structural Equity (RASE).
has been the focus of the
Commission on Racial
The Commission was created on June 18,
2020 by Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren
and Structural Equity
and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, (RASE).
with a charge to:
of sectors and areas where racial
1. Inventory and assess current local laws discrimination has produced inequity:
and policies that either promote or are Business Development, Criminal Justice,
intended to eliminate institutional and Education, Healthcare, Human Services,
structural biases, racism and inequities in Housing, Job Creation, Mental Health and
the City of Rochester and Monroe County. Addiction Services, and Policing.

2. Provide recommendations to enhance Working Groups engaged in a six-month

current local laws/policies to increase process of working to uncover and prioritize
effectiveness, and/or “sunset” local key issues of racial and structural inequity in
laws/policies that are ineffective or no Monroe County. Working Groups analyzed
longer applicable. local laws and policies, collected and
analyzed data and engaged the community
3. Provide recommendations on any new to understand how structural racism
local laws/policies to address identified operates and how it can be dismantled.
gaps.
Hearing directly from the affected
The Commission was organized with three communities was a top priority of the
co-chairs and 21 members, eight of whom Commission. Community engagement was
were pre-designated by the Mayor and the conducted via virtual town hall meetings,
County Executive because of leadership surveys and interviews of community
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members impacted by the focus areas, as Structures and personnel lack

well as tours of affected neighborhoods to cultural/linguistic competencies
speak with residents and business owners. critical for effective engagement.
Sessions were mostly held virtually because Cultural competence exists when
of the COVID-19 pandemic using a variety individuals and organizations are able to
of platforms, and some were streamed live effectively interact with diverse populations
on Facebook. But in addition to those, one since they possess information about
group conducted a bus tour to gather different cultural value systems, beliefs and
perspectives from small business owners, knowledge.1 Similarly, linguistic
while another held discussions with competence exists when community
incarcerated youth, high school students members are able to access interpreters,
and formerly incarcerated men. In all, translation services and materials in their
hundreds of community residents native language.2 Systems ranging from
connected with the Commission and courts to 911 to health providers to schools to
offered input into this report. human services are sorely lacking in cultural
and linguistic competence.
The Commission’s work makes clear that
structural racism exists across every Systems create and perpetuate
examined sector and system and persists disadvantages.
because of policies and practices that do not These systems include hiring systems with
work for the benefit of Black, Indigenous historic but unnecessary job requirements,
and People of Color (BIPOC). Having or screens for criminal convictions or drug
identified a wide range of issues, the use, as well as the human services system,
Commission uncovered the following which applies rules that limit the availability
themes that cut across systems and sectors: of financial assistance to those who need it.
In education, the testing and accountability
Inequitable and inadequate access to system for schools labels urban schools with
essential resources and systems predominantly BIPOC student bodies as
critical to closing equity gaps. failing, with demoralizing effects on
BIPOC have inadequate access to networks students.
of opportunity, including access to capital,
civil service jobs within government, and a City/County structures lack reliable
variety of housing options in local areas and transparency and accountability
neighborhoods across the County. operations, negatively impacting
trust among BIPOC.
Structures and protocols inequitably Many of the systems the Commission
impact and disadvantage BIPOC. studied do not track or report their impact
People of color, especially Black people, are on individuals by race/ethnicity, which
disproportionately arrested, suspended allows racial inequity to continue.
from school, and brought into systems like Inaccessibility to information about
child protective services, foster care and compensation policies, police training
juvenile justice that often do not serve their curriculum and the juvenile justice system
needs. also limit understanding about disparate

1
https://nccc.georgetown.edu/curricula/culturalc 2
https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/cultural-
ompetence.html competence/definition.html
 iii

outcomes for Black, Indigenous and People Major issues include low wages across
of Color. sectors dominated by
BIPOC as well as the failure of the Minority
Current City/County/State systems and Women-Owned Business Enterprise
possess insufficient economic program to have a large impact on business
investment in structures and success for people of color. Income is a
resources critical to attaining equity. profoundly important contributor to
Across many systems, economic outcomes for individuals, families and
investments that could make a difference for communities, impact health/mental health,
people of color are lacking or inadequate. education levels and life expectancy.

The Commission developed five systemic solutions and almost 40 specific recommendations.
The systemic solutions are stated below and illustrated with a sample of the recommendations
found in Part 2 of the body of the report.

1. Create and invest in sustainable the racial/ethnic diversity and

economic opportunities in Black and cultural competence of employees,
Latinx communities to promote and vendors, and contractors.
maintain self-sufficiency, Recommendations include:
entrepreneurship and career • Build systems in City and County
advancement. Recommendations governments to increase and sustain the
include: cultural competence of their entire
• The City and/or County should create a workforces that include budget resources,
local process for becoming MWBE certified advisory committee with community
so that local businesses can use that as an representation and training tied to job roles.
alternative to the lengthy and cumbersome • Use government contracting and
state process. This should include procurement practices to require all
entrepreneurial mentoring and work with contractors to have diversity, equity, and
financial institutions to expand access to inclusion policies in place, including diverse
capital, with a clear focus on businesses hiring practices, and annual reports board
owned by people of color. and leadership composition.
• Redesign civil service functions to ensure • Increase linguistic competency by ensuring
equitable and unobstructed access to Monroe County school districts provide the
qualified applicants, which will lead to a full range of curriculum offerings for English
racially diverse workforce. Language Learners, and that programs
• Build on the momentum toward a aimed at assisting students and their
$15/hour minimum wage by ensuring the families are offered in their native language.
City and County have $15/hour minimums,
that they use their leadership to persuade all 3. End practices that
employers to raise their starting pay to that disproportionately drain resources
level, and that they add this minimum wage from Black and Latinx communities.
as a requirement to contracts with agencies Recommendations include:
and businesses with which they do business. • End the use of pretextual stops (stops for a
minor offense to investigate something else),
2. Implement and incentivize decriminalize and de-prioritize violation-
practices and programs that increase level offenses, make incarceration a last
 ii

resort; and embrace a philosophy of data and identify additional strategies to

diversion and restorative justice. eliminate racial disparities.
• End Monroe County’s high use of financial • Increase the access of BIPOC to all housing
assistance sanctions in human services to options by adopting tenant protection
ensure individuals who need help can get it. strategies such as a right to counsel, a local
• Increase access to mental health and social fair housing law, and incentives to expand
emotional support services for all Rochester affordable housing options throughout the
City School District BIPOC students. County including our suburbs.
• Support and invest in the Liveable
4. Decentralize services and embed Communities for Older Adults Initiative to
them in trusted agencies throughout address racial discrimination and systemic
the community. Recommendations inequities impacting older BIPOC adults,
include: under the oversight of representative and
• Create and fully fund community diverse advisory boards.
alternatives to police, including trained
community responders, crisis intervention
specialists and community mediators. To implement these recommendations, we
• Create a community-based program for outline a four-pronged strategy in the body
youth facing criminal charges that includes of the report that calls for the Mayor and
counseling and mentorship, restorative County Executive to identify
justice circles, case managers who create a recommendations they and/or their elected
comprehensive plan with parents and youth, bodies can implement; develop a process to
respite services, and a forensic psychiatric bring other needed entities to work on
specialist equipped to handle youth with recommendations that require their
complex mental health issues. Redesign involvement; create a successor to the RASE
child protective and foster care services to do Commission to monitor implementation
more to keep children with their families, efforts; and develop plans to address
including using blind removal meetings, recommendations requiring additional
hiring culture brokers, and developing resources or state or federal action.
kinship navigators.
• Decentralize Monroe County Department This is a report by and for the community.
of Public Health services and put locations in The entire community must get involved in
neighborhoods with high populations of working to achieve the success of these
BIPOC. recommendations. This report cannot only
be embraced by the victims of inequity. It
5. Embed accountability measures in must be affirmatively and energetically
all policies to ensure equity and embraced by those community members
fairness across all services, programs whose indifference to these conditions have
and delivery models. led to generational denial and oppression of
Recommendations include: BIPOC individuals. We hope this report
• Create a racial justice task force comprised impacts the hearts and minds of the majority
of the major players in the criminal justice and moves them from being passively part of
system and community members to meet the problem to actively joining in creating
quarterly to review local criminal justice solutions.
ii
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Acknowledgements
Our sincerest thanks to all those who worked on the activities of the RASE Commission
and contributed to this report:

Business Development
Andrew Brady G. Blake Keller Desjamebra Robinson
Patricia Williams-McGahee
Lomax Campbell John Kleaka Hinna Upal
Jennifer Gorankoff Christopher Martin- Aqua Porter Kate Washington
Stancil-El

Criminal Justice
Kayla Atkin Pamela Flemming Joe Hennekey Torey Richardson
Lisa Barr Kerry Gant Corey Hepburn Amanda Santacroce
Michael Bleeg Ashley Gantt Lamaar Jackson Sherron Sawyer
Ciera Caldwell Carlos Garcia Lisa Johnson Michael Simpson
Vanessa Cheeks Anayra Gutierrez Raymond Kenne Yohannes Tesfa Michael
Sydney Cuyler Frank Ham Frank Liberti Cynshel Wilson
Michelle Daniels Frank Hamlin Carla Perez
Isaac Elliot Wayman Harris Yesenia Reed

Education
Donald Brian Bartalo Kerry Foxx Laura Smith
Steve Martin
Gwen Clifton Emily Goldsmith Michael Vaughn
Nolica Murray-Fields
Bryant Cromartie Karen Lankeshofer Diane Watkins
Emily Odhiambo
Dan Drmacich Caterina Leone Mannino Jen Weg

Healthcare
Mateo Alexander Paul Kingsley Ronalyn Pollack Ruth Schneider
(Ronnie)
Barbara Baer Sanford J. Mayer Rachel Snyder
(Sandy) Michael Reif
Emily Carrillo Mary Starks
Kristin Reisch
Dr. Linda Clark Alia Muhammad Tharaha Thavakumar
(Kristi)
(Thari)
Maria Cruz Donna Nelligan-Barrett Andrew Seager

Housing
Ryan Acuff Leonard Hall Barbara Rivera Van Smith
Marcus Bliss Allison Harper Bondi Joan Roby-Davidson Richard Tyson
Daniel Cadet Graham Hughes Michael Rood Eric Van Dusen
Christine Church Ginny Maier Shaunee Rosenborough Christopher J. Wilmot
Joe Di Fiore Elizabeth McDade Victor Sanchez
Julie Domaratz Carrie Melnyk Steve Santacroce
Karla Gadley Chris Raymond Mildred Scott
 ii

HUMAN/SOCIAL SERVICES
Khari Clarendon Pamela Kim Adams Ke-nijah Holloman Diana Simpatico
Alexandra Popovici Shaka Bedgood Bill McDonald Rose Tomlinson
(Lexi)
Jennifer Cathy Kiah Nyame James Waters
Absolom Abraha
Tracy Collins Donette Scott Jeffrey Williams
(Abu)
Brandi Hayes Raquel Serrano Rodney Young

JOB CREATION
Daan Braveman Jertia Goins Erica Mock Tiana Stephens
Syed Ahmad Christine Hunt dt ogilvie Deborah Whitt
Charlsey Bickett Marvin Maye Daryl Smith
Carol Garrett Anthony McCollough Louise Spineli

MENTAL HEALTH/ADDICTION SERVICES

April Aycock Renee Gelsomino Rebecca Maynard Zena Shuber
Mike Boucher Dina Johnson Kit Miller Mandy Teeter
Tonia Canty- Lawana Jones James Patterson Jason Teller
McKinney
Julio Jordan Gerianne Puskas Jerry Thompson
Jennifer Cercone Miller
Don Kamin Brittany Raczkiewicz John Walker
Rameen Copeland
Noah Kosloske Carlos Santana Kelly Wilmot
Diane DeRuyter
Kenya Malcolm Michael Scharf Alan Ziegler
Tanya Ferguson

POLICING
Iman Abid- Patrina Freeman Adrian Martin Faith Stanley
Thompson
Tricia Lynn Hasan R. Massey Lewis Stewart
Steve Alpert-Gillis Gonzalez-Johnson
Elizabeth Maxwell John Strazzabosco
Jean Carroll Dwayne Hayward Charles Reaves Pedro Vazquez
John Compitello Steve Jarose Thomas J. Seitzinger
Leverett Copeland Michelle King Chiara Smith

CITY & COUNTY STAFF

Cephas Archie Lianne Hart Emem-Esther Ikpot Colleen McCarthy
Carlet Cleare Clarence Henry IV Alexandra I. Leonty Meaghan McDermott
(Mike)
Corinda Crossdale Candice Lucas Thalia Wright

CONSULTANTS - CENTER FOR GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH

Kieran Bezila Alice Carle David Riley
Paul Bishop Donna Harris Erika Rosenberg

INTERNS
Mohamad Abukar Rameem Copeland Piffanie Rosario
Victoria Blackham Anika Griffiths Ashley Wimbl
 i

PRESENTERS/CONTRIBUTORS
• Simeon Banister • Ebony Miller-Wesley
• Mubarek Bashir • Monroe County Board of Health
• The Black Agenda Group • Monroe Community College
• William Cala • Baye Muhammed
• Dr. Lomax Campbell • Elizabeth Murphy
• Daniel Carlson • Justin Murphy
• Bill Carpenter • Harry Murray
• Community Health Improvement Workgroup • Dr. Leslie Myers-Small
• Marlene Cortés • Lori O’Brien
• Analy Cruz-Phommany • Greg Owens
• Denny DeLeo • Angelica Perez-Delgado
• Timothy Donaher • Police Citizen Interactive Committee
• Bob Duffy • Dr. Thomas Putnam
• Kristine Durante • Chanh Quach
• Tracey Easterly • Regional Transit System
• Vincent Esposito • Victoria Reynolds
• Jennifer Geiger • Rochester Black Nurses Association
• Kathleen Graupman • Rochester Black Physicians Network
• Great Schools for All • Rochester City School District (2 focus groups
• Steve Hanmer 10th and 11th graders)
• Dr. Seanelle Hawkins • Rochester Police Department (3 focus
• Bryan Hetherington Groups)
• Matt Hurlburt • Rochester Refugee Services
• David Hursh • Eamonn Scanlon
• Contance Jefferson • Thaddeus Schofield
• Michael Karnes • Patrick Seche
• Jean Kase • Joe Stefko
• Leah Kedley • Reverend Lewis Stewart
• Rob Kent • Odyssey Academy (teens, teachers,
• Gary Kirkmire administrators)
• The Latino Leadership Roundtable • Jamone Turner
• Shawanna Lawrence • Urban Suburban Program teens, teachers,
• Patty Leva administrators at Pittsford-Sutherland HS
• Librarians in the Monroe County Library • Hubert Van Tol
System • Matt Wagstaff
• Ana Liss • Carol Wheeler
• Tamara MacDuff • Shane Wiegand
• Maternal Child Health Advisory Group • Kelly Wilmot
• LaQuanda McCullough • Sevin Yeltekin
• ElizabethMcDade • Teen Empowerment (youth representatives)
• Dana Miller • Heidi Zimmer-Meyer
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Table of Contents
........................................................................................................................................... i
Letter of Transmittal ......................................................................................................... i
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................... iii
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1
Part 1: Background Information ...................................................................................... 8
Charge of the Commission ............................................................................................ 8
Commission Structure .................................................................................................. 11
Working Groups .......................................................................................................... 13
Methodology ................................................................................................................ 14
Community Engagement .......................................................................................... 14
Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 15
Identification of Priorities & Recommendations ..................................................... 15
Mapping Our Community ........................................................................................... 16
Overview of Our Community and its Racial Disparities .......................................... 16
Opportunity Mapping ............................................................................................... 22
Monroe County Opportunity Index .......................................................................... 23
Monroe County, Share of Population that is Non-white.......................................... 24
Mapping the Systems .................................................................................................. 25
Structural Racism ..................................................................................................... 25
Systems ..................................................................................................................... 26
Authority of City and County Government ................................................................. 28
Review of Local Laws ................................................................................................... 30
Part 2: Commission Findings ......................................................................................... 32
Working Group Priorities ............................................................................................ 32
Cross-Cutting Themes ................................................................................................. 36
Theme 1: BIPOC within the City/County possess inequitable and inadequate access to
essential resources and systems critical to closing equity gaps ............................... 36
Theme 2: Current City/County structural programs and protocols inequitably impact
and disadvantage BIPOC .......................................................................................... 40
Theme 3: Current City/County structures and personnel lack cultural/linguistic
competencies critical for effective engagement of BIPOC ....................................... 43
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Theme 4: Current City/County/State systems create and perpetuate disadvantages

negatively impacting BIPOC ..................................................................................... 47
Theme 5: Current City/County structures lack reliable transparency and accountability
operations, negatively impacting trust among BIPOC ............................................. 50
Theme 6: Current City/County/State systems possess insufficient economic
investment in structures and resources critical to attaining equity for BIPOC....... 55
Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 58
Implementation Strategy .......................................................................................... 68
Letter of Dissent .......................................................................................................... 70
Part 3: Working Group Summaries ................................................................................71
Business Development ................................................................................................... 72
Criminal Justice.............................................................................................................. 82
Education.......................................................................................................................101
Healthcare ..................................................................................................................... 115
Housing ........................................................................................................................ 136
Human & Social Services ............................................................................................. 143
Job Creation ................................................................................................................. 164
Mental Health and Addiction Services ........................................................................ 179
Policing .......................................................................................................................... 211
Part 4: Appendices ........................................................................................................217
Local Law Scan ............................................................................................................. 218
Local MWBE Certifications .......................................................................................... 227
Older Adults Subcommittee ......................................................................................... 234
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Introduction
On May 26, 2020, the nation witnessed the death of another unarmed Black man, George
Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George Floyd lay
helplessly on the ground while the officer’s knee stayed pressed against Mr. Floyd’s neck
for close to nine minutes. The shock and horror of witnessing the life being drained from
George Floyd’s body set off months of protests and demands for police accountability and
systemic change across the country, in Monroe County, and in the City of Rochester.
In acknowledgment of these national and local calls for systemic and institutional change,
and in response to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s June 12th Executive Order
203 “to reinvent and modernize police strategies,” Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello created the Commission on Racial and Structural
Equity (RASE) on June 18, 2020. The 21-member commission was charged to:

1) inventory and assess current local laws and policies that either promote or are
intended to eliminate institutional and structural biases, racism and inequities in
the City of Rochester and Monroe County;

2) provide recommendations to enhance current local laws/policies to increase

effectiveness, and/or “sunset” local laws/policies that are ineffective or no longer
applicable;

3) provide recommendations on any new local laws/policies to address identified gaps.

The Commission was given the responsibility to conduct a review of the state of policing,
education, healthcare, mental health and addiction services, job creation, business
development, human/social services, criminal justice, and housing. The Commission’s
report was expected six months from its formation.

Both the Mayor and County Executive saw this as a unique opportunity to fundamentally
reshape the systems that govern the lives of their constituents and provide government
services in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner. Mayor Warren stated that such
changes will “deliver equity and strengthen our community,” especially for Black and
Brown citizens who have routinely been excluded. County Executive Bello stated that the
RASE Commission was one of the essential steps towards “rebuilding Monroe County as an
actively anti-racist government that embraces diversity and inclusion.”

Three co-chairs were appointed as leaders of this effort: William A Johnson, Jr., the 64th
Mayor of Rochester (1994-2005) and a retired Public Policy professor at Rochester
Institute of Technology (2006-2013); Arline Bayó Santiago, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel at ESL Federal Credit Union; and Muhammad Shafiq, Ph.D., Executive
Director of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College.
 2

Senior staff from the City and County, led by City Chief Equity Officer Dr. Cephas Archie,
Deputy County Executive Corinda Crossdale, County Chief Community Engagement
Officer Dr. Candice A. Lucas, and Commissioner of the Department of Human Services

Thalia Wright, were assigned to work with the co-chairs to organize the Commission, and
recruit 13 community members to join the eight designated members who would form the
full commission. The eight designated members were determined based on specific
positions they held within City or County government. The full Commission was seated on
August 10, 2020 and immediately began its work.

In September, shortly after the RASE Commission’s work was getting underway, the
Rochester community learned that a police-involved killing of an unarmed Black man,
Daniel Prude, occurred in our own community in March 2020.

Daniel Prude travelled from his home in Chicago to seek assistance from his family in
Rochester during a time of mental distress. 3 He had only been in Rochester for a few hours
when his brother, Joe Prude, called police for help getting him to the University of
Rochester Medical Center (URMC) for observation and treatment. Mr. Prude received a
mental health evaluation and was discharged back to his brother’s home. Still exhibiting
mental distress, he left his brother’s house around 3 a.m. At this time, he had been in
Rochester for fewer than 12 hours.

Upon discovering his brother’s absence from the house, Joe Prude called 911 to report a
missing person. Shortly afterwards, several Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers
encountered Daniel Prude wandering naked and showing signs of distress. During the
encounter, the officers placed Mr. Prude in custody, handcuffed him and ordered him to
the ground. A spit hood was placed over his head to prevent him from spitting at the
officers, who feared he might have the Covid-19 virus. In an attempt to control Mr. Prude’s
behavior, the officers performed a technique which involved pressing his head to the
pavement. Mr. Prude lost consciousness and was subsequently transported back to URMC.
Mr. Prude died a week later.

It is unknown as to why Mr. Prude did not receive a more comprehensive evaluation of his
condition. URMC stated it cannot release the details of Mr. Prude’s care because of mental
health laws protecting patient privacy. In September, a group called White Coats for Black
Lives, comprised of more than 200 trainees at all levels of medical practice, openly
criticized URMC for its mishandling of the Prude case and urged it “to take concrete steps
to address systemic racism within the institution.” In URMC’s response, it stated that its
review found that the care was “medically appropriate and compassionate.” 4

3
As no official reports have yet been released on the Prude case, we cite information from news articles
such as https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/09/02/daniel-prude-rochester-ny-
police-died-march-2020-after-officers-restrained-him/5682948002/.
4
Sean Lehman, “Medical students say systemic racism at UR contributed to ‘murder’ of Daniel Prude,”
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. September 23, 2000.
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/09/23/daniel-prude-university-rochester-
medical-students-post-letter-calling-urmc-address-failings-race/3501639001/
 3

The Monroe County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide and named the cause as
asphyxiation in a setting of physical restraint. Video footage of the encounter, the existence
of which the City had known about for several months, shook the community and prompted
weeks of protests, along with calls to defund the Rochester police and for leading city
officials to resign.

It is not surprising that concerns have been raised regarding the events leading up to,
during, and after Mr. Prude's death. These concerns show examples of overlapping
institutions and how issues that appear straightforward might involve more complex
analyses to return an effective solution. The Prude case is not just a policing issue. A more
comprehensive analysis reveals that there were multiple systems involved in the death of
Daniel Prude.

Based on the autopsy, Mr. Prude tested positive for levels of PCP in his blood system. The
cause of death was determined to be a result of asphyxia. How do we understand the role
of substances in this case and within our community? How do we understand the role of
substances in police-caused deaths?

● Mr. Prude had a history of family trauma and mental health issues. Before police
involvement, his brother Joe Prude noticed that he needed professional mental help
after Daniel began accusing him of wanting to hurt him. Daniel Prude was brought
to Strong Memorial Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation but was eventually released
a few hours later. How do we understand the role of psychiatric evaluations
concerning police-related incidents? What other institutions, if any, are involved—
and how can we transform these institutions to prevent police-related deaths?
● When police arrived at Mr. Prude’s location, they found him naked. They asked him
multiple times to get on the ground. Mr. Prude complied and was placed in
handcuffs. While in police custody, Mr. Prude became agitated and claimed he had
COVID, a spit hood was placed over his head. This led to Mr. Prude demanding that
the hood be removed. Eventually, he was pinned to the ground for approximately
two minutes and fifteen seconds. He later died of complications from asphyxia after
being taken off life support. How does police training play a role in these types of
incidents, and how can that training be improved? Are there certain measures that
police officers should be trained in when it is probable that mental health is a factor?
● How does race play a role in this incident?

The manner of Mr. Prude’s death highlights the necessity and possibilities for systemic
changes within the City of Rochester and County of Monroe. These issues, questions and
systems failures are the basis for this Commission’s work. We did not come into existence
to advocate for any position. Our charge is to identify problems and propose the necessary
solutions, while proposing an accountability system for validating that the appropriate
 4

steps are being taken to implement the systemic and sustainable recommendations found
in our proposals.

The facts of Daniel Prude’s ordeal extend beyond RPD’s and URMC’s relatively brief
encounters with him. The news of those encounters, made public nearly six months after
they occurred, greatly outraged many citizens. Many of them took to the streets, in
peaceable assembly and in full exercise of their right to petition City government for the
redress of these specific grievances. They strongly condemned the unacceptable deaths of
Black people at the hands of the police. Protest rallies, organized by Free the People ROC,
and other allied groups which attracted thousands of people, launched the same day
(September 2) that the police body-worn camera videos were publicly released by the Prude
family attorneys. They continued every succeeding day for more than two weeks.

On several occasions, there were confrontations between the protesters and the police,
leading to the police detonating tear gas canisters and pepper spray, firing pepper balls into
the crowds, displaying of police dogs, and at least one report of an armored military-styled
vehicle at the scenes. These were widely condemned by the protesters. The City Council
strongly urged the Mayor and the Chief to de-escalate tensions with the protesters. The
opposite occurred. The police countered that these tactics were only deployed when acts of
violence were directed towards them, and that these acts were largely perpetrated by
“outside agitators.”

Images of police officers outfitted in riot gear, with police dogs on visible display, were
jarring for residents of a city with the social justice legacy of Rochester. This out-of-
proportion use of force, and the inappropriate description of protesters as “outside
agitators,” were reminiscent of the 1960s Civil Rights era police-protester confrontations
led by the likes of ‘Bull” Connor, Jim Clark and George Wallace. Complicating this was the
inability or outright refusal of City and police officials to explain who ordered this style of
“show of force,” and whether any established guidelines existed for these deployments.

The events of the first four night of protests, with multiple arrests and injured citizens and
police, pungent tear gas and pepper spray contaminating the air, and pepper balls aimed
directly at protesters in what were considered to be efforts to maim rather than maintain
the peace, brought on escalating outrage among the protesters. After the fourth night,
Saturday September 5, tensions greatly escalated when police battled the protesters near
City Hall. Critics labeled their actions “military warfare” and said the protesters were being
treated as “enemy combatants.” 5

On Sunday afternoon September 6, the Mayor conducted a televised press conference with
the RPD chief, and they revealed a “de-escalation” plan proposed by Pastor Myra Brown of
Spiritus Christi Church, located across the street from City Hall and where a number of
protesters had sought refuge from the police. A number of community elders would serve
as buffers between the protesters and the police at that evening’s rally outside the Public

5
See descriptions of these nightly events in Timeline accounts compiled by local media. These particular
terms are found in reporting from WHAM- Channel 13 on September 5-6, 2020.
 5

Safety Building. Fifty elders answered the call, and that night’s rally was the first peaceful
assembly since the beginning of the rallies.

That tenuous peace extended for several more evenings. On night #11, Saturday September
12, it dissolved, with furious clashes between the two sides at the intersection of Wilder and
Child streets, leading to several arrests and more pepper spray and pepper balls shot into
the crowd.

After two weeks of internecine battles, the City Council unanimously approved an
independent investigation where every aspect of city actions involving the Prude matter
could be subpoenaed and evaluated. The Council also directed the Mayor and RPD to
develop guidelines for how the police will respond to future protest rallies, particularly the
use of chemical weapons. According to a story in the February 13 edition of the Democrat
and Chronicle, a draft version of that plan was delivered to the Council in January, but it
was described by Interim RPD Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan as “fluid” and not in its final
form. It was reviewed in open session by the Police Accountability Board in mid-February,
and the board’s questions revealed how many more details are necessary to ensure that the
police response is appropriate and well-measured during these types of protest situations.
Many questions remain, but several independent bodies are working to obtain transparent
and sustainable responses. Our recommendations will be discussed in Part 2 of this report.

The City Council was not the only body upset over these developments. Members of the
RASE Commission were equally outraged upon learning that the Mayor had not informed
them of Daniel Prude’s death at the time of their appointment. The Mayor asserts that she
first learned of the mishandling of the Prude case on August 4, and she swore in the
members of the Commission on August 10. She, County Executive Bello and Chief
Singletary (who did not attend) were invited to meet, virtually, with the full Commission
on Labor Day morning. Many of the newly sworn Commissioners, some of whom had been
at the rallies, expressed outrage at the actions of the police. They were equally perturbed
that the Mayor had not disclosed this matter at the time of the swearing in, and there was
a lengthy discussion of whether the Commission could do its work under circumstances
where trust was so low. After nearly two hours of intense discussion, there was agreement
to continue when the Mayor expressed her regrets and indicated how necessary this work
would be for her future efforts to reform policies and programs on all levels.

Even so, the ground is rapidly shifting. Since the creation of the RASE Commission in mid-
June, and its official launching in mid-August, several new developments have occurred:

1. The circumstances and implications of Daniel Prude’s death have become public.
2. Massive public demonstrations were launched by activists seeking justice for Mr.
Prude.
3. An independent investigation, with full subpoena power, was authorized by the City
Council, with no individual official, function or employee exempt from its scrutiny.
4. The Mayor ordered a complete audit of her administration’s actions by the city’s
Office of Public Integrity, which promised an investigation beyond the Mayor’s
control.
 6

5. The NYS Attorney General convened a grand jury to examine all aspects of the Prude
case. On February 22, she announced that a grand jury had failed to indict any of the
seven RPD officers on any charges, but she did release “a comprehensive report with
detailed descriptions of the events of March 22 and 23, 2020, legal analysis, all the
evidence, findings, and recommendations that [her] office collected during the
investigation outside of the grand jury process.” Included were a number of specific
recommendations regarding operations and procedures within the RPD.
6. The U.S. Justice Department has been asked to investigate the actions of the RPD
and whether the civil rights of Mr. Prude were deprived. The disposition of that
request is unresolved, with the transfer of power in DC.
7. The Mayor and City Council contracted for the services of the national law firm
WilmerHale to develop new policing guidelines and standards, in order to comply
with the Governor’s Executive Order 203 to address police reform. Concurrently, the
Mayor appointed a “Working Group on Police Reform and Reinvention.”
8. The Police Accountability Board, approved by citizens’ referendum in 2019, has now
become fully functional, with the hiring of its executive director. It now has the
ability, as well as the authority, to conduct independent investigations into police
operations.

Thus, within the space of six months, rather than one independent body (RASE) being
vested with the duty to examine the operations of the RPD and the conduct of its employees,
several new entities now occupy that space. This is in addition to the scrutiny directed from
such advocacy groups as the United Christian Leadership Ministries (UCLM), MPACT
(Ministers and Police Alliance for Community Transformation), the Faith Leaders
Roundtable, Free the People ROC, and other allied groups. It is clear that the RPD is the
most scrutinized entity in the City of Rochester and County of Monroe at this time.

Several groups – the United Christian Leadership Ministry, MPACT, the Police
Accountability Board, the NYS Attorney General, and the Faith Leaders Roundtable – have
submitted well-articulated proposals and recommendations that reflect the thinking of a
diverse group of concerned citizens, who clearly support the need for a new way to deliver
policing and allied services, like mental health intervention, in communities of color. These
services will need to be tailored to meet specific needs, and they must be more transparent
and more accountable to the communities they serve. Their workforces must be diverse
along racial, ethnic and gender lines and more attuned to the unique needs of the citizens
who require their services.

A review of these various constituent reports finds consistency in their findings with many
that the RASE Commission is advocating. There may be slight differences in focus and tone,
but we have all concluded that policing in this community must change, and that all of the
negative consequences of its work must be banished. It is left to the Working Group on
Police Reform and Reinvention and the WilmerHale consultants to take the various
recommendations and knit them into a coherent plan.

Once all of this input has been submitted and analyzed, there will be a great necessity to
extract the relevant issues of police operations and culture, and fuse them into a coherent
 7

and comprehensive plan that makes policing, mental health and social services in Greater
Rochester totally responsive to the needs and security of all communities of color, especially
the Black community.

We would not be at this moment of change and reinvention without the determination and
persistence of thousands of outraged citizens, who took to the streets, to demonstrably and
peaceably point out a grievous wrong and demand that it be corrected. If the reforms and
reinventions that are contained on these pages, and within the recommendations of others,
are soon enacted, Rochester will finally live up to its legacy as a place where social justice
for all people dwells, not just in words but actions.

A few notes about this report: This report is organized in three sections. Part 1 includes
background information and the Commission’s findings and recommendations. Part 2
contains the Working Group reports. Part 3 is an Appendix with supplementary material.
About language: Understanding that race is a social construct, it is necessary to refer to
racial and ethnic groups in this report. These terms may be preferred or disfavored by
individual readers. Our intent is to be as clear, specific and respectful as possible. Here is
how we thought about the terms we use:

BIPOC: Black, Indigenous and People of Color. This is an encompassing term that has
recently been embraced by many. We use this term when discussing issues that affect this
broad group.

Black and Brown: We use this term to refer to people of African and Latin American
descent.

Black and African American: We use this term to refer to people of African descent who
have been subject to a variety of specific injustices, starting with slavery, in the United
States.

White: We use this term to refer to people of Caucasian descent who have historically
maintained privilege and supremacy in the U.S.

Latino or Latinx: We use these terms when speaking of people of Latin American origin or
descent (inclusive of people with origins in Cuba, Puerto Rico and other places), with Latinx
used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary alternative to Latino or Latina.
 8

Part 1: Background Information

Charge of the Commission
Through the RASE Commission, our community has an obligation, as well as an
opportunity, to bring together City and County government, community partners, existing
initiatives and citizens to address the issue of perpetual and pernicious racial and ethnic
disparities, particularly within the context of poverty, across the lifespan and across
generations, as well as the impact of associated trauma and toxic stress. The traumatic
events of recent years, including a rise of white nationalism and white supremacy and the
deadly, inexorable violence against Black people by police and other malevolent forces,
have exposed, once and forever, the contradiction between the founding ideals of equality
and opportunity, and the reality of inequity as a result of racist laws, policies and practices.
The confluence of these factors has informed the work of the Commission as it reviews
legislation, policies and practices which continue to pose barriers to equity, while
developing the same to increase support for racial and structural equity, thereby positively
impacting the future of our community.

These disparities derive from centuries of structural racism in America, beginning with the
genocide of Native American peoples and enslavement of Africans and moving through the
development and institutionalization of racist ideology and policies in nearly every facet of
life in this country. The history of the United States is one where systems were built, and
supported by law and force, to lock Blacks and other people of color out of economic
opportunity and the ability to freely participate in society. 6 These include race-based and
exclusionary policies in every aspect of life and commerce -- housing, employment,
education, entrepreneurship, health care, and equal treatment by police and in the
dispensation of criminal justice.

These inequities have been compounded over many generations by the failure of both
public and private sector leadership to repudiate and replace these noxious and
metastasizing conditions, as, for example, African Americans who could not own homes
decades ago were unable to share in the benefit of homeownership, which is the most
common transfer of wealth across generations.

While explicit policies of the past (banning Blacks from government-funded housing
developments, racial covenants limiting property ownership to Whites, redlining which
prevented Blacks from securing home loans 7) are no longer in place, the systems they
created remain and are maintained by present-day structures and practices. Residential

6
Many sources could be cited here, including: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/158-resources-
understanding-systemic-racism-america-180975029/
7
Federal agencies from 1934 to 1968 used the racial makeup of neighborhoods to gauge risk in lending,
using “redlining” to mark neighborhoods with nonwhite residents as ineligible for federally insured home
loans. A wide variety of sources explain these dynamics, including:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-
still-hurting-minorities-today/ and
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=cplan_papers
 9

segregation by race continues in our community, with 72% of Monroe County Blacks living
in the City and 83% of Monroe County Whites living in the suburbs. Suburban zoning
policies, realtor and landlord practices of steering members of racial groups to different
areas, and lower home lending rates to Blacks all play a role in maintaining segregation,
which has profound implications for opportunity and equity. The segregation of racial
groups into communities with unequal opportunities and resources maintains existing
structures of power and opportunity that reduce social mobility and outcomes for Blacks
and other people of color across generations, as demonstrated in research. 8

This report addresses a full spectrum of focus areas, policies and systems that obstruct and
constrain Black lives, and it offers solid recommendations for equitable changes. The issue
of policing merits a special mention here. As noted previously, the Commission’s work
began in a context of fierce debate over the history of policing and the proper role of
community policing from this date forward, including a mandate by New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo for every police agency in the state to review and recommend changes to police force
deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices to eliminate racial bias. 9 This
mandate obviously applies to the Rochester Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s
Office and suburban police departments throughout the county.

While the RASE Commission seeks to inform that effort through this report, we also note
that other community entities have engaged in research and community engagement and
issued reports and recommendations that should be carefully examined and considered for
implementation. As discussed in our Introduction, these include the Rochester Police
Accountability Board, 10 United Christian Leadership Ministries, the Ministers and Police
Alliance for Community Transformation (MPACT), and the Faith Leaders Roundtable. 11
Each of these specifically addressed the need for different supports and interactions for
residents suffering from mental health distress, a critical issue brought to the foreground
by Daniel Prude’s death. We believe that the City, County and all police agencies in Monroe
County should carefully consider all of these recommendations, including those found in
this report, as well as the recommendations coming from the review conducted by the
WilmerHale law firm on behalf of City government.

We believe that it is not merely the job of the Commission to identify and call out these
racial inequities and divisions or to set forth innovative and sustainable solutions that can
be adopted by City and County governments. Rather, this report must become the platform
for generating broader community support from all sectors. This report cannot only be
embraced by those victimized by e inequities and disparities. It must be affirmatively and
energetically embraced by those community members whose indifference to, and even
acquiescence in, these conditions have led to generational denial and oppression of BIPOC
individuals for no reason other than the color of their skin. The Commission seeks to impact

8 Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States, by
Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline & Emmanuel Saez. https://www.nber.org/papers/w19843
9
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/no-203-new-york-state-police-reform-and-reinvention-collaborative
10
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/pab/answers/
11
Becoming a New Policing Blueprint Community, Public Safety and Thriving Communities, A Model for
Dignity, the Faith Leaders Roundtable
 10

the hearts and minds of the majority, who must move from being passively part of the
problem to actively part of the solution.

While we do not expect that every word and idea herein will receive unanimous backing,
the members of the RASE Commission submit these findings, and strategies for
implementing them, with the expectation that they will be considered, embraced and
followed through on by a significant core of the community.
 11

Commission Structure
The 21-member Commission is led by three co-chairs: former Rochester Mayor William
Johnson, Ms. Arline Santiago, Esq., and Dr. Muhammad Shafiq. The Commission worked
with a six-month goal to report back to the community on recommended changes to local
laws and policies.

The commission’s formal charge:

In alignment with The City of Rochester and Monroe County’s

priorities for racial equity and social justice, the Commission
on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE) is hereby charged to:

Inventory and assess current local laws/policies that either

promote or are intended to eliminate institutional and
structural biases, racism and inequities in the City of
Rochester and Monroe County

Provide recommendations to enhance current local

laws/policies to increase effectiveness, and/or “sunset” local
laws/policies that are ineffective or no longer applicable

Provide recommendations on any new local laws/policies

which address “gaps” identified per “a.” and “b.”

The focus on policies and practices beyond those functions directly controlled by local
government was necessitated by the inclusion of areas which functioned under the auspices
of other sectors, such as other arms of the criminal justice system, education, healthcare,
housing, job creation and economic development. There are many aspects of these sectors
whose operations manifest institutional and structural biases, and racial disparities. They
should not escape the analysis and reform efforts of the RASE process.

From the outset, the Mayor and the County Executive determined that the Commission
would be comprised of twenty-one (21) members in addition to the co-chairs. Eight (8) were
pre-designated because of their leadership roles in local governance and law enforcement
in the community and their influence and authority to enact the changes recommended by
the Commission. Among these were two members of the City Council and two members of
the County Legislature, as well as the Monroe County Sheriff, Rochester Police Chief, the
head of police union and the head of county public safety.

With the announcement of the formation of the Commission came very high community
interest. People began reaching out through various channels to seek appointment. With
only 13 seats to fill and interest numbering into the hundreds, the co-chairs and staff
devoted much thought to the creation of the most objective method of identifying a slate of
 12

nominees to present to the County Executive and Mayor, who were the final appointing
authorities.

An application form which captured the candidate’s background and personal interest in
racial justice work was developed specific to the needs of this Commission. It was widely
promoted through media and outreach to numerous community organizations and posted
online. Two hundred and thirty (230) people completed it and expressed an interest in
serving on the Commission. Additionally, a Selection Committee, comprised of 15
community members, was established to review the applications, interview the applicants,
and recommend a slate of candidates to the chairs for their review. Persons who chose to
serve on the Selection Committee knew that they could not be nominated to serve on the
Commission. From the original 230 applications, 40 were submitted to the co-chairs by the
Selection Committee for further screening. From this list, 21 were recommended to the
Mayor and County Executive who made the final selection and appointment. It must be
reiterated that no person was appointed to the 13 open Commission seats who did not
submit an application, and who did not advance from the Selection Committee through the
co-chairs. Appointment to the Commission was highly competitive, and steps were taken
to ensure the integrity of the process, from beginning to end.

Less than a month after the Commission began its work, the news of Daniel Prude’s fatal
encounter with the Rochester Police Department rocked the city. After many days of
protests, the roles of two Commissioners, Police Chief LaRon Singletary and Police Union
(Locust Club) President Michael Mazzeo, became entangled in that controversy. Since both
were designated appointees of the Mayor, she believed that their continued presence would
hamper the Commission’s work. Both were replaced by persons with strong police and
union credentials.
 13

Working Groups
The bulk of the Commission’s work was carried out through nine Working Groups, each
facilitated by two to three Commissioners, and complemented by citizens who volunteered
to serve. The focus areas for Working Groups were determined to represent the broad
spectrum of sectors and areas where racial discrimination has produced inequity.

The Working Groups and their co-facilitators are:

∞ Policing: consider how to respond to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s mandate to review

policing policies, as well as community proposals to completely restructure the ways
that police agencies perform their public safety and policing functions. Facilitators:
Wayne Harris and Kim Nghiem
∞ Other Aspects of the Criminal Justice System: examine the role of other players
in this system, such as the prosecution and defense of criminal cases, the probation and
parole systems, the maintenance of city versus suburban justice systems, bail reform,
and alternative adjudication systems. Facilitators: Logan X Brown, Danielle Ponder and
Catherine Thomas
∞ Education: consider how to achieve equitable education outcomes for City public
school students. Facilitators: Denishea Ortiz and Luis Ormaechea
∞ Healthcare: examine the government’s role in reforming a system where people of
color and all marginalized and poor people are denied access to equitable and quality
health services? Facilitators: Sady Fischer and Stephanie Townsend
∞ Mental Health and Addiction Services: consider how to achieve better access to
needed mental health and addiction services when people have no access to the
healthcare system. Facilitators: Aaron Anandarajah, Eric Caine and Richard Tantalo
∞ Housing: identify strategies to achieve equitable access to housing/home ownership
throughout Monroe County. Facilitators: Steve Brew and Damond Wilson
∞ Job Creation: identify ways that government can stimulate and incentivize job
creation at a time when technology in the workplace is destroying job opportunities for
people of color and all marginalized and poor people across the board. Facilitators: Todd
Baxter and Frank Keophetlasy
∞ Business Development: identify strategies and resources necessary to expand
minority and female-owned businesses. Facilitators: Marcus Dunn and Willie Lightfoot
∞ Human/Social Services: examine the full range of available human services for
families, other adults and young people, which are operated and/or funded by the City
and County, to determine where there are disparities in service delivery and outcomes.
Facilitators: Karen Elam, Mitch Gruber and Bruce Popper

The complete roster of each working group can be found in the Acknowledgments.
 14

Methodology
The pillars of the RASE Commission work were law and policy analysis, data collection and
analysis, and community engagement – all aimed at understanding how structural racism
operates to reduce equity and opportunity in our community, and how it can be dismantled.
The RASE Commission’s work kicked off with a daylong retreat for Commission members,
staff and CGR to get to know one another and learn about structural racism, systems and
local government. Commission members received copies of The Color of Law by Richard
Rothstein, outlining how government policy directly caused racial segregation and
inequitable access to decent housing, and the Hard Facts report by ACT Rochester and the
Rochester Area Community Foundation, exploring the depth of local racial disparities
across quality of life areas. Commission members also heard a presentation by Community
Foundation Vice President Simeon Banister on local history exploring how the timing of
African American migration to our area, as well as explicit policies, contributed to Blacks
being left out of Rochester’s economic growth. Elizabeth McDade also participated in the
orientation and talked about the work of the Coalition to Prevent Childhood Lead
Poisoning, sharing an example of how a commission of dedicated people could change
policy in Rochester. Finally, the Commission learned about the structure and authority of
City and County government, discussed in more detail below.
Thereafter, the RASE Commission met every two weeks to share updates and discuss
progress. Commission members discussed the key issues they were identifying through the
Working Groups, preliminary thoughts about recommendations, strategies for community
engagement, and issues that went across Working Group areas.
Working Groups met on a weekly basis to identify key issues, priorities and ultimately
recommendations through brainstorming, research, law and policy analysis, data collection
and analysis, and community engagement. They identified and added members from the
community who had expressed interest in the Commission’s work, as well as local experts,
practitioners and community members who were invited to join and share their knowledge
and perspectives. Working Groups reviewed key resources, reports and data pertaining to
their focus area to establish a common knowledge base for their members. They formed
work plans outlining key issues they wanted to explore in more depth, their connections to
local laws and systems, needed data and research, preliminary recommendations and
connections to other Working Groups. Through ongoing community engagement, data
collection and research, Working Groups confirmed and distilled priorities and developed
deeper understanding of policy and law connections, leading ultimately to their final
recommendations.

Community Engagement
Community engagement was a high priority for the Working Groups and was carried out in
a number of ways, including virtual town hall meetings, surveys and interviews of
community members impacted by the focus areas, and tours of affected communities to
speak with residents and business owners. Sessions were mostly held virtually, using a
variety of platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some were streamed live on
Facebook. One group conducted a bus tour to gather perspectives from small business
 15

owners, while another held discussions with incarcerated youth, high school students and
formerly incarcerated men.

Several of the groups designed and conducted online and paper surveys reaching hundreds
of respondents. These surveys asked about individuals’ experiences with structural racism
and a variety of systems in our community, perspectives on the challenges faced, areas of
need, ideas for improvement, and potential solutions. Paper surveys were distributed
through community-based organizations and at accessible locations such as libraries in
order to increase their reach.

Data Collection
In addition to collecting primary data through surveys, interviews and other forms of
community engagement, Working Groups examined data from a wide variety of official
sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, NYS Education Department, NYS Department
of Criminal Justice Services, U.S. Small Business Administration, and U.S. Centers for
Disease Control, as well as local sources such as Common Ground Health and the Monroe
County Department of Human Services.

Identification of Priorities & Recommendations

As described above, Working Groups used themes and findings from community
engagement, data collection and research to confirm or modify their priorities, understand
connections to local law and policy, and explore recommendations. Some Working Groups
used criteria or matrices to help them assess and prioritize issues. One group used a rubric
with criteria related to the issue’s connection to City/County government, barriers to
addressing issues, impact on local youth and other factors to help prioritize issues.
Details of each Working Group’s efforts can be found in the Working Group Summaries
section of this report.
 16

Mapping Our Community

Overview of Our Community and its Racial Disparities
Since the summer of 1964, Rochester has been at the forefront of social change. The uprising of
July 1964 thrust Rochester into the national spotlight as Black residents railed against
discrimination in housing, employment, schools, and police-community relations. For three
days, the Black citizens of Rochester let their discontent with racist practices be heard. At the end
of the rebellion, organizations like F.I.G.H.T. (Freedom, Independence, God, Honor, Today),
Action for a Better Community, the Urban League of Rochester and the Ibero American Action
League emerged to address some of the issues of the day.
In the many decades since then, Rochester has continued to evolve its social justice efforts.
Rochester Initiative on Structural Equity (RISE), Facing Race, Embracing Equity (FR=EE), the
Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative
(REJI), and Interrupt Racism are a few of the initiatives aimed at recognizing and addressing
racial injustice at the interpersonal and institutional levels. The RASE Commission
acknowledges the groundwork that has been laid and is carrying the mantle to address the
structural and systemic issues that allow inequities to persist in our county and city.
Below, you will find a Community Profile providing a data-focused overview of our community
and its racial disparities across dimensions of individual and family well-being.

Monroe County is located in western upstate New York

and is centered on the City of Rochester, with 19
surrounding suburban and rural towns. According to July
2019 population estimates, Monroe County is home to
741,770 people, with 205,695 of them living within the
Rochester city limits. The County’s population has
remained relatively stable since 2010, while the population
of the City has decreased almost 2.5%. (US Census Bureau)
THE LATINO POPULATION IS THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT
OF MONROE COUNTY’S POPULATION, HAVING INCREASED BY 65%
The community has seen a shift in terms of both age and race, indicating increased diversity
among its citizens. Minority populations have grown in Monroe County, particularly among
children and youth, while the white population has declined. The Latino population is the fastest
growing segment of Monroe County’s population, having increased by 65% in the County and
37% in the City of Rochester since 2000. During the same time period, the Asian population has
increased by 50% in the County and 46% in the City; the Black/African American population
has increased by 14% in the County and 1% in the City; while the white population has decreased
by 2% in the County and 9% in the City.
 17

The population of Monroe County In the City, the number of people

is aging and diversity is greater aged 60 to 84 increased by 25%,

41% within the younger population. The

number of people age 60 to 84 has
increased by 41% and the number
25% while the number of people 85 and
older decreased 32%. Residents age
60 or older currently account for
of people age 85 or older has 23% of Monroe’s and 16% of
increased by 33% since 2000. Rochester’s population.

At the same time, the number of children, youth and young adults under the age of 20
has declined by 12% in the County and 19% in the City. Of the 180,483 children, youth
and young adults under age 25 within Monroe County, 34% of them reside in the City of
Rochester. Across the County, 19% of youth under 25 are Black/African American, 12%
are Latino and 4% are Asian, compared to the City, where 42% are Black/African
American and 22% are Hispanic/Latino. The margin of disparity grows when
comparing City youth to those outside the City, where 7% are Black/African American
and 7% are Hispanic/Latino. Even as the overall numbers of children, youth and young
adults in Monroe County has declined, the Hispanic, African American and Asian
populations are all more youthful than whites: 47% of Hispanics, 41% of African
Americans and 38% of Asians were under 25, while 28% of whites were younger than
25. (US Census Bureau and ACTRochester.org)

The overall poverty rate in the County currently stands at 14.4%, up from 13.2%
in 2013, which is slightly less than state and national levels and at first glance
does not appear concerning. When one looks at the concentration of poverty,
the scope and magnitude of the problem comes into focus. In contrast to
County rates, the poverty rate in the City of Rochester sits at 32.6%, up from
31.1% in 2013.

The poverty rate for African Americans in the Poverty affects children, particularly
County is 35% and 39% in the City. The children of color, at disproportionate
poverty rate for Hispanic or Latinos is 33% in rates as well. Across the County, 22% of
the County and 43% in the City. By children live in poverty, with wide
comparison, the poverty rate for Whites in variation based on racial and ethnicity.
the County is 10% and 25% in the City. While 50% of Black/African American
children and 42% of Hispanic children
in the County live in poverty, 12% of
white children do. A greater percentage
of children live in poverty in the City
across all racial and ethnic groups: 56%
of Black/African American children,
55% of Hispanic/Latino children and
43% of white children in the City of
Rochester live in poverty. (Source: Hard
Facts: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine
Poverty is further concentrated in certain
County Greater Rochester Area, ACT
areas or zip codes within the City. The number
Rochester/Community Foundation-
of census tracts with poverty rates greater than
Update, August 2020).
40% grew from 14 in 1990, to 19 in 2000, to 27
in 2010 to 37 tracts in 2016. (Sources: ACT
Rochester and Hard Facts: Race & Ethnicity in
the Nine County Greater Rochester Area).
 19

DISPARATE RATES BY RACE AND African American students achieved

ETHNICITY, AND LINKED TO between 25% and 32% on 3rd grade
POVERTY, ARE SEEN IN A VARIETY assessments in 2019.
OF WELLNESS INDICATORS. Notably, white and Asian students scored
similarly in both 3rd and 8th grade, while
While the infant mortality rate average for Black/African American and Latino
the County between 2015-2017 was 7.7 per
1000 live births, it was 12.2 in the City. students’ success in 8th grade dropped to
Across the County, the infant mortality rate 16% and 19% respectively. (Source:
for Black/African Americans is 3 times that ACTRochester.org) While graduation rates
for whites: 15 per 1000 live births compared for schools in Monroe County perform on
to 5 per 1000 for whites. The infant mortality par with the rest of the state, the graduation
rate for Hispanics (10 per 1000) is twice that
of whites. (Source: Monroe County rate in the Rochester City School District for
Department of Health) Additionally, African a 4-year cohort for the 2018-19 school year
American infants are nearly 2.5 times as was 63%, up from 51% in 2015. (Source: ROC
likely as white infants to experience low the Future 2019 Annual Report)
birthweight, which is a leading indicator of
developmental and neurological problems.
Latino infants are twice as likely to
experience low birthweight as white infants.

INFANT MORTALITY RATE 92% 71%

AFRICAN 74%
WHITES AMERICAN LATINOS
2019 graduation rates in Monroe County

Graduation rates continue to vary by race

and ethnicity, although the gap is beginning
to decrease: County wide, 92% of white
students, 71% of African American and 74%

3x 2x
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISPANICS
of Latinos graduated on time in 2019.
HIGHER HIGHER (Source: ACT Rochester) If children are not
THAN THAN in school, they cannot learn. In the Rochester
WHITES WHITES
City School district, for the 2016-2017
academic year, 30% of students in
Passing rates on various measures of kindergarten through 3rd grade missed 10%
academic achievement in Monroe County or more of the school year (18+ days),
have improved over the last few years, but meeting the standards for chronic
disparities remain, with chronic absenteeism. Forty nine percent (49%) of
absenteeism playing a role in success. On RCSD high school students were chronically
state assessments, white and Asian students absent. The overall absenteeism rate for
in Monroe County achieved passing scores in RCSD was 35%.
the range of 52% to 63%. Hispanic and
 20

Median household income dropped 15% in State Poverty Reduction Initiative. Local
Monroe County and 18% in the City of initiatives include the Monroe County Paths
Rochester between 2000 and 2018. The to Empowerment program; Rochester
median household income of Black/African Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI);
Americans and Hispanic/Latinos within the the City of Rochester’s Office of Innovation
County is less than half that of whites. and Strategic Initiatives; ROC the Future
Additionally, Black/African Americans in (which strives to improve the academic
Monroe County earn 76% of what achievement of Rochester’s children as a
Black/African Americans earn nationwide means by which to address poverty and
and 65% of their peers across New York. racial disparities); Pathways to Prosperity (a
Hispanic/Latinos earn about 64% of what link between regional economic
Hispanic/Latinos earn nationwide and 68% development and anti-poverty efforts
of what Hispanic/Latinos earn in New York focusing on the relationship between
State. While Black/African American and education, employment and poverty);
Hispanic/Latinos in the City fare somewhat Connected Communities (focusing on
better relative to whites, all groups in the City holistic revitalization of select
earn between 58% and 56% of their neighborhoods); Unite Rochester; Stand
counterparts across New York State. Against Racism; Person2Person; and Great
Black/African American and Schools for All. The United Way Blueprint
Hispanic/Latinos are more likely to be poor for Change for 2016-19 focused on four (4)
than whites throughout the lifespan. areas: basic needs, giving babies the best
start, preparing kids for success, and
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE supporting seniors and caregivers.
FOR WHITES IN MONROE In addition, the City of Rochester was chosen
COUNTY IS 4.4% COMPARED as one of 16 cities to receive a Smarter Cities
Challenge grant from IBM in 2015. During a
TO 14.1% FOR AFRICAN three-week period in October 2015, a team of
AMERICANS AND 11% FOR five IBM experts worked to deliver
HISPANICS. recommendations to improve the delivery of
services to individuals in need. They found
five overarching themes related to serving
Seventy-one percent (71%) of Whites own individuals:
homes in Monroe County compared with
32% of African Americans and 34% of 1. Misalignment of agency services. Poverty
Hispanic or Latino adults. (Source: Hard awareness across City, county and state
Facts: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine County organizations has generated genuine efforts
Rochester Area and ACTRochester.) to fund programs that address related issues.
The result, however, is a community that is
In our community, there has been a move “program rich but results poor.”
toward collective impact and shared
responsibility, with multiple initiatives to 2. Reactive with no focus on proactive and
address the issues of poverty and racial preventive action. While the programs and
disparities. State initiatives include the services have succeeded in assisting those
Rochester Anti-Poverty Task Force they are intended to serve, there is no
established in 2015, as well as the Empire material decrease in poverty being recorded.
 21

3. Lack of person-centric delivery and measurement system. Programs that provide services to
those in need tend to operate in a mode of self-sustainment.

4. Unrealized potential within the community. The IBM team consistently heard that
communities and neighborhoods need to play a more significant role in helping children and
their families succeed.

5. Inconsistent approach to data sharing across government, education, nongovernmental

organizations (NGOs) and nonprofit organizations. Improvement is essential in helping reduce
poverty.

•••

These findings clearly point to a need to link

the individual systems with a more
institutional and systemic approach to
assisting our communities most impacted
by structural racism.
•••
 22

Opportunity Mapping
One tool that can help us see the outcomes associated with structural racism in the systems
in our community is opportunity mapping. Using data that measures aspects of access to
opportunity or quality of life, we can create maps showing where opportunity/quality of life
is higher and where it is lower, and compare that to the racial and ethnic makeup of
communities within Monroe County.
To further understand racialized inequity in our area, we can examine the maps below,
created using U.S. Census Bureau data at the census tract level on median household
income, share of adults with bachelor’s degree or higher and the share of households
spending 30% or less of their income on housing. The indicators were selected because high
incomes, high education levels and affordable housing are all indicators of quality of life
that also impart opportunity to future generations. 12 The indicators were combined into
one value representing an Opportunity Index. 13
In the following map of Monroe County, the areas shaded darker red have the lowest
Opportunity Index levels, while the lighter orange areas have higher levels.

12
Other variables have similar effects; these were chosen for ease of access and use.
13The income data underwent a log transformation to adjust the distribution. Using the same methodology
used by opportunityindex.org the individual indicators were rescaled: ((observed value – lowest
value)/(highest value – lowest value))*100. The final index value was computed as the average of the three
indicators.
 23

Monroe County Opportunity Index

 24

As illustrated below, our Opportunity Index correlates with race, with areas of the County
with higher nonwhite populations shown in gradations of blue.

Monroe County, Share of Population that is Non-white

 25

The maps can be found and manipulated online at https://arcg.is/P1vHa.

Mapping the Systems

Structural Racism
As discussed above, the RASE Commission was designed to combat structural inequities
that exist because of race, racialization, and racism in the City of Rochester and Monroe
County. These dynamics of racism have been in existence since before our country’s
founding and rule every dimension of our lives. Yet, they are not clearly understood by all.
Therefore, in order to understand how to eliminate structures and systems of racial
inequity, we must first define what racism is and how it operates in our daily lives.
Racism is a complex dynamic that can be defined at four levels: internalized, interpersonal,
institutional and structural. 14

Internalized racism happens within an individual’s own psyche. It is the conscious and
unconscious acceptance of negative attitudes, beliefs, ideologies, and stereotypes about
oneself, one’s racial group, and other groups based on a racial hierarchy. Internalized
racism speaks to how we see and feel about ourselves as a member of a racial group. It can
lead to a false sense of inferiority or superiority. It governs how people interact with
authority, what is tolerated and accepted, and what a person believes he/she can or cannot
do.

Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. This happens once our conscious or
unconscious racial bias becomes part of our interactions with others. Interpersonal racism
may appear as racial slurs, discriminatory practices, unfair treatment, and threats or
harassment based on race. This is where most conversations about racism occur, but it is
not where conversations should stay or end.

Institutional racism exists in policies, procedures, practices and cultures of

institutions/organizations that produce racially disparate outcomes. This form of racism
may appear as lack of diversity in hiring practices, disparity in wages and earnings, lack of
promotional or advancement opportunities, and/or disparate disciplinary actions. And,
they occur even if the people working within those institutions have good intentions.

Structural racism, which is the focus of the RASE Commission, exists across institutions
and is dynamic and cumulative in its impact. It is a system in which public policies,
institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work to routinely
advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of
color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized as white supremacy

14
Many resources explore these terms and concepts. We consulted several, including the Aspen Institute’s
Glossary for Understanding the Dismantling Structural Racism/Promoting Racial Equity Analysis (available
at www.aspeninstitute.org), www.movetoendviolence.org, https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary and
Systems Thinking and Race: A Workshop Summary.
 26

– the preferential treatment, privilege, and power for white people at the expense of racially
oppressed people. Structural racism is not something that a few people or institutions
choose to practice. Instead, it is a feature of the social, economic, and political systems in
which we all exist. It is interdependent, interacting and compounding. 15

Systems thinking helps explain how structural racism and other structures that limit
opportunity and equity exist across institutions and within systems. Systems thinking
encourages us to use a broad perspective that includes seeing overall structures, patterns
and cycles in systems, rather than seeing only specific events, issues or problems.

In Systems Thinking and Race, the authors explain:

“In most conversations, people think about racism as a problem between two or more
individuals. From a systems perspective, different facets of racism work interactively to
reinforce a system that racializes outcomes. In other words, interactions between
individuals are shaped by and reflect underlying and often hidden structures that shape
biases, create disparate outcomes even in the absence of racist actors or racist intentions.
The presence of structural racialization is evidenced by consistent differences in outcomes,
whether you are looking at educational attainment, family wealth, or life span that correlate
with the race of the community.”

Systems
As discussed above, structural racism comes from policies, practices and processes across
systems that produce racialized outcomes (or different outcomes for different racial
groups). As explained in Systems Thinking and Race:

“Structural inequity describes a dynamic process that generates differential outcomes

based on class, race, gender, immigration status, etc. Structural inequities work well for a
few, but in fact work against most people. The outcome of Structural Racialization is a
highly uneven geography of opportunity that constantly changes and evolves, and does not
require explicitly racist actors. Our challenge is to identify the most effective ways to change
or interrupt the processes that create inequity.”

Some of the biggest systems that impact individuals and families easily demonstrate how
racialized policies, practices and outcomes in one can impact the others, and in fact, how
they reinforce each other. Core outcomes such as family stability, wealth and individual
well-being can all be affected by systems ranging from child welfare to K-12 education to
criminal justice to quality housing to civil service and employment. If there are racial
disparities in one system --child welfare, as an example --this will have a disproportionately
negative effect on the family stability of families of color. Due to the historic legacy of
redlining and other racialized housing policies, families of color are more likely to live in
undervalued neighborhoods and have less access to quality, affording housing with
recreation, parks and grocery stores nearby. They may also not live in close proximity to

15
Definitions from materials used by Rochester’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, adapted from the
Aspen Institute.
 27

living-wage jobs that are located in downtown areas or the suburbs, or have access to
convenient transportation if they do not have the resources to own a car. In these ways,
BIPOC face structural barriers across systems that limit opportunity and result in the
inequitable outcomes discussed above and displayed in the maps of Monroe County.

Levels of Intervention
In thinking about remedies for structural racism and its effects, efforts can be targeted at
several levels. Efforts aimed at Individuals provide services or education to the
individuals impacted. If we think about access to homeownership as an example, an
individually focused intervention would be increasing knowledge of homebuyer assistance
programs for those in need. Interventions at the Institutional level change policies or
practices of organizations. Following our example, an institutional intervention for low
levels of homeownership among a racial group would be changing policies and practices
within a bank to increase lending to members of that group. Structural interventions
work to achieve change across institutions, focusing at the system level. In this example,
the structural intervention could be increasing legal requirements and enforcement of them
to ensure fair lending practices across lenders.
While interventions at all three levels are important and can be powerful, the RASE
Commission is focused on structural interventions.
 28

Authority of City and County Government

Key to the RASE Commission’s work is an understanding of the authority and purview of
the local governments that created it. Under their respective roles as chief executives, the
Rochester Mayor and Monroe County Executive both have the authority to propose local
laws, sign or veto legislation approved by City Council or the Monroe County Legislature,
implement policy, supervise the executive branch of local government, prepare an executive
budget for submission to city council or the Monroe County Legislature, and appoint and
remove executive officials.

Under their respective roles, the City Council and the County Legislature have the authority
to propose and approve local laws, amend and approve the executive budget of their
governments, levy taxes to support the budget, confirm the appointment of key executive
officials and some board/commission members, and focus governmental and public
attention on specific issues through legislative efforts and processes such as public
hearings.

Factors which limit the authority of city and county government include:

∞ State statutes and authority, which sets the boundary of local government authority and
creates mandates for local governments to follow.
∞ An example is the civil service law, which creates a prescribed system for testing and
selecting employees for many jobs within local government.
∞ Collective bargaining agreements with public sector unions, which govern work
practices, compensation levels and disciplinary procedures. Though the agreements are
bargained and mutually agreed upon, once in place, they can be very difficult to change.
∞ Key County officials are independently elected.
∞ Sheriff, District Attorney, Clerk
∞ Neither government has any management/policy authority over local schools, though
local tax revenues flow to the schools in a variety of ways and schools provide a critical
local function, nor do they have any authority over town or village governments within
the County. There are specific financial commitments which each enters into, such as
funding which the City provides to the City School District, and the sharing of sales tax
revenues by the County with the City and County municipalities, but these financial
commitments do not confer any authority for interfering with or directing actions of
these autonomous units of government.
The table on the following page outlines major functions and departments of each
government that pertain to each of the RASE Working Groups, and then additional major
functions.
 29

RASE Group City of Rochester Monroe County

Policing Rochester Police Dept. Sheriff’s Office
• Corrections, Road Patrol, Civil Unit,
and Court Security
Criminal Justice Public Safety Dept.
• Probation, 911, Stop-DWI,
Alternatives to Incarceration

Education Provides funding for Rochester Monroe Community College

School District
Healthcare Public Health Dept.
Monroe Community Hospital
• Medicaid administration (within
Human Services Dpt.)
Mental Health & Recreation & Human Services Planning & Development Dept.
Addiction Services Dept. Administer federal housing programs
• Family & Crisis
Intervention Team

Housing Neighborhood & Business Planning & Development Dept.

Development Dept. • Administer federal housing programs
• Zoning, code enforcement,
housing development
Job Creation Neighborhood & Business Planning & Development Dept.
Development Dept. • COMIDA, Workforce Development
• Economic development
Business Neighborhood & Business Planning & Development Dept.
Development Development Dept. • COMIDA, Workforce Development
• Economic development
Human & Social Recreation & Human Services Human Services Dept.
Services Dept. • Income support, medical/nutrition
• R Centers (recreation), assistance (including Medicaid),
Public Market children & family services, youth
bureau, mental health

Other
Emergency Services 911/311
Rochester Fire Department
Environmental Environmental Services Environmental Services
Parks Parks
Transportation Transportation Dept.
Rochester Genesee Transit Authority
Airport
Additional Clerk
Board of Elections
Parks
 30

Review of Local Laws

To further understand the role of local government, the RASE Commission conducted a
scan of local ordinances to identify any that pose barriers to equity in our community.
Online versions were reviewed:
∞ City of Rochester: https://ecode360.com/RO0104
∞ Monroe County: https://www.ecode360.com/MO0860
The review did not uncover specific laws that explicitly limit or pose barriers to equity. A
summary was shared with RASE commissioners and some Working Groups used the
information to shape recommendations discussed in the Working Group summaries. The
summary, provided in the Appendix to this report, identified connections between Working
Group focus areas and local laws. Some examples of relevant connections include:

∞ The City has a human rights ordinance 16 which bans discrimination in public
accommodations, employment, financing, housing, and City services on the basis of age,
race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual
orientation, disability, marital status or source of income. The ordinance specifically
bans redlining, and a provision added in 2017 prohibits landlords from discriminating
against renters based on the source of their income (meant to end a practice of landlords
not renting to those receiving government rental assistance). It also includes a fair
employment screening component, added in 2014, which specifically prohibits
employers located within the City from asking job applicants about criminal convictions
during the application process. The County does not have a similar law. Potential
opportunities: County to adopt a similar law; ways in which the City might further or
strengthen the objectives of the law.
∞ Both the County and City have the ability to adopt comprehensive planning processes
in statute. The City’s plan, Rochester 2034, was adopted by City Council in November
2019. The City plan is being incorporated into its zoning ordinances. The County
intends to launch a planning process in 2021 that will produce the first County
Comprehensive Plan in many years. Potential opportunities: There may be methods to
adopt as part of these plans/planning processes to increase racial and structural equity,
for example, through broadening the availability of affordable housing throughout the
County.
∞ The County has local ordinances charging criminal justice-related fees for probation
and electronic home confinement. Nationally, these types of fees have been criticized
for contributing to poverty. In addition, other local ordinances, such as City codes
regarding bicycles, noise and other issues, could be enforced in inequitable ways.
Potential opportunities include eliminating fees and exploring how ordinances are
enforced.

16
https://www.ecode360.com/8676660
 31

In addition to reviewing this material, the Commission investigated the potential for new
legislation to be developed to enhance racial and structural equity, including through
research into efforts in other local areas. The results of this exploration are detailed in
recommendations of the Commission and specific Working Groups.
 32

Part 2: Commission Findings

Through the process of data collection, research and community engagement described
above, the Working Groups each identified key issues and priorities related to improving
racial equity. The Commission also analyzed the issues to uncover the cross-cutting,
overarching themes connecting them.
This section has three parts: a summary of the top priorities identified by each Working
Group, a discussion of cross-cutting themes, and the Commission’s recommendations. Full
explanations of each issue and the processes the groups used to identify and prioritize
issues are found in the Working Group summaries in Part 3 of this report.
In the Recommendations section, specific recommendations are reported and categorized
under five specific action areas. While these items may appear to be redundant, in this
section they are stated in actionable and measurable terms. They are also attributable to
the specific Working Group that originated them. These will be tied to our implementation
strategy, to ensure full accountability for these recommendations.

Working Group Priorities

The central themes and conclusions of this Commission are based on the reports from the
nine Working Groups. Throughout their deliberations, these groups examined a number of
issues that illuminated many racial disparities and systemic inequities throughout this
community and the nation. These issues were further examined and validated through
various community engagement methods, within the significant constraints imposed by the
coronavirus pandemic. These processes are described elsewhere in this report. To conclude
the work of these nine groups, each of them reviewed the issues that they had discovered
and ranked their top priorities. Those are reported in this section by Working Group
category.

Business Development:

∞ Access to capital: Businesses owned by BIPOC often have inadequate access to capital
needed to launch and sustain operations. Traditional loan requirements, including
business and credit history, are barriers to capital, and these businesses receive
insufficient support from local government programs.
∞ Operations/mentorship: Information regarding available government assistance is not
reaching the intended audiences, and there is a lack of culturally competent mentorship.
∞ MWBE 17 contracting: Process to becoming certified as a Minority or Women-Owned
Business Enterprise is difficult, and bidding process has barriers for MWBEs, especially
those that are small.

17
Note that MWBE is an official term used on contracting laws and policies that uses the dated term
“Minority” to describe people of color.
 33

Criminal Justice:

∞ Pre-arrest diversion: Disproportionate arrests of Black residents point to a need for

culturally competent intervention services and an end to police stops and arrests for
minor infractions.
∞ District Attorney/Public Defender: Inequitable practices impacting BIPOC include
lack of 24-hour arraignments for people arrested in the City (as opposed to those in
the suburbs); lack of adequate funding for the Public Defender’s office, contributing to
an overwhelmed Family Court section, as one example; and lack of transparency and
progressive policies in the District Attorney’s office.
∞ Court/probations/jail: A focus on punishment, rather than restorative justice and
rehabilitation, includes charging fees for probation services and calls to/from inmates
of the jail.
∞ Juvenile justice: Youth with severe mental health diagnoses (i.e., schizophrenia, manic
depression) who have been charged with crimes are being placed in a juvenile detention
facility that is not equipped to meet serious mental health needs, in violation of state
regulations.
Education:

∞ Limited access and resources: The Rochester City School District, which serves the
majority of BIPOC students in Monroe County, has inadequate mental health and social
emotional supports, as well as enrichment and advanced learning opportunities.
∞ Testing and curriculum: State testing regimen identifies urban schools as failing,
resulting in negative impacts on student engagement and self-esteem, and schools lack
an anti-racist curriculum.
∞ Language access and resources: English Language Learners experience a variety of
inequities, including lack of choice in instructional programs, inadequate access to
mental health supports, and assessments and parent activities that are not offered in
native languages.
∞ Funding: Inequitable state funding contributes to disparities for Rochester City School
District students. The City has contributed the same level of school funding even as
RCSD costs have increased. Voter exclusion from school funding decisions limits input
regarding the City’s contributions. Additionally, administering funding to private and
charter schools uses vital RCSD human and capital resources.

Healthcare:

∞ Government systems and infrastructure: City/County health structures do not have

needed focus on racism and impact on health for BIPOC.
∞ Access & affordability of healthcare: Expanded access to care in BIPOC communities,
including variety of services and living wages for workers, is needed to increase racial
health equity.
 34

∞ Social determinants of health: Social and economic inequities for BIPOC, including
lower incomes and less access to healthy food and recreation spaces, negatively impact
health. Notably, these are the same factors that have put BIPOC at greater risk of illness,
hospitalization and death during the coronavirus pandemic.

Housing:

∞ Discriminatory practices: Historic practices such as redlining and racial covenants have
given way to current discrimination in the form of inequitable lending practices and
income discrimination by landlords that continue to limit housing options for BIPOC.
∞ Land use regulations and economic development incentives: Exclusionary zoning codes
in the suburbs concentrate public and lower income housing options in the City, limiting
location choices for BIPOC residents with fewer means.
∞ Housing affordability: Black and Latinx residents in Monroe County face unique
affordability challenges, paying significantly more of their income toward rent than
those of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. This is happening while the costs for
housing continue to increase, thus limiting housing options for BIPOC.

Human Services:

∞ Disproportionality in child welfare: African-American children in Monroe County

disproportionately enter out-of-home (foster) care placements by a significant margin.
∞ Eligibility for financial assistance: Monroe County has disproportionately high rates of
sanctions for non-compliance and fair hearings. That disproportionality leads to
significant reductions of financial support to those in need.
∞ Older adults: Older BIPOC adults face a range of issues, from disproportionate and
increasing rates of poverty, to challenges affording health care, nutritious food,
safe/quality housing and transportation, to difficulties adapting to new, expensive
technologies.
∞ Lack of cultural competency: Racially inequitable client outcomes result from a lack of
policy, administration, practice and service delivery centered on cultural competency.

Job Creation:

∞ Civil service: The civil service system is antiquated and has been manipulated to provide
BIPOC with inadequate access to good-paying, secure government jobs.
∞ MWBE enterprises: Process to becoming certified as a Minority or Women-Owned
Business Enterprise is difficult, limiting these firms’ ability to provide meaningful job
opportunities to BIPOC.
∞ Job accessibility and equity: Barriers to employment include transportation, child care,
pay discrimination and inflated minimum requirements in credentials, education and
 35

experience that may not be needed for success at the job. Inequitable promotion
practices and disproportionate employment in low-wage industries depress wages and
income of BIPOC workers.
Mental Health and Addiction Services:

∞ Limited availability of needed services: Availability of sufficient, high-quality mental

health and addiction services in trusted community settings is extremely limited for
BIPOC and low-income people.
∞ Lack of cultural competency: A lack of diversity and cultural competency among local,
licensed mental health or addiction providers (in both public and private systems) leads
to inadequate or inappropriate services for people of color.
∞ Misalignment: Mental health and addiction services are often unaligned and
disconnected, as are City and County initiatives on these issues. Misalignment
exacerbates and prolongs racial and ethnic inequities in access to mental health and
addiction services.
Policing:

∞ Hiring: Lack of diversity on police forces hinders equitable treatment.

∞ Training: Gaps in police training include cultural competency and implicit and explicit
bias, de-escalation, sanctity of life and trauma; this contributes to negative outcomes
for BIPOC interacting with police.
∞ Operational practices: Practices, including lack of data collection on police-citizen
interactions and accountability for officers who violate policies, are insufficient to
ensure proper behavior by police officers.
 36

Cross-Cutting Themes
There are several issues derived from the individual Working Groups that intersect with
similar concerns from one or more Groups. This intersectionality is very important to
identify because if the issues are addressed separately, resources may be spread too thin,
and meaningful progress may be dissipated and ineffective. Eliminating racism and
structural inequities will require powerfully effective systemic strategies. The discussion of
cross-cutting themes is a means of identifying the strength of these issues and the most
effective way of addressing them.

Below, we discuss six cross-cutting themes and illustrate them with issues identified by the
Working Groups.

Theme 1: BIPOC within the City/County possess inequitable and

inadequate access to essential resources and systems critical to
closing equity gaps
Key Issues Identified
The RASE Commission Working Groups identified numerous systems and opportunity
networks across sectors that provide inadequate access for Black, Indigenous and People
of Color. This includes access to capital for minority-owned businesses, access to civil
service jobs within government, and access to a variety of housing options in local areas
and neighborhoods across the County.

What policies are at play?

Access to Capital
Minority-owned businesses represent a disproportionately small share of enterprises in our
community. Approximately 18% of firms in Monroe County were minority-owned in 2012,
with 10% being Black-owned and 4% being Latinx-owned, while in the City of Rochester,
36% of firms were minority-owned in 2012, with 25% being Black-owned and 7% being
Latinx-owned. 18 These rates are far lower than the population, which is 30% minority in
Monroe County and 63% in the City.

While it is illegal to deny credit based on race or ethnicity, local interviews (detailed in the
Business Development Working Group Summary) and national data demonstrate lower
access to capital for Black and Latinx-owned businesses as a major difficulty in creating and
sustaining business operations. 19 This suggests a need for further policy action to address
the issues that are resulting in lower lending rates.

2012 Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners

18

See: https://advocacy.sba.gov/2020/07/23/minority-owned-employer-businesses-and-their-credit-
19

market-experiences-in-2017/
 37

Civil Service
Civil service is a system that has been in place for decades, originally intended to prevent
patronage and create a fair playing field for obtaining jobs. Civil service offers some of the
most stable, well-compensated employment available in our community, with good wages
and attractive benefits, including health benefits and pensions. Revamping the civil service
system could provide an opportunity for real equity in a major sector of jobs throughout
the city, county and state.

Policies contributing to inadequate access to civil service jobs include the state civil service
exams and policies for awarding jobs. The Job Creation Working Group identified poor
marketing of exam opportunities, unnecessary job requirements, and the “rule of 3”
requiring hiring from the top 3 exam scorers as factors contributing to inequitable access.
Residential Segregation
Residential racial segregation, discussed in the Introduction to this report, plays an
important role in limiting access to housing options, educational opportunities and
resources such as health care. Specific, contributing policies include suburban zoning
policies that require minimum setbacks or lot sizes that discourage or prevent the
development of affordable housing options.

Exclusionary zoning policies such as these limit where affordable and multi-family housing
can be built in our region, with a substantial portion of the most affordable, public and / or
income-restricted housing stock concentrated in the City of Rochester, and to some extent,
in neighboring suburbs. 20 Exclusionary zoning was sometimes adopted with explicitly
racist intent in decades past. 21 Today, whether intentional or not, zoning still contributes
to racial and class divisions. Note that while cities, towns and villages in New York are
enabled to adopt zoning, counties cannot; county governments may, however, prepare
comprehensive plans that lay out guidance or overarching goals for development. 22 The
County is preparing to begin a comprehensive planning process in 2021.

Historic practices such as redlining, racial covenants and other discriminatory real estate
practices provided white residents of our region a pathway to build wealth through
homeownership, while excluding Black residents. While this overt discrimination is barred
today, 23 our community still reflects this dynamic, with redlined neighborhoods continuing
to suffer from disinvestment and many residents having been denied a significant
opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. Even today, Black and Latinx residents of

20 Johnson, William A., Jr. “Sprawl and Civil Rights: A Mayor’s Reflections.” In Bullard, Robert D. (Ed.), “Growing
Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity.” The MIT Press.
21 Reynolds, Conor Dwyer. “The Motives for Exclusionary Zoning.”

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3449772
22 New York State Department of State. “Land Use Planning and Regulation.”

https://www.dos.ny.gov/lg//handbook/html/land_use_planning_and_regulation.html
23
Racial covenants cannot be legally enforced but may still have impacts. See:
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/143831/A_12%20Racially%20Restrictive%20C
ovenants%20in%20the%20US.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
 38

Monroe County own their homes at less than half the rate of white residents (32% among
Black residents, 35% for Latinx, and 71% for white). 24

There also is strong evidence that housing discrimination against Black and Latino
residents continues today, albeit in more subtle forms. Consider, for example, recent
instances of redlining 25 and reports of income discrimination against tenants who receive
public assistance, despite a 2019 state ban on such discrimination. Empire Justice Center
(EJC) and the Greater Rochester Community Reinvestment Coalition (GRCRC) have
documented high rates of home loan denials to Black and Latino applicants. 26 EJC and
GRCRC as well documented that the recent foreclosure crisis disproportionately harmed
predominantly Black and/or Latino neighborhoods in the City of Rochester. 27

In addition, the organization of schools into local districts segregates a majority of Black,
Latinx and other children of color in the City and inner-ring suburbs and higher income
and white children in other suburbs.

Connections to Local Laws

Existing local laws do not bear directly on access to capital or civil service. Civil service is a
state system governed by state laws and regulations.

Residential segregation is an issue with more direct connections to local laws and
regulations, through zoning codes and local government Comprehensive Plans. The City of
Rochester has a comprehensive plan in place, and Monroe County is embarking on a
comprehensive planning process. Comprehensive plans are adopted by local governments
to lay out ideas, aspirations and overall goals for community development. For example,
Rochester’s Comprehensive Plan 28 addresses equitable housing and establishes diverse
housing outcomes as a placemaking principle. Goals in the plan for housing include
supporting innovative and equitable housing and community development.
Comprehensive plans influence the creation of local laws and zoning codes, which directly
impact development.

In a broader sense, the City’s human rights ordinance relates to this theme of access to
resources and systems. As discussed above, the ordinance 29 bans discrimination in public
accommodations, employment, financing, housing, and City services on the basis of age,
race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation,
disability, marital status or source of income.

24 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2014-18.

25 Daneman, Matthew. Democrat and Chronicle. “NY settles with Five Star Bank over mortgages.”
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/2015/01/18/five-star-settles-redlining-claims/21879775/
26 Van Kerkhove, Barbara. Empire Justice Center. “The River Runs Dry II: The Persistent Mortgage Drought in

Rochester’s Communities of Color.” https://empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/river-runs-dry-ii.pdf

27 Hanley, Michael, & Maker, Ruhi. Empire Justice Center. “In the Eye of the Storm: Why the Threat of Foreclosure

Damage Continues.” https://empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/report-in-the-eye-of-the-storm.pdf

28
Chapter 130, https://www.ecode360.com/8684690
29
https://www.ecode360.com/8676660
 39

Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses

In response to the identified issues related to this theme, RASE Commission Working
Groups drafted recommendations designed to increase access to systems and networks of
opportunity.

∞ Access to capital: The Business Development group recommended increasing access to

city/county financial assistance and that local government, working with local financial
institutions, create a guided pathway for MWBE borrowers, connecting them first to
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and then to traditional
financial institutions to expand access to capital.
∞ Civil service: The Job Creation group recommended changes to local implementation
practices related to civil service job opportunities, including additional
marketing/recruitment efforts to BIPOC communities to ensure individuals are aware
of job and exam opportunities and review of job requirements to eliminate those that
may not be necessary. In addition, the group recommended advocacy at the state level
to eliminate “rule of 3” to allow more flexibility in hiring. Finally, the group suggested
new exploration programs and career pathways to increase awareness, particularly
among young people, of civil service-related career opportunities.
∞ Residential segregation: The Housing group recommended that towns and villages
review/revise zoning codes to embrace inclusionary, rather than exclusionary, zoning
policies that expand affordable housing options throughout the County; that the City
and/or County consider adopting a local fair housing law to allow for local enforcement
of existing federal laws prohibiting discrimination; and that the City and/or County
adopt a local law ensuring tenants a right to counsel to help protect tenants from unjust,
discriminatory actions. In addition, the group noted that the County’s upcoming
comprehensive planning process offers an opportunity for the County to play a
leadership or convening role in a countywide effort to identify and reverse zoning laws
that unnecessarily restrict affordable and multifamily housing.
 40

Theme 2: Current City/County structural programs and protocols

inequitably impact and disadvantage BIPOC
Key Issues Identified
Working Groups identified issues in criminal justice, education and human services that
relate to systems that have a disproportionate impact on Black, Brown and other people of
color. These include arrests, including for low-level crimes often related to poverty, and the
suspension of students from school – two related issues that advocates for change refer to
as a “school to prison pipeline.” A 2019 report by The Children’s Agenda noted that
suspensions in the Rochester City School District, while reduced under a new Code of
Conduct, continue to disproportionately impact Black and Latino students. 30 Suspension
rates per 100 students were 33 for Black students, 19 for Latino students and 13 for White
students in 2017-18. A large body of research demonstrates a connection between school
suspensions and poor outcomes, including the risk for juvenile justice involvement. 31

Arrest data also demonstrate disproportionality: While Monroe County’s 18+ population is
74% White, Whites made up just 37% of those arrested, 29% of felony arrests and 22% of
prison sentences in 2019. By comparison, Blacks made up 14% of the population, yet 49%
of arrests, 56% of felony arrests and 61% of prison sentences. 32

Child protective services were also identified as a system that, while intended to protect
children, disproportionately affects children of color, especially Black children. Analysis of
Monroe County data by the Human Services Working Group found children of color made
up 75% of those placed in foster care, 86% of those in protective cases, and 77% of those
placed in direct custody. This is an identified issue in the field nationally that has persisted
despite studies finding that child abuse and neglect is lower in Black families than White, 33
and a trend that has obvious negative impacts for the health of Black and other families of
color.

Juvenile justice is another such system. In 2020, there were 147 youth from Monroe County
at the Detention center. Out of the 147, 25 had been detained more than once. Youth were
brought to the Detention Center after being arrested on charges of violation of
probation/parole, along with misdemeanor and serious felony charges. The length of stay
in detention facilities has increased over the last 3 years.

A particular concern is youth with severe mental health diagnoses such as schizophrenia
and manic depression charged with crimes and placed in a Juvenile Detention Facility that
is not equipped to meet serious mental health needs. State regulations prohibit this, yet

30
https://thechildrensagenda.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/03/rochester_schoolclimatereport_FINAL_website.pdf
31

https://www.academia.edu/40214453/More_than_a_Metaphor_The_Contribution_of_Exclusionary_Dis
cipline_to_a_School_to_Prison_Pipeline
32 https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/comparison-population-arrests-prison-

demographics/2019%20Population%20Arrests%20Prison%20by%20Race.pdf
33
https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/disproportionality-and-disparity-in-child-welfare.aspx
 41

youth continue to be placed in the detention center even when clinicians have determined
it is not fit to meet their needs. These youth linger much longer in the center due to a lack
of resources and placements. They tend to be subject more often to restraints and room
confinements related to their mental illness, in part because staff are not equipped or
trained to work with severe mental health youth.
What policies are at play?
A wide variety of policies contribute to the disproportionality described above. In criminal
justice, arrests are driven by federal, state and local statutes that include low-level crimes
such as petty larceny and marijuana possession - as well as by police officer discretion over
who to stop, search, interrogate and arrest. Suspensions are related to school codes of
conduct, which may include zero-tolerance policies, although the Code of Conduct in RCSD
was rewritten in 2016 to promote alternatives to suspensions and make them a last resort.
Suspensions have declined since its adoption. Child welfare is governed by a complex set of
federal and state laws and regulations. Research into disproportionality establishes that
race plays a role in decision-making at several points including reporting of child abuse or
neglect, investigation, substantiation, placement and exit from care, but does not identify
specific policy-related causes. 34
Connections to Local Law
Existing City of Rochester and Monroe County codes do not bear heavily on the issues
described above. In reference to arrests for low-level crimes, there are ordinances regarding
bicycles, noise and other issues that could be enforced in inequitable ways. In addition, the
City’s Comprehensive Plan addresses quality education, outlining goals for schools and
community centers, including improving conditions for students, nurturing a culture of
positivity and providing educational facilities and programs of the highest quality. These
aspirations, while noteworthy and important, do not have a large impact as the City’s
relationship with the Rochester school district is one of a funder mandated to provide local
revenue at a prescribed level but not empowered to exercise authority over policies or
decisions. Education policies and procedures are set at the state level and by local school
boards, and implemented by superintendents and district and school administration.
Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses
Working Group suggestions included:

∞ Disproportionate arrests: The Criminal Justice Working Group recommended

reinvestment of funds now going to policing in order to expand pre-arrest diversion
programs using culturally competent intervention services, as well as an end to police
stops and arrests for minor infractions.
∞ Disproportionate suspensions: The Education group suggested the creation of a credit-
bearing course on social-emotional learning for students; countywide advocacy for
schools to adopt restorative practices that help all students learn to resolve

34
https://www.aecf.org/resources/synthesis-of-research-on-disproportionality-in-child-welfare-an-
update/
 42

disagreements, take ownership of their behavior, and engage in acts of empathy and
forgiveness; and tracking and publishing suspension data disaggregated by
race/ethnicity of students.
∞ Disproportionate representation in child welfare: The Human Services group
recommended creating a strategic plan in the County department to ensure equitable
case practice that includes blind removal meetings (where decisions about whether
children are to be removed from families are made without any information indicating
the children and families’ race/ethnicity), hiring of cultural brokers to advocate for
families and kinship navigators to ensure kin placements are fully considered for
children who need out-of-home placements; and expanded training for workers to
increase overall cultural competency.
∞ Juvenile justice: Advocate for state legislation stating that youth deserve to be in a
facility that meets their mental health needs and provides them their human rights. In
addition, develop a forensic psychiatric facility designed to meet the mental health
needs of justice-involved youth that will provide a safety and security for youth.
 43

Theme 3: Current City/County structures and personnel lack

cultural/linguistic competencies critical for effective engagement of
BIPOC
Key Issues Identified
A number of RASE Commission Working Groups identified City/County structures and
personnel that lack cultural/linguistic competencies critical for effective engagement of
Black, Indigenous and other people of color as a problem. Cultural competence exists when
individuals and organizations are able to effectively interact with diverse populations since
they possess information about different cultural value systems, beliefs and knowledge. 35
Similarly, linguistic competence exists when community members are able to access
interpreters, translation services and materials in their native language. 36

This challenge was identified across numerous systems. In criminal justice, inconsistent
access to non-English and American Sign Language interpreters is a challenge that can
place those arrested at a disadvantage. In business, there is an absence of mentors who look
like and share similar cultural experiences as Black and Latino business owners to help
navigate city and county business development opportunities that are not transparent. Lack
of language access in education alienates students from an equitable education as
assessments are not offered in native languages, leaving students unable to demonstrate
their skills and knowledge. English language learners do not have access to programs that
build foundational literacy.

Public services including 911, emergency response, courts, and health and human services
are perceived by many residents who engaged with the RASE Commission as lacking
personnel with the cultural knowledge and language skills to effectively address the needs
of residents who encounter these structures. White-dominated workforces across many
professions (e.g., teaching, child welfare, policing, health and mental health) have
implications for cultural understanding and quality of care, especially in the mental health
and health systems. Local research verifies the lack of BIPOC mental health practitioners
in the community and the essential role they play in meeting the needs of patients who
desire a provider who shares a similar racial identity and experience. 37

Many in the BIPOC community believe that the lack of cultural competence of local law
enforcement officers is tied to their underrepresentation. October 2020 diversity statistics
from the Monroe County Sheriff’s office indicates that only 3% of deputies and 11% of jail
officers were BIPOC. An examination of the law enforcement curriculum by the policing
working group found a limited focus on cultural diversity.

35
https://nccc.georgetown.edu/curricula/culturalcompetence.html
36 https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/cultural-competence/definition.html
37 https://thegrhf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Crisis-in-Care-Report-2016.pdf
 44

What policies are at play?

Federal law prohibits discrimination and affirms language access rights. Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on national origin and Executive Order 13166
enacted in 2000 affirms language access rights. Any entity receiving federal funds is
required to ensure language access. 38

Police Screening and Certification

Members of the community believe that the 1975 Federal Consent Decree promotes
outdated screening practices that do not match the needs of the city’s current demographic
composition including the goal that 25% of the RPD should be minority officers. 39 The
screening practices of local police agencies, including background checks, psychological
testing and polygraph testing, during the hiring process are viewed as significant, biased
contributors to the inadequate presence of Black and Latino officers in this region. The
subjectivity present in the opinions rendered by the psychologists who administer the
psychological test on police recruits is also believed to be a factor. In addition, the NYS basic
Course for Police Officer has a limited focus on cultural competency, requiring only 5 hours
of diversity content for certification.

Private mental health provider system

Most mental health and addiction services are delivered by the region’s large private health
systems and nonprofit agencies, not by the City of Rochester or by Monroe County. The
roles of the County Office of Mental Health and the County’s new Addiction Services
Director in coordinating or overseeing care are limited, and the fee-for-service model for
delivering health care provides few incentives in the areas of mental health promotion or
prevention of substance use disorders. Many clinicians opt to work for private providers
given higher wages and the ability to select clientele.
Connections to Local Laws
Language Access
Monroe County Code 569-89 states that language interpreters and persons skilled in
communicating with vision- and hearing-impaired individuals will be provided as required
by law.

Monroe County’s Non-Discrimination Policy prohibits all forms of discrimination in hiring,

business procurement, contracting and services. It also affirms that County services will be
offered in accessible locations. Disability accommodation requests from a county agency,
such as sign language interpreters, should preferably occur a week in advance. 40 The

38
https://www.justice.gov/crt/executive-order-13166
39
John E. Howard et al vs. Elisha Freeman et al (1975) Federal Consent Decree
http://rochester.indymedia.org/node/148045. Note that minority is the term used in the decree, reflective
of its day.
40
Monroe County NY (n.d.) Non-Discrimination Policy. https://www.monroecounty.gov/hr
 45

Monroe County Clerk has also developed a language access plan that aligns with federal
and county expectations. 41
Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses
RASE Commission Working Groups identified numerous recommendations designed to
increase cultural/linguistic diversity and competence in service delivery. The primary
recommendations in this theme are categorized by professional development, workforce
development and standards and service delivery.

Professional Development
∞ Business development: City/County should provide culturally competent mentorship
with outreach to assist Black, Indigenous and People of Color who are business owners
and entrepreneurs with discovering available business development opportunities and
how to go about certain processes such as grant applications. Since City and County
services are not readily apparent to MWBEs, conduct in-person outreach at the client’s
business site. To kick-start a more culturally competent offering of services, we
recommend that the City and County start with internal audits of their business support
services for cultural competence and service delivery method.
∞ Criminal Justice, Health, Mental Health & Addictions, Human Services, Education and
Policing: Mandated training for workforces in areas such as anti-racism, cultural
competence/responsiveness, language competence/responsiveness and trauma.
Demonstrate proficiency in these areas. The Policing Working Group recognized how
trauma impacts all in a community. It is recommended that Pillar Six of the Final
Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing be adopted and adhered
to, and that uniformed personnel be provided training on the consequences of trauma
for themselves and the community, and that they have more resources available for
officer wellness.
∞ Mental Health: City/County establish benchmarks for diversity and language
proficiency in contracts with providers in order to increase cultural and linguistic
competency in the sector.
Workforce Development & Standards
Many working groups offered suggestions that focus on the recruitment of more people of
color into various workforces to improve the diversity and cultural and linguistic
competency of staff.

∞ Policing: Petition the US District Court of WNY to amend the language of the Rochester
Police Department’s 1975 Consent Decree to mandate that the department accurately
reflects Rochester’s current racial demographic population (56% Black and Latino and
other). This change will not completely resolve the minority recruitment challenges
local police agencies are facing so it is further recommended that they pursue aggressive

41Office of the County Clerk, Monroe County NY (2019, December 13). Language Access Plan.
https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/clerk/2019-12-13-CountyClerkLanguageAccessPlan.pdf
 46

hiring of Black, Latino, and other people of color to increase BIPOC representation; and
involve racially/ethnically diverse community representatives in the final interviews for
all local law enforcement officer selection. Finally, it is recommended that the City and
County promote and support through mentorship/resources the Rochester City School
District’s Career Pathway to Public Safety program and the Monroe Community College
Police Recruit Education Program (PREP) to encourage middle, high school and college
students to consider a career in law enforcement.
∞ Mental Health and Addiction Services: Establish a Community Behavioral Health
Advocates (CBHA) program that employs local residents who are trained and certified
to assist people with advocacy; offer help to connect with and navigate behavioral health
services; identify distressed persons who need services before emergencies occur; and
provide low-complexity therapeutic interventions, as appropriate. CBHA employees
will serve a unique role, with responsibilities based in social work (e.g., service
navigation, assisting case managers in primary care and mental health / addiction
treatment systems) and informal mental health response. They will respond to
211/LIFE LINE calls, when appropriate.
∞ Mental Health and Addiction Services: City/County establish benchmarks for cultural
and linguistic diversity in contracting process with vendors/contractors; redesign City
and County contracts to appropriately include peer services that will enhance the
delivery of mental health and substance treatment services; encourage providers to shift
current services to trusted settings (e.g., schools, faith communities) and engage in a
high-profile campaign to recruit diverse professionals;
∞ Health: Establish public-private partnerships to recruit Black, Indigenous and People
of Color as service providers in the Department of Public Health and among contracted
providers. Provide scholarships to people of color in educational/training programs for
health professionals, including doulas as a public health service. Require
racially/ethnically diverse representation on boards in areas such as County Medical
Advisory Board.

Service Delivery
∞ Criminal Justice: Require linguistic competency in public services and at needed points
in time, such as criminal arraignment.
∞ Education: Create a centralized language center for residents to access resources in their
native language and create a county-wide magnet school with a focus on multicultural
and multilingual education.
 47

Theme 4: Current City/County/State systems create and perpetuate

disadvantages negatively impacting BIPOC
Key Issues Identified
Working Groups identified a range of issues related to systems that perpetuate
disadvantage. One of the largest is hiring systems, which can perpetuate disadvantage in a
number of ways. Unemployment rates are persistently higher among BIPOC groups than
among Whites: Pre-pandemic, only 4.1% of Asians and 4.4% of Whites in Monroe County
were unemployed, compared with 11% of Latinos and 14.1% of Blacks. In the City of
Rochester, the figures were about 7% for both Whites and Asians 42, compared with 15.7%
of Latinos and 17.5% of Blacks. Although we will not have data for 2020 until later this year,
the pandemic may have widened those gaps as low-wage workers, who tend to be
disproportionately BIPOC, were heavily impacted by COVID-19 closures. 43

Hiring practices that create and perpetuate disadvantage include employers applying job
requirements that may be historical but unnecessary. This can include screening out
applicants based on prior criminal convictions or drug tests. In addition, employers that
serve BIPOC communities may not make it a priority to hire workers from those
communities.

Other systems create and perpetuate disadvantage in different ways. The human services
system, through its interpretation of regulations related to substance abuse and
employment requirements, at times limits the availability of assistance to those who need
it. Similarly, the testing and accountability system for schools was noted as leading urban
schools with predominantly BIPOC student bodies to be labeled as failing, with
demoralizing and other harmful effects to students. Working Groups also identified
discrimination in the health care system and fees charged in the criminal justice system as
perpetuating disadvantage.

What policies are at play?

A variety of public and private policies contribute to systems perpetuating disadvantage.
Hiring, for example, is governed by both public and private policies. Research has shown
that discrimination in hiring has persisted over decades, 44 despite laws that ban it. These
include studies of employer reactions to fictitious resumes that include information or clues
about job applicant’s race: resumes that have been “whitened” are more likely to receive
consideration. 45 In an unscientific survey, the RASE Job Creation Working Group found

42
American Community Survey data for 2014-18. Because of the proportionately smaller number of Asian
residents in the City of Rochester, the unemployment number has a standard error of 35%-50% of the
estimate and should be considered unreliable.
43 https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus-unemployment/
44 https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/09/11/1706255114
45 https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minorities-who-whiten-job-resumes-get-more-interviews
 48

71% of Black respondents had experienced job-related discrimination, and 63% believed
race was a barrier to employment. 46

Public policies impacting hiring include the policies and practices that governments use in
hiring as well as laws that impact all employers. These include anti-discrimination laws and
the “ban the box” law recently adopted by the City of Rochester that prevents employers
from asking about criminal convictions during the job application process. (Employers can
inquire and consider criminal convictions during the interview process.) Local laws and
policies also impact MWBE contracting, with some governments requiring that a specific
share of business go to MWBEs.

Federal, state and local policies (some law, some regulation) also impact the financial
assistance system for individuals in need. The interpretation of regulations can also have
an impact. The RASE Commission Working Groups focused on human services and mental
health/substance abuse are suggesting that Monroe County examine interpretations of
regulations regarding substance abuse and employment requirements, and take a stronger
stance in embracing harm reduction as an intervention – all with the goal of ensuring that
assistance reaches people who need it, and that effective approaches are used in helping
people with substance abuse disorders. Local police policies can also have an impact, as one
form of harm reduction involves syringe exchange programs that may not be supported by
local police.

In education, the state policy to test all students using standardized assessments and use
results to identify failing schools is in question. The Education Working Group identified
this policy as having a demoralizing impact on BIPOC students in those schools. Studies
have shown that discrimination in health care, while banned by federal law, persists. 47 An
issue raised by the Criminal Justice Working Group is fees in the system that can contribute
to the “criminalization of poverty,” as people charged with often low-level crimes are
impoverished by excessive fees and fines. 48
Connections to Local Laws
As we have noted previously, the City’s Human Rights law 49 prohibits discrimination on
the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression,
sexual orientation, disability, marital status or source of income. This applies to
employment, and Article II of the law, Fair Employment Screening, prohibits the City, its
vendors, and all employers located in City limits from asking about criminal convictions
during the job application process. However, consideration of a prior conviction can take
place after an application is submitted and an initial interview is conducted. Article II is
colloquially referred to as “ban the box.”

46
See Working Group Summaries for additional details on the survey.
47 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/racism-in-health-care-isnt-always-obvious/
48 https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/04/criminalization-poverty-driver-poverty-united-states
49 https://www.ecode360.com/8676660
 49

Chapter 34 of Monroe County code specifies fees the County can charge, including $30 a
month to people on Probation, $50-500 for Probation investigations conducted regarding
custody and visitation for Family Court, $4.06 per day for people on electronic home
confinement, $20 for DWI victim impact panels and $50-200 for sex offender polygraphs.
The law allows waiver of fees where ability to pay in an issue.
Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses
Working Groups identified several potential responses to the issues they highlighted:

∞ Hiring: The Job Creation group recommended that the City and County re-examine job
requirements and eliminate all possible hiring screens and requirements that may not
be necessary. This would remove any requirements for experience and skills beyond the
minimum necessary to directly perform the job, in order to make these jobs accessible
to individuals from a wider range of backgrounds. The group would like local
government to encourage private employers to likewise review their hiring practices
with the goal of making them accessible to the widest possible pool of applicants and
noted that the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative’s Employer Pledge 50 provides
a good model for this effort. Further, the group recommended that the County adopt
“ban the box” legislation as the City has, and that both private and government
employers should consider the benefits of an “open hiring” model and utilize it where
appropriate. In open hiring, employers set no requirements for entry-level positions
other than willingness to work.
∞ Barriers to financial assistance: Both the Human Services and Mental Health and
Addiction Services groups called for the County to change its interpretation of state
regulations so that sanctions removing financial assistance from individuals in need are
used only as a last resort. Human Services also proposed a conciliation process that
proactively engages individuals whose compliance is in question in order to give them
an opportunity to remedy problems. In addition, the Mental Health/Addiction Services
group called for accelerated approval of harm reduction as an approved intervention for
those struggling with addiction, which could assist in maintaining financial assistance
to them.
∞ School accountability systems: The Education group called for the use of alternative
assessments in schools, elimination of annual testing of all students and potentially a
new system to measure student learning by testing samples of students, as is currently
done with the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
∞ Discrimination in health care: The Healthcare group suggested amending Section 63 of
City code to prohibit discrimination, including racial discrimination, in health care.
∞ Fees in the criminal justice system: The Criminal Justice group called for the
elimination of fees for probation and for calls between inmates of the jail and their
family and friends.

50http://endingpovertynow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RMAPI-Employer-Best-Practices-Pledge-
1.pdf
 50

Theme 5: Current City/County structures lack reliable transparency

and accountability operations, negatively impacting trust among
BIPOC
Key Issues Identified
The RASE Commission Working Groups identified the lack of transparency and
accountability when systems do not track their impact on individuals by race/ethnicity
concerning business development, courts, probation, police interactions, job promotion,
and health disparities. Inaccessibility to information about compensation policies, police
training curriculum and the juvenile justice system limit understanding about disparate
outcomes for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. In this section, we focus on issues in
the criminal justice, police, health and employment and business development systems.

Criminal justice: During community engagement events, community members raised

concerns about the unfair prosecution of Black and Brown people by the District Attorney.
They expressed particular worries about the charges filed against the protestors in response
to Daniel Prude’s death at the hands of police and up-charging of minor crimes to felonies.
Although the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) collects and makes public data
available regarding arrests, dispositions and sentencing, information from the District
Attorney’s Office is not available from a state or county agency. There are also gaps in the
types of information publicly reported about other areas of the criminal justice system,
including demographic information associated with all aspects of judicial decisions
regarding a case and probation including technical violations.

Youth held at the Children’s Detention Center expressed a lack of understanding about the
criminal justice system and raised concerns about rarely hearing from their attorney.
Parents and guardians are also left to fend for themselves within the criminal justice
system.

Police: A review of police training policy is warranted in response to community concerns

regarding local law enforcement’s mistreatment of Black and Brown communities. The
RPD has confronted increased scrutiny given excessive force allegations associated with the
death of Daniel Prude and associated protests in 2020 as well as the handcuffing and
pepper spraying of a nine-year-old girl in early 2021. 51 The NYS Basic Police Officer course
curriculum required for certification is not publicly available and requires a FOIL request.
Concerns about police accountability for misconduct have raised for consideration whether
police certification should be guaranteed after initial accreditation and requiring monetary
consequences when an officer is convicted of misconduct. Specifically, research has shown
that numerous states have explored a recertification process that requires a police officer
to be recertified every two or three years to remain working. This process is similar to the
board recertification that physicians are required to go through. A recertification process

51
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/nyregion/rochester-police-pepper-spray-
child.html?searchResultPosition=1
 51

would ensure our uniformed police officers are adept in the skills necessary to serve our
communities. It would afford our community the opportunity to determine what skills are
felt to be critically important for our officers to possess.

An additional key issue is the operational response to the civil protests that occurred in
Rochester following the deaths of George Floyd and Daniel Prude, which identified police
strategies that are contrary to the high standards of policing our community demands.
During the protests, tactics such as tear gas, pepper balls and spray, armored vehicles, and
police dogs were deployed against the protesters. Many of these tools harken back to police
tactics that were used during the civil rights movements of the sixties and are viewed as
antithetical to recognized best practices in policing. Their use identifies the difficulty that
exists in coordinating multiple agencies under one direction that is reflective of the
standards of policing required by the community. Specifically, and as an example, the
deployment of police dogs during the protests were part of the New York State Police
detachment. Their presence was in direct violation of RPD standards that prohibit dogs
being used in protest response or crowd control situations. Multiple agency operations are
managed under a unified command system which is designed to efficiently coordinate all
available resources believed to be necessary. However, each assisting agency brings their
approved tactics and resources, which may be contrary to the policies of the primary
agency. This is an operational deficiency that can be corrected through a reevaluation of the
unified and incident command system.

Health: The health outcomes for Black residents are far lower than white residents.
Premature mortality is a major concern. Regional data show the rate of years of potential
life lost before age 65 is 5.8 per 1000 for Black residents of Monroe County, about 30%
more than White and Latino communities. 52 Research shows that racial discrimination
impacts the health outcomes of BIPOC. Racial stereotypes that portray patients of color
negatively (e.g., as less intelligent, as drug abusers) affect treatments options and medical
determinations. Interactions with medical professionals who hold negative biases may
result in mistrust and affect patient buy-in to a prescribed medical treatment plan.
Encounters with medical discrimination may also contribute to a physician’s decision to
use less rigorous treatments for BIPOC. 53

Employment: Local data confirms racial disparity in employment and wages in Rochester.
From 2014 to 2018, 6.7% of Asians and 7% of whites were unemployed in the City of
Rochester compared to 15.7% of Latinos and 17.5% of Blacks. A community survey
distributed by the Job Creation Working Group shows that 71% of African American
respondents reported discrimination in the work place. National evidence documents
persistent racial disparities in Black wages regardless of educational level. 54 Local data

52
https://www.commongroundhealth.org/insights/regional-health-measures
53 Harris, D. (2019). Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in New York State: A Review of Data and
Recommended Strategies. CGR.
54 https://www.epi.org/blog/black-white-wage-gaps-are-worse-today-than-in-2000/
 52

show similar disparities in Rochester. Without access to employer information about

compensation and promotion, it will be difficult to determine the drivers of racial
inequality.

Business development: Community engagement with MWBE business owners indicates

that they have little-to-no contact with representatives from the City or the County. Many
of these entrepreneurs then face challenges in navigating the City/County bidding and
contracting processes. The application and business processes to qualify for these
opportunities are not transparent especially for emerging businesses.

What policies are at play?

Qualified Immunity
Qualified immunity protects government officials, such as police officers, from being held
personally liable for constitutional violations like excessive force, and for money damages
under federal law so long as the individual did not violate “clearly established” law.
Indemnification sections in contracts allocate risk and expense in the event of a breach,
default, or misconduct by one of the parties in an executed contract/agreement. They are
clauses used in contracts to shift potential costs from one party to another.
Pay Transparency
New York State law currently forbids discrimination in pay rates for protected classes
(covering race, ethnic and gender pay discrimination), but the fact that salary information
is often closely guarded means that individuals may not be aware if they are being paid less
than colleagues for equal work.
Public and Private Business Promotion Policy
Identifying and remedying inequities in promotion and advancement is more challenging
as promotion decisions are complex and there is no standard metric to measure wage
fairness.

Regulated and unionized systems for promotion and advancement in the public sector,
such as Civil Service, should have clear rules about the criteria for advancement, seniority
and pay increases. In private sector organizations, policies around promotion and
advancement are often substantially less transparent, which can breed mistrust and
impressions that favoritism, patronage or internal politics, rather than strict merit,
determine who is advanced.

Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses

Across the systems discussed above, the Working Groups recommended mandating
collection, analysis, and reporting of racial equity data.

∞ Criminal Justice: Provide training for parents/guardians of court-involved youth about

the juvenile system and offer tools to explain terminology. In addition, the District
 53

Attorney is the most powerful player in our local criminal justice system. While District
Attorneys across the country have adopted progressive policies, Monroe County lags
behind. The Mayor and County Executive should publicly recommend that the District
Attorney adopt the Brennan Center for Justice’s 21 Principles for the 21st Century
Prosecutor. Progress on these principles and diversion efforts should be reported in the
District Attorney’s annual report to the County’s legislative body.

∞ Police: Hold local police accountable through supervisory monitoring of department

early warning, and re-certification and de-certification processes. Require regional
certification for law enforcement officers and periodic recertification until a state
process is adopted. Additionally, develop a process for decertification. Change
indemnification/qualified immunity language in local law enforcement agencies’
collective bargaining agreements so that police officers, not their employers, may be
held responsible for the financial costs that result from criminal or civil proceedings
that arise from any egregious misconduct that constitutes criminal behavior.
Additionally, include the option to rescind indemnification in the disciplinary matrixes
for all local police agencies as a consequence of termination. Change unified and
incident command system guidelines to prohibit any operational action that violates the
primary agency’s policies and procedures. Universally prohibit the use of police dogs in
mass gathering protests in the City of Rochester and County of Monroe.
∞ Health: Establish a county-wide Ombudsperson Office where residents can report
discrimination in healthcare and obtain assistance with filing NYS Commission on
Human Rights complaints; create a racially diverse advisory board for the
Ombudsperson Office that is compensated if permitted by law; and require notification
of public health care recipients about their right to file discrimination claims with the
county’s Ombudsperson Office.
∞ Employment: The Job Creation group recommended both exploration of the feasibility
of a pay transparency law and that public and private employers review promotion
policies to ensure equity and inclusion. In addition, Monroe County should consider a
living wage policy equivalent to the City of Rochester.
∞ Business Development: City/County audit business development services to better
coordinate outreach and communication, eliminate duplication and assess the
efficiency of current services.
Connection to Local Laws
The City of Rochester’s Human Rights Ordinances, including Chapters 63-1 through
Chapter 63-8, articulate the city’s responsibility to provide equal opportunity to everyone
and ensure that individual rights are not violated regardless of race, gender, sexual
orientation, religion and other personal characteristics among several sectors, including
public accommodations, employment, housing and commercial spaces, financing and city
services. These laws apply to city agencies as well to external organizations that are vendors
to the city. Individuals who oppose any discriminatory practices or policies are also
protected from retaliation. The Human Rights Ordinances lay the foundation for the City’s
ability to implement existing policy and create new legislation and requirements to address
 54

employment inequities found in city agencies, local businesses and non-profit

organizations.

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – The Comprehensive Plan provides a vision for the
City of Rochester and its agencies to enact related goals, including equity. Several plan
goals for public health and safety, including increasing the capabilities of RPD through
collaboration, data analysis, technology, and new/improved resources, may offer ways to
address challenges identified regarding consistent transparency and accountability (see
Section 5). Although the actions outlined in the comprehensive plan promote equity, the
issues outlined above provide areas to deepen and specify commitments about how these
racial inequities will be resolved. For example, the Comprehensive Plan has numerous goals
specified regarding economic growth and workforce development, but there is little
attention to existing wage and job promotion inequities.

Living Wages
The City of Rochester has a living wage ordinance and Monroe County does not.
The City of Rochester has a living wage ordinance 55, adopted in 2001. This sets minimum
wage rates for employees of companies entering into contracts worth $50,000 or more for
services with the City of Rochester, though certain contracts and types of employees are
exempt.
The wage is set so that a full-time employee with a family of four will not earn below the
poverty level. The current rate is $12.58 for employees offered health insurance benefits
and $14.06 for those not offered these benefits.

55
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589937003
 55

Theme 6: Current City/County/State systems possess insufficient

economic investment in structures and resources critical to attaining
equity for BIPOC
Key Issues Identified
Working Groups pointed to a variety of areas where economic investments are lacking or
inadequate, having profound negative impacts for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
One of the biggest issues is low wages across sectors dominated by BIPOC. We can see the
impact of this by comparing median household incomes for racial groups. While White
households in Monroe County have a median income of $67,500, Black households were
at less than half that level, at about $32,000. 56

Income is a profoundly important contributor to outcomes for individuals, families and

communities. Individuals with higher incomes have higher education levels, better health
and live longer. 57 Common Ground Health identified poverty as the critical factor impacting
health and health equity in our region. 58 Families with higher incomes have the ability to
pass on those benefits to the next generation, and communities with higher incomes have
more amenities and lower rates of crime. Health researchers have framed these
connections using the phrase “social determinants of health” to explain how social factors
have as much, if not more, impact on health as individual health behaviors or access to
medical care. The RASE Healthcare group identified impacting social determinants of
health as necessary to increase racial health equity. Both the Business Development and
Job Creation working groups identified the ability to become certified as Minority or
Women-Owned Business Enterprises and the share of business going to MWBEs as issues
impacting equity, as well.
What policies are at play?
Wages: Governments impact wages through minimum wage laws, living wage laws and
laws specific to particular industries or projects, such as requirements for prevailing wages
in New York State. While local governments typically do not set minimum wages (which
require hourly pay at a specific level), several local governments in the United States have
adopted living wage ordinances, requiring that employers pay wages at a level calculated
based on the cost of necessities.

MWBE: Governments make policies and procedures setting out the process for becoming
certified MWBEs and for establishing targets for providing business to MWBEs. The RASE
Business Development and Job Creation groups both identified the state certification
process as a barrier to the development of successful BIPOC-owned business, citing
concerns they heard in the community about the process being time-consuming,
cumbersome and taking too long to come to fruition. City and County targets for awarding

56
https://actrochester.org/economic-security/median-household-income-by-race-ethnicity
57
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027795361200202X
58
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/overloaded-the-heavy-toll-of-poverty-on-our-
regions-health.pdf
 56

business to MWBEs are 30% and 12%, respectively, though the County’s requirement
applies only to construction projects. In addition, local government practices related to
bidding and payment may also hinder the ability of MWBEs to be successful.

Health: In addition to wages and incomes, the social determinants of health include factors
such as access to healthy food and safe spaces for recreation and play. These resources can
be impacted by local government planning, zoning, development and investment policies.
Connections to Local Law
The City of Rochester has a living wage ordinance 59, adopted in 2001. This sets minimum
wage rates for employees of companies entering into contracts worth $50,000 or more for
services with the City of Rochester, though certain contracts and types of employees are
exempt.

The wage is set so that a full-time employee with a family of four will not earn below the
poverty level. The current rate is $12.58 for employees offered health insurance benefits
and $14.06 for those not offered these benefits.

The City’s Comprehensive Plan, referenced in earlier sections of this report, includes
healthy living as a policy principle, as well as goals for public health and safety related to
improving understanding of community health conditions, needs, services and increasing
access to healthy food (see Section 5). This provides a foundation for zoning, planning and
development policies that promote these goals.
Working Group Suggested Actions/Responses
∞ Wages: The Job Creation group recommended the County mandate living wage for
government contractors (as the City has done) and investigate options for mandating
pay transparency to combat discrimination in pay. In addition, the Healthcare group
recommended that the City and County mandate a living wage for home health
providers and peer health advocates.
∞ MWBEs: Both Job Creation and Business Development groups suggested that the City
and/or County create a local process for certifying MWBEs, as other local governments
in New York have done. See the Working Group summaries and a special report in the
Appendix for additional details. In addition, Job Creation recommended the County
apply its MWBE target beyond construction and consider increasing it above 12%. As
well, Business Development would like to see local government ensure prompt payment
of vendors to help MWBEs, especially small businesses, and adopt a “best value” bid
scoring system that takes into account previous performance and other factors related
to equity when awarding business.
∞ Health: To positively impact social determinants of health, the Healthcare group
recommended amending Zoning Codes, Incentive Zoning, and Planned Development
Districts to support development of grocery stores, pharmacies, community health
centers, primary and specialist care, recreational green space, and fitness centers in

59 https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589937003
 57

neighborhoods with high racial health disparities. In addition, the group suggested
establishing a universal basic income for women at risk for maternal mortality and
premature birth who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color,
and requiring that all grocery stores allow use of federal food programs (such as SNAP
and WIC) as a condition of Planned Unit Developments, public-private partnerships, or
Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreements (as permitted by state law).
 58

Recommendations
1. Create and invest in sustainable economic opportunities in Black and Latinx
communities to promote and maintain self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship and
career advancement.

a. Both the City and County operate separate Civil Service functions, for the
purpose of recruiting, hiring and retaining their workforces. They must
operate within the rules and procedures of the NYS Civil Service system. Yet,
the way the system has functioned has had disparate, inequitable and
exclusionary effects on BIPOC. Past efforts to reform this antiquated system
have produced very modest reforms. In the current environment, when racial
disparities and structurally racist practices are being exposed and rooted out,
both governments must join forces to redesign their civil service functions to
ensure equitable and unobstructed access to qualified applicants, which will
lead to a racially diverse workforce. They should identify other municipalities
that are undergoing the same redesign and, together, petition State
Government to incorporate their redesign ideas into a more diverse, equitable
and accessible Civil Service system. (Job Creation)

b. The City and/or County should create a local process for becoming MWBE
certified so that local businesses can use that as an alternative to the lengthy
and cumbersome state process. In addition, the focus should be on
businesses owned by people of color, as opposed to White women, who have
historically benefited more from these programs than people of color.
(Business Development, Job Creation)

c. The City and County Economic Development departments and allied agencies
(e.g., REDCO and COMIDA) should work with area financial institutions
(including banks and investment firms) to create a new Capital Access
Program that will be targeted to local BIPOC-owned businesses with annual
gross incomes of less than $100,000 and fewer than 2o employees. (Business
Development)

d. Monroe County should raise its lowest starting wage to $15 per hour and sign
the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative’s Employer Pledge, which
commits employers to working toward providing sustainable employment for
individuals seeking to move from poverty to economic security. The City of
Rochester has already signed the pledge. In addition, County and City
governments should use their leadership to join RMAPI and others in
persuading all employers to raise their pay to a minimum starting wage of
$15, and add this minimum wage as a requirement to contracts with agencies
and businesses with which it does business. Raising wages will impact tens of
 59

thousands of workers of color in Monroe County who work in low-wage

jobs. (Human Services, Healthcare)
1. Because it is a direct provider of health services and because of its
direct engagement with community health providers, Monroe County
should convene a working group of providers and BIPOC consumers
to develop sustainable strategies to expand access to equitable living
wages and equitable services across the full spectrum of health care
within the County. (Healthcare)

e. Create/amend Land Trusts and Land Banks to include use of land for
community health centers in underserved neighborhoods with high
populations of BIPOC. (Healthcare)

f. Promote/expand the Career Pathways to Public Safety program offered by the

Rochester City School District and the Police Recruit Education Program
offered by Monroe Community College to firmly establish a direct pipeline for
the youth of Rochester to enter the ranks of the local law enforcement. The
four-year results of this program do not reflect any individuals entering
policing. Promotion of these programs is needed to establish a “pipeline” into
the ranks of the area police agencies and significantly improve minority
representation. (Policing)

g. Expand programs, such as the New Visions program for RCSD students, to
introduce them to healthcare professions and mentor them in applying for
post-secondary certification and higher education programs that provide
career exploration opportunities. This should include establishing full tuition
scholarships and grants for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who are
enrolled in medical and other programs. This approach should also be used
to expand or create pipelines that provide workers for a variety of systems,
including criminal justice, policing, mental health and addiction services, and
education. (Healthcare)

2. Implement and incentivize practices and programs that increase the racial/ethnic
diversity and cultural competence of employees, vendors, and contractors.

a. The need for increased cultural competency and responsiveness, along with
anti-racism practices, was identified for several systems at both the City and
County levels, by almost every working group. Given the increasing
requirements that their employees must be able to effectively understand,
communicate with and appropriately interact with multi-racial and multi-
ethnic constituencies, City and County governments must undertake a series
of steps to increase and sustain the cultural competence of their entire
workforces. These include (1) developing a cultural competence plan with
 60

designated budget resources, (2) hiring Cultural Competence Officers and

Cultural Competence Managers, and (3) creating a cultural competence
advisory committee. Staff development must include training for staff and
contracted service providers on racism, implicit bias, and cultural and
linguistic competency tied to their job roles and responsibilities. (Business
Development, Criminal Justice, Education, Healthcare, Human Services,
Mental Health and Addiction Services, Policing)

b. Local government should use contracting and procurement practices to

require that all contractors to have diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in
place, including diverse hiring practices, and report on their board and
leadership composition annually as a condition of doing business. The
County funds a large non-profit sector whose boards and senior leadership
do not reflect the populations that they serve. The County and City could lead
the way on such policies, especially for smaller employers without an HR
capability, by providing guidance and model policies. The impact of this
policy should be assessed to ensure it does not overly burden very small
businesses and organizations, and adjusted if needed. (Human Services)

c. Create a mentoring program that matches established business persons and

high school students with emerging BIPOC entrepreneurs. Mentors and
mentees will work together for a minimum of 12 months on specific projects
that will increase the knowledge and skills of the emerging entrepreneurs
while also elevating their general level of financial readiness. High school
students will benefit from the opportunity to learn a trade and develop skills
that can supplement their education and count towards a diploma. Focus
should be on those that have expressed interest in entrepreneurship or
students who will benefit from alternative methods of learning, assessment,
and curriculum. (Business Development, Education)

d. Create and financially support an information exchange that leads to new

business opportunities for BIPOC-owned businesses. This should include a
centralized language center that all Monroe County students and families can
access resources in their language working in conjunction with local
universities, school districts, and non-profits serving immigrant
communities. (Business Development, Education)

e. Permanently fund the Monroe County Diversity Officer for Language Access
to promote best practices and address any legal compliance issues.
This should not be limited to spoken languages but should include ASL and
other sign-based communication. (Education)
f. Amend Chapter 101 of the County Codes to require representation of BIPOC
on the County Medical Advisory Council and County Medical Advisory Board
and (if permitted by state law) compensate members for their service.
(Healthcare)
 61

g. The City of Rochester should seek to amend the 1975 Police Consent Decree,
which establishes the goal of 25% minority hiring for the Police Department.
As it stands, the current language of the decree will not result in a
demographically reflective police department. This case is under the
supervision of the US District Court of WNY. This revision will allow for an
increase in the minority representation within the Rochester Police
Department, to more accurately reflect the various racial demographic
populations of Rochester, and to maintain this status through aggressive
hiring of minorities. In order for any new recruitment outreach to be
successful, the Rochester Police Department should address factors that
make police work so unappealing to young African Americans. (Policing)

3. End practices that disproportionately drain resources from Black and Latinx
communities
a. The following criminal justice changes are needed:
1. Officers in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods engage in
a form of policing which is rarely seen in other communities. To
address over-policing, Monroe County Law enforcement should end
the use of pretextual stops (stops for minor offenses made to
investigate other matters) and decriminalize and de-prioritize
violation-level offenses.
2. It is recommended that Monroe County create a 24-hour arraignment
for Rochester City Court, waive all county imposed fees for defendants
who qualify for a public defender and fully fund the Public Defender's
Office, particularly the Family Court section.
3. Probation and the District Attorney's office must focus their efforts on
diverting individuals away from incarceration and criminal
convictions. Monroe County should only use incarceration as a last
resort. Probation must move away from its punitive nature and
embrace a philosophy of diversion and support. The District Attorney
must prioritize diversion, restorative justice and dismissals for minor
offenses. Both agencies should be required to report their efforts in
their annual reports. (Criminal Justice)
4. As needed to implement these changes, convene a task force
comprised of the major players in the criminal justice system (such as
the District Attorney, Public Defender, the Administrative Judge of the
7th Judicial District, the heads of local bar associations including the
Black Bar Association, police chiefs, and the heads of local Criminal
Justice organizations and advocacy groups) to work through issues
and identify additional strategies to eliminate racial disparities in local
criminal matters (arrests, prosecutions and incarceration). 60

60
This should include local members of national organizations working to improve criminal justice, such as
the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
 62

b. Monroe County DHS maintains the highest sanction rate of the largest
counties in New York (those with urban centers), and an exceptionally high
rate of fair hearings requested. Monroe County should adjust internal policies
to ensure that sanctions – which remove needed resources from individuals,
many of whom are BIPOC – are used only as a last resort, and never as a first
step. Specific strategies include amending the employment plan, reducing the
attendance threshold for substance abuse treatment plans, and create both a
pre-sanction review process and post-sanction support system. In addition,
the County should establish a working group consisting of DHS staff, public
assistance recipients, substance abuse treatment providers, and legal services
providers to facilitate continuous improvement to ensure that our rate of
sanction decreases dramatically while maintaining compliance with OTDA
regulations. (Human Services)

c. Develop strategies to increase access to mental health and social emotional

support services for all Rochester City School District BIPOC students,
equivalent to similar services provided to students enrolled in suburban
schools. In addition, school-based health centers should be created in every
RCSD school. These strategies must include additional financial support to
the RCSD, given its dire fiscal straits. (Education and Mental Health &
Addiction Services)

d. There is a great lack of understanding about the pervasive and malignant

influences of racism and structural inequities in society. In order to eliminate
this condition, school boards in Rochester and throughout Monroe County
should adopt an anti-racist curriculum. (Education)

e. Labeling schools as failing leads to low student affective or emotional

engagement, which in turn impacts the students’ attachment to school and
influences their willingness to learn. School curricula need to be revised to
create engagement in order to spark learning, rather than solely focus on
testing scores. Monroe County school districts must expand curriculum
offerings for English Language Learners so that they have curriculum choices
that are comparable to those of their counterparts. Programs aimed at
assisting students and their families need to be offered in their native
language. (Education)

4. Decentralize services and embed them in trusted agencies throughout the community

a. Invest in and develop Community Behavioral Health Advocates (CBHA), a

program employing local residents trained and certified to assist people
with advocacy, offer help to connect with and navigate behavioral health

Executives (NOBLE), the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NABLEO), and the
National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA).
 63

services, identify distressed persons who need services before emergencies

occur, and provide low-complexity therapeutic interventions, as
appropriate. (Mental Health and Addiction Services)
1. As well, additional mental health clinicians in the region –
particularly those serving low-income residents who rely on Medicaid
– should be a top priority to address the extremely limited
availability of high-quality mental health and addiction services for
people of color and low-income people. Primary, specialist and
preventive healthcare services should be similarly expanded. (Mental
Health and Addiction Services, and Healthcare)

b. To address the disproportionate arrest of Black and Latinx residents, the

City of Rochester and Monroe County should create and adequately fund
community alternatives to police. The cases of George Floyd and Daniel
Prude, and so many others, makes it clear that armed police officers are not
the appropriate party to respond to non-violent crimes and mental health
crises. Instead, the City and County must build off of the work of the
Forensic Intervention Team and Person in Crisis Team to create more
alternatives to traditional policing that utilize trained community
responders, crisis intervention specialist and mediators. 911 should analyze
calls for service over the last 5 years to understand patterns for calls for
service in order to determine the appropriate amount of funding to
reallocate. Considering that 66% of crimes in Rochester are misdemeanors,
funds diverted from RPD must be significant. As the City and County begin
to decrease the size of police departments and increase the size of crisis
intervention units, there must be a priority to hire Black and Latinx
community members. (Criminal Justice)

c. Develop a Community Center for Restorative Justice and Court Diversion

(“CCRJCD”), with the mission of embedding restorative justice and
alternatives to incarcerations into our criminal justice system. This center
should have satellite offices located within neighborhoods. CCRJCD will
provide an alternative to the punitive justice system and will be grounded in
the principals of rehabilitation, restorative justice and desistance theory of
behavior change. It is crucial that these diversion efforts do not contain
eligibility requirements based on prior criminal records; such requirements
result in diversion programs that simply mimic the racial disparities seen in
the traditional system. This center could be funded by shifting resources from
the Monroe County Jail, Rochester Police Department and the Department
of Probation. Restorative justice practices should be adopted in schools
throughout Monroe County as well. (Criminal Justice, Education)

d. Justice-involved youth have few alternatives to detention. Monroe County

must invest in a community-based program for youth facing criminal charges.
This program should include: counseling and mentorship, restorative justice
circles, case managers who create a comprehensive plan with parents and
 64

youth, respite services, and a forensic psychiatric specialist equipped to

handle youth with complex mental health issues. Youth with severe diagnoses
such as schizophrenia must not be placed in a detention facility unequipped
to meet their needs.

e. To address the fact that Black and Latinx children in Monroe County are
placed in foster care homes in significantly higher numbers than any other
demographic, Monroe County must redesign services to do more to keep
these children with their families. Strategies include implementing blind
removal meetings, hiring culture brokers, and developing kinship navigators.
The County must also provide consistency in case workers and in the
application of federal laws like the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act and the
Interethnic Adoptions Provisions law. (Human Services)

f. Create interconnectedness between mental health and addiction services as

they are often unaligned and disconnected. Misalignment exacerbates and
prolongs racial and ethnic inequities in access to mental health and addiction
services. Assure that current County and City initiatives regarding mental
health emergency response services are fully integrated, i.e., one emergency
response system, not two. (Mental Health and Addiction Services)

g. Decentralize Monroe County Department of Public Health services and put

locations in neighborhoods with high populations of BIPOC; this can be
implemented through community schools, which is a current initiative of
RCSD and ROC the Future. (Healthcare, Education)

h. Local police agencies should be mandated to collect and regularly report on a

quarterly basis demographic information of all individuals they interact with
in arrests, traffic investigations, street stops, and uses of force. Furthermore,
we recommend the demographic information be collected and regularly
reported for personnel complaints, also on a quarterly basis. We further
recommend this data be included in their annual reports and, relative to the
Rochester Police Department, be included on their Open Data Portal, entered
into their TRACS system, and sent to the Rochester Police Accountability
Board. If other local police agencies develop similar civilian oversight
processes, we recommend this data be sent to their board for review.
(Policing)

i. The County should work with the local organization Measures for Justice to
create a criminal justice data portal that includes local data from police
agencies, District Attorney, Public Defenders, Probation and the court
system. Data should include, but not be limited to, plea offers, final
dispositions, technical violations, and the race of defendants and attorneys,
whether they are public defenders or private attorneys. (Criminal Justice)
 65

5. Embed accountability measures in all policies to ensure equity and fairness across all
services, programs and delivery models.

a. Create a racial justice task force comprised of the major players in the
criminal justice system and community members (such as the District
Attorney, Public Defender, the Administrative Judge of the 7th Judicial
District, the heads of local bar associations including the Black Bar
Association, and the heads of local Criminal Justice organizations and
advocacy groups), This Taskforce should meet on a quarterly basis to review
local criminal justice data and identify additional strategies to eliminate
racial disparities in local criminal matters (arrests, prosecutions and
incarceration). School-age students should also receive attention in this
process with a focus on ending the school-to-prison pipeline. (Criminal
Justice, Education)

b. In order to address inequities in the greater Rochester housing market, the

City and County should take the following steps:
1. Work with housing developers and financial institutions to increase the
supply of quality affordable housing for BIPOC individuals who are
seeking to own their homes, and for persons for whom renting is their
preferred option.
2. Identify and develop strategies to correct all of the impediments that have
historically kept Black and other people of color from fully participating
in the local housing market, including redlining, exclusion from incentives
that increase homeownership, and land-use policies that prescribe
housing types that keep BIPOC out of the markets. In order to meet these
objectives, the City and County will engage with persons who directly
influence the development of these markets and with BIPOC consumers
who have been adversely impacted by the way these markets have been
developed. Together, they will develop the criteria for new markets that
are equitable, inclusive and free of racial bias.
3. The County Legislature should incentivize affordable housing
development in all communities within Monroe County. The County
should encourage affordable housing county-wide, with consideration to
which locations could best provide access to economic and educational
opportunities.
4. Adopt new tenant protections, such as right to counsel in eviction
proceedings, “just cause” eviction mandate, and a local fair housing
statute that enables local jurisdictions to prosecute individuals or
organizations in violation of fair housing practices.
5. Enact a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase law in Rochester. This type of
program would provide an opportunity for rental tenants, qualified
housing nonprofits or some combination to assemble funds to purchase a
rental property if an owner offers it for sale.
 66

6. Advocate for a public bank that can be used to support affordable housing
efforts as well as credit unions that produce mortgages for low-income
homebuyers. A public banking bill has been introduced in the state
Senate.
7. Establish a policy for the City of Rochester that would require banks to
submit annual reports to the city that detail the programs and products
they have offered to meet the community’s credit needs, and a plan for
what they will offer in the future. Pending the establishment of a policy,
the City will evaluate the banks’ performance based on the reports
submitted by the banks. (Housing)

c. The issues of racial discrimination and systemic inequities have hit BIPOC
older adults harder than other groups in this demographic. Their problems
range from increasing rates of poverty, lack of affordable health care, limited
access to nutritious food, inaccessibility to transportation, a dire shortage of
quality, affordable housing to all of the implications of the digital divide. Local
governments must effectively engage the not-for-profit providers of services
for these older citizens, and their advocates, to redesign a more equitable and
bias-free delivery system across the full spectrum of services. Specifically,
local government should support and invest in the Livable Communities for
Older Adults Initiative. The Livable Communities approach will provide a
broad and coordinated platform for all those involved in services to older
adults in which to participate. Implementation of Livable Communities
proposals should include the establishment of representative and diverse
advisory boards with significant oversight responsibilities. (Human Services)

d. Address the funding disparity between suburban and urban senior centers.
Funding to senior centers in urban areas is based on meal volume annually.
There is a clear differential between suburban and urban centers analogous
to the disparities in local school districts. Towns are able to supplement
Federal and state dollars. (Human and Social Services)
e. To ensure accountability, Community Behavioral Health Advocates (CBHA)
should be constituted as a separate, independent local organization with an
executive director selected by a diverse community board, which would
carefully ally with local health providers and coordinate with the County
OMH. (Mental Health and Addiction Services)

f. Create a number of City-County Accountability Committees/Boards,

comprised of diverse consumer, non-governmental organizations, and
professional membership, for monitoring system initiatives to overcome
barriers to care based on structure, race, or ability to pay. While this
recommendation emanates from the Mental Health and Addiction Services
working group, this approach should be used for a number of the systems
studied during this process.
 67

1. Establish a County-wide ombudsperson office where residents can

report discrimination in healthcare (whether provided by the County
or private healthcare systems) and receive assistance in filing
complaints with the NYS Commission on Human Rights. The office
should have a Community Advisory Board with requirements that
members include BIPOC and representatives from other marginalized
groups who (if permitted by state law) are compensated for their
service. (Healthcare)

g. Create a municipal health care access program that guarantees affordable

healthcare for any uninsured county resident that does not qualify for another
healthcare plan, regardless of immigration status, income level, or pre-
existing conditions. (Healthcare)

h. Amend Section 63 of City Charter to add healthcare to the list of areas in

which discrimination is prohibited. (Healthcare)

i. The final interviews for police candidates should be expanded to include

representatives from the community as interviewers, including interviewers
from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. (Policing)

j. Amend Zoning Codes, Incentive Zoning, and Planned Development Districts

to support development of grocery stores, pharmacies, community health
centers, primary and specialist care, recreational green space, and fitness
centers in neighborhoods with high racial health disparities. (Healthcare)

k. In addition to the cultural competency training recommended for all city and
county departments above, additional training is recommended for police
officers of local departments. A recent study entitled “Procedural Justice
Training Reduces Police Use of Force and Complaints against Officers”
shows that procedural justice training reduced police use of force and
complaints against officers in the Chicago Police Department. The NYS basic
Course for Police Officer requires only 5 hours diversity for certification. It is
recommended that this requirement is significantly increased to include
cultural competency training, implicit and explicit bias training, Procedural
Justice training and historical aspects of policing training. Additionally, the
New York state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) has developed a
32-hour program titled Principled Policing which focuses on Procedural
Justice and Implicit Bias instruction. It is recommended that it be used as the
foundation for the recommended increase in cultural competency training
and include all previously mentioned training subjects. (Policing)
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Implementation Strategy
When the Commission was created, it was charged with the responsibility “to examine and
develop policies and legislation to overcome systemic and institutional inequities, as well
as, racism in Rochester and Monroe County.” Examining the conduct, policies and practices
of the Rochester Police Department and other policing agencies in the county, in the face
of George Floyd’s brutal death, was expected to occupy a great amount of our attention. It
did, but we were also charged to examine many other systems that create oppressive and
systemic barriers to equitable and non-racist participation by African Americans and other
marginalized citizens of color. During the past six months, we have examined nine of those
systems, including Policing and other aspects of the Criminal Justice system. Because our
focus quickly shifted from George Floyd to Daniel Prude, the Mental Health system became
another major focus.

This report does not address every problem stemming from racist practices and policies in
this community. It does not even address all of the issues within the systems we examined.
The lack of additional time and the inability to meet with key players within these systems
was an impediment that could not be overcome. Even so, those factors do not diminish the
importance of this work. It contains many long-overdue recommendations which, if
adopted, will transform the racial pendulum in the City of Rochester and greater Monroe
County, from injustice and inequity to a system which guarantees that there are no barriers
to entry into any of these systems, and each of them will incorporate standards and
practices that insure equity, inclusion and diversity.

We have gone beyond our charge, because the identification of problems and solutions have
taken us beyond the scope and authority of city and county government. The Working
Groups have deliberated on issues under the auspices and control of the private and not-
for-profit sectors; local governments including suburban towns, villages and school
districts; and the state and federal governments. If our inquiries led us to these institutions,
we did not retreat from identifying solutions because we had not been authorized to look at
them. Our hope and belief is that from this examination, resolute discussions will occur,
with officials in charge as well as the constituencies they represent.

Everything we have proposed could be filed away and soon forgotten, or even worse,
endlessly debated until the resolve to take action is undermined and dissipated. That must
not happen. The tentacles of racism are well rooted, not as much from law as by practice
and policy, and they must be systematically removed. A roadmap to removal and
replacement is found within the recommendations. However, in order for that roadmap to
prove useful, there must be a community-wide bias towards action.

The release of this report to the Mayor and County Executive will coincide with its release
to the public. We strongly urge them to create opportunities that will allow for a full
discussion of the report and its findings. While the RASE Commission will fully participate
 69

in these discussions, the comments should be directed to the elected officials, as it is within
their sole province to act. Our interest is to see spirited action flow from this process, not
endless debates.

Concurrent with this engagement with citizens, the Mayor and County Executive must
immediately institute a four-fold set of actions:

1. Identify those recommendations which are within their Executive authority, or

within the authority of their respective legislative bodies, to implement, and they
should publicly announce a timeframe for when these set of recommendations will
be enacted.
2. Create a process for the implementation of those recommendations which require
the active engagement of parties beyond the scope and authority of city and county
governments, such as the private, not-for-profit and various government sectors
specified above. The involvement of these parties means that they will be prepared
to take definitive actions to eliminate all inequitable and exclusionary practices,
policies and programs that are racist in reality and perpetuation. These processes
should be established with measurable outcomes and accountability requirements,
with specific reporting timelines and implementation schedules.
3. Establish a successor body to the RASE Commission, with the authority to monitor
the timeliness of the implementation of the recommendations contained in this
report. That body will establish the manner of the reporting process, including the
format for reporting progress and the intervals for the submission of these reports.
We recommend that this body be authorized to discuss these progress report with
each entity, and to have the power to recommend and enforce corrective steps that
will insure the successful implementation of all recommendations.
4. Upon review of these recommendations, the Mayor and County Executive may
determine that some of them cannot advance without the infusion of additional
financial or technical resources; or direct action at the state or federal levels. Those
areas of exception should be publicly identified, and both officials should facilitate
community engagement that leads to a strategic plan that both informs and
advocates for state and federal responses to these recommendations.

The success of this Commission’s findings and plan of action will require decisive responses
from our government leaders. Their ability to leverage the full support and commitment
from all sectors of the community is critical to transforming the diversity, equity and
inclusion footprint of the greater Rochester. This is no time for excuses. It’s time for action.
 70

Letter of Dissent
Danielle Ponder and Damond Wilson respectfully dissent from the majority opinion that
neglects to address the economic wealth gap between African American families and their
white counterparts. As stated elsewhere in the report, the average black family's net worth
is ten times less than the average white family, with the possibility of becoming more
disparate in the wake of the pandemic. This disparity will continue without the introduction
of economic equity laws and policies, better known as reparations.
We recommend that a community foundation, otherwise known as a community chest, be
established to redress systemic issues in the City of Rochester and Monroe County. This
community foundation would serve as the medium to invest in private ventures such as,
but not limited to, homeownership, entrepreneurship, legal expenses, family stabilization,
economic security, etc. Funding for the proposed community foundation would derive from
the legalization of marijuana, reallocation of tax revenues, and excising taxes.
The board of directors for the proposed community foundation dedicated to reparations
would consist of Black Monroe County residents ranging from diverse backgrounds,
including business professionals, community activists, healthcare professionals, educators,
etc. The board of directors would be responsible for identifying grant opportunities, fund
management, and addressing systemic issues in the Greater Rochester Area.
In addition, the City and County should advocate for the passage of H.R. 40, Commission
to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. This bill
reintroduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee establishes a commission to "examine slavery and
discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present…" Once
passed, the bill would pave the way for economic policies that would greatly influence the
work of a community foundation dedicated to reparations.
We believe that any recommendation short of addressing the economic wealth gap between
African Americans and White Americans is peripheral and an insubstantial attempt to
redress racial and structural equity.
 71

Part 3: Working Group Summaries

The individual summaries of RASE Working Groups are presented in alphabetical order in
the section below. Working Groups prepared their own reports, based on the resources,
research, analysis and community engagement each used to arrive at its priorities and
recommendations. They are presented below, with minimal to no editing of the text that
each group created.
 72

Business Development
“Investing in people, not in brick and mortar.”

Preamble
The Business Development Working Group was tasked with identifying structural barriers
for entrepreneurs of color in Monroe County and developing recommendations to invest in
these individuals. Given the history of racist practices and policies regarding essential areas
of starting a business, such as racial discrimination in the credit market 61, this group’s
mission was to address the most pressing areas in need of reform that the Monroe County
government could play a role in.

We want to recognize that the current financial and economic systems were built to
cultivate and protect the rights of White male landowners and our recommendations are a
small part of dismantling the systems which continue to operate in a racist manner. These
systems evolved over centuries and require a thoughtful, integrated and collaborative
review that includes private sector, financial institutions, business owners, public sector
entities, entrepreneurs, and BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) individuals who
have been historically excluded from these systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges faced by small businesses,
and Black-owned businesses are particularly vulnerable to financial hardship associated
with the economic shut-downs 62. Not only are we interested in addressing the harms
imposed on entrepreneurs of color, we want to elevate these individuals to create an
equitable business community. Simply put, we are interested in investing in people.

Reflecting on additional areas outside the scope of our recommendations, we highlight the
need for a holistic approach to the mission of achieving racial equity. In terms of the
individual, policy must consider the interdependent nature of different areas which
determine well-being and life outcomes. In terms of systemic change, the work of racial
equity can be achieved through examining each system’s evolution and growth as well as
the components and tools that have been exclusionary, and reverse-engineering and
reconstructing systems for inclusion. Investing directly in entrepreneurs and small
businesses, in addition to the organizations that serve them, should also be a regional
priority. It is one thing to successfully launch programs and initiatives that advance
equitable growth and social inclusion; it is another thing to allocate sufficient resources to
bolster and sustain these to optimize our collective impact.

61
https://advocacy.sba.gov/2018/02/01/financing-patterns-and-credit-market-experiences-a-comparison-by-
race-and-ethnicity-for-u-s-employer-firms/
62
https://advocacy.sba.gov/2020/08/31/small-business-facts-black-business-owners-hit-hard-by-pandemic/
 73

Statistics
Based on the 2012 Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners 63 (the most recent
comprehensive data available), MWBE enterprises represented a clear minority of the
overall businesses in both the City and County.

Approximately 18% of firms in Monroe County were minority-owned in 2012, with 10%
being Black-owned and 4% being Hispanic-owned (these categories may overlap for some
owners).

Approximately 36% of firms in the City of Rochester were minority-owned in 2012, with
25% being Black-owned and 7% being Hispanic-owned (these categories may overlap for
some owners).

If this ownership pattern has held relatively constant to today, it would indicate clear
disparities: currently, 30% of Monroe County residents are minorities, while 63% of City of
Rochester residents are minorities.

This suggests much work remains, and must be done, to achieve equitable business
ownership and increase economic vitality in minority communities. The recommendations
this working group presents below represent initial steps along the path to inclusion and
equity.

Resources Consulted
Equity and inclusion in business development and entrepreneurship is not a new topic or
a new challenge for the Rochester area, nor is the RASE Commission the first group to
address this. We are indebted to the work that has already been done by multiple
organizations and individuals to understand this issue; we look to build on their insights
and recommendation and add them to our own.

To gain an understanding of what barriers entrepreneurs face in Rochester, the group

consulted multiple studies and research reports which provided critical background and
action suggestions, from national-level research on the credit market experiences for
minority-owned businesses conducted by the Federal Reserve 64 and U.S. Small Business
Administration 65, to local-level research, such as the Rochester Area Community
Foundation’s 2019 Rochester Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Assessment Report 66, Empire
Justice Center’s 2018 #AllTogetherNow 67 report on Rochester-area small business lending,

63
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2012/econ/2012-sbo.html
64
https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/medialibrary/fedsmallbusiness/files/2019/20191211-ced-minority-
owned-firms-report.pdf
65
https://advocacy.sba.gov/2014/01/01/credit-scores-and-credit-market-outcomes-evidence-from-the-
survey-of-small-business-finances-and-the-kauffman-firm-survey/
66
https://www.racf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rochester-Entrepreneurial-Ecosysem-Assessment.pdf
67
https://empirejustice.org/resources_post/alltogethernow/
 74

and the City of Rochester’s 2019 Commercial Corridor Study 68, among others. Racial equity
initiatives in multiple cities, such as Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Seattle, were examined
for best practices and ideas of how to address barriers to equitable business development.

Community Engagement
The Business Development Working Group used a multi-faceted community engagement
approach to identify areas of focus for the recommendations. This included interviewing
key informants, agencies and organizations that work on business development in the
Rochester/Monroe County area, surveying local businesses, hosting a live-streamed
community forum and taking a bus tour of local businesses.

Key Informant Interviews

Between October 7th and November 9th, 2020, working group representatives held one-
on-one or group meetings with more than twenty supporting organizations, including: City
of Rochester - Department of Neighborhood and Business Development; Office of
Community Wealth Building; Purchasing Department, Empire State Development, Greater
Rochester Black Business Alliance, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Greater
Rochester Enterprise, Junior Achievement, Monroe County Department of Planning and
Development, NYSED ACCES-VR, PathStone Enterprise Center, ROC2025, Rochester
Downtown Development Corporation, Rochester Economic Development Corporation
(REDCO), Rochester Institute of Technology - Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, SCORE
Greater Rochester, SUNY Brockport - Institute for Poverty Studies and Economic
Development, U.S. Small Business Administration - Buffalo District Office, University of
Rochester - Simon School of Business, the Urban League of Rochester and the Venture Jobs
Foundation.

These interview meetings gathered expert perspectives, input and suggestions about
critical areas of need and potential solutions and action items.

Community Forum
An online community forum was held via Zoom on October 28, 2020, with both Spanish
and ASL interpretation to ensure access to Spanish-speaking and deaf or hard-of-hearing
community members. Guiding questions for the evening’s discussion invited participants
to speak on racism and structural inequities in business as well as challenges and
advantages of being a minority or woman-owned business. Participants were also asked
about their experiences obtaining a Minority- or Women-Owned Businesses Enterprise
certification (MBE or WBE) and encouraged to identify resources that would help them to
grow their business.

The community forum had 56 participants through the Zoom platform, including 34
current business owners, 12 prospective business owners, and 6 former business owners.

68
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/CommercialCorridorStudy/
 75

The forum was also live-streamed to the RASE Facebook page 69 where watchers were
invited to post questions and give other input via the comments section. As of December
20, 2020, the permanently posted recording of the forum on the RASE Facebook page has
garnered 830 views.

Business Survey
Before, during, and after this community forum, further engagement with participants was
ensured by sending out a pre-registration questionnaire, a business survey, and an
evaluation, respectively. The business survey gathered 113 responses. Approximately 78%
of respondents to that business survey were certified minority-owned, woman-owned, or
disabled veteran-owned businesses. Approximately 35% of respondents were
Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino origin, or Asian.

Funding was reported as a top need for responding businesses. Many were coping with
fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the economy.

Bus Tour
The Business Development Working Group also took a bus tour to reach out to ten small
MWBE’s. This helped gather face-to-face input on experiences of systemic inequity, MWBE
challenges, and resources needed from the City and County that are lacking. Members of
the working group engaged with businesses in Brighton, West Irondequoit, Thurston Road
in the 19th Ward, and Clinton Avenue in the 14621 zip code area.

Reopening Petition
In December 2020, new orange zone restrictions were enacted in particular areas of
Monroe County due to COVID-19 which disproportionately harmed MWBE’s. A petition
was developed by the group to ask for gyms and salons to be reopened, in light of evidence
that they were not a significant source of COVID transmission. The petition garnered 1,542
signatures and led New York governor Andrew Cuomo to reopen gyms and salons in
Monroe County starting December 14th.

Prioritization of Issues
Issues were prioritized through discussions among work group members. A list of issues
found through resource consulting and community engagement were narrowed down
based on the amount of influence that the City and/or County government has over the
specific issue, the amount of time it will take for the City and/or County government to
resolve the issue, and the relative amount of MWBE’s that the issue negatively impacts.

69
https://www.facebook.com/ROCRASE
 76

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1: Access to Capital
● Increase access to city/county financial assistance.
● In partnership with local financial institutions, local government can create a guided
pathway for MWBE borrowers which connects them first to Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and then moves them to traditional financial institutions,
as appropriate.
Based on the input gathered from our community engagement, only 12% of business
owners responding to the survey report having received business support or financial
assistance from the City of Rochester, while only 20% of business owners report having
received business support or financial assistance from Monroe County. Some business
owners are even unaware that they are able to apply for and receive assistance from the
county government.

Limited access to capital was a commonly mentioned issue throughout our interviews with
supporting organizations. This feedback is also supported by the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA), which reports that Black and Hispanic businesses are more likely to
have been denied credit and are less likely to receive the full requested amount. 70

However, organization leaders had varying ideas on how to approach this issue: suggestions
included gap funding, bridge lending, venture funding, partnerships with Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), and using public funding to leverage private
funding. All of these tied into the need for MWBE’s to be more bankable, often through
credit building and improved professional accounting practices.

To resolve this issue, we recommend that the City of Rochester and Monroe County
governments work to bring CDFIs together with traditional financial institutions. This
partnership can take people from alternative credit options to the banking mainstream and
provide them with loans at reasonable interest rates.

The referenced SBA report shows that Blacks and Hispanics are more reliant on CDFIs and
Credit Unions for lending than White borrowers, yet they use them overall at far lower rates
than conventional banks. So, we believe that these lenders should be encouraged to engage
with minority borrowers and expand on services provided to these borrowers.

We also feel that larger financial institutions should work with customers that have repaid
obligations with CDFIs to provide lending at competitive rates. The City and County can
actively refer to the CDFIs while seeking commitments from larger financial institutions to
form relationships with minority-owned businesses that have successfully used CDFI
lending products.

70
https://advocacy.sba.gov/2020/07/23/minority-owned-employer-businesses-and-their-credit-market-
experiences-in-2017/
 77

Lastly, the larger financial institutions should be encouraged to refer to CDFIs to match
borrowers with lenders that will be able to lend to them. We expect the City and County to
be able to leverage their relationships with larger financial institutions to bring them on
board and usher more MWBEs into the banking mainstream.

Key Issue #2: Operations/Mentorship

● Work with MWBE businesses and entrepreneurs to increase their credit-readiness.
● Provide culturally competent mentorship and support that is proactive at reaching
MWBE businesses and entrepreneurs where they currently are:

● Design appropriate outreach to both meet them in their current physical locations
and to meet them where they are in the business development cycle.
● Conduct an internal audit of existing support services to determine shortcomings
that are preventing services from reaching eligible businesses.
Based on input from many business development community organizations, it is not
enough to provide credit to businesses that are not ready to deploy it effectively. This can
create a vicious cycle as bad decisions with capital can lead to poor business results, bad
credit, and inability to access credit going forward.

Additionally, our community engagement revealed that business owners feel the city and
county government lack transparency regarding business development opportunities and
how to go about certain processes such as grant applications. Business owners say that they
would benefit from in-person assistance that demystifies stressful and confusing processes.
Thus, many MWBEs find themselves in situations where they are struggling to operate and
are not aware of the services made available to them by the City, County, or otherwise.

To resolve this issue, we recommend that the City of Rochester and Monroe County
governments create culturally competent services that provide on-site
technical/operational assistance and a level of mentorship for businesses owners. To kick-
start a more culturally competent offering of services, we recommend that the City and
County start with internal audits of their business support services to review cultural
competence and service delivery methods.

In our community engagement, we found that many people are calling for mentors who
look like them and can relate to their struggles. We also found that the life of a business
owner is quite time-consuming, which must be considered in designing services. For these
reasons, we recommend an audit that forces the City and County to ask if business
development services could be delivered in a way that will better serve the community. A
guiding principle here would be to serve more people where they are, instead of forcing
them to come to the provider.
 78

Key Issue #3: MWBE Certification/Contracting

● Create a local city/county MWBE certification program, similar to those of Erie
County/Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany.
● Consider raising the $10,000 limit on no-bid municipal contracts to a higher level, to
allow MWBE vendors access to greater potential revenue.

● MWBEs, which tend to be smaller and newer, are often disadvantaged in a

competitive bidding process as they face larger and more established competitors
who can afford to underbid them.

● Re-examine municipal vendor payment policies to assure small subcontractors, who

often lack the capital reserves to cover weeks of operating expenses, are promptly paid
and able to pay their workers.
● Enact a more holistic “best value” bid scoring system, including the bidder’s previous
contract performance and success in meeting supplier diversity goals as part of their
scoring, replacing simple lowest-bidder selection.
Based on the input gathered from our community engagement, the process to obtain and
maintain an MWBE certification can be difficult, confusing, and time-consuming. Due to
State MWBE requirements, many small businesses are not eligible to apply until they have
been in operations for more than two years. After that, they must actually apply and go
through the process, which means a business may be in their third or fourth year of
operation before they receive certification.

Furthermore, once entrepreneurs have received their MWBE Certification, they stated that
the bidding and contracting processes often favor mid-size or large companies that have
greater resources and revenue. We also heard the amount of time it takes for contractors to
get paid is far too long. Many MWBEs, and small businesses in general, are running on
smaller margins with smaller reserves and cannot wait for payment.
In order to resolve these issues, we recommend that the City and County consider a local
MWBE certification process. This will not replace the State certification, but will allow
companies to experience benefits sooner than the two to three years it takes to get a state
MWBE certification. To be effective, a business should be able to apply after six months to
one year. Please see Appendix for more information about other cities’ local MWBE
certification programs.

We also recommend that the City review their policy around open contracts. Currently, any
contract that would lead to more than a $10,000 annual spend with any one company must
be put through an arduous bid process. Meanwhile, larger companies like Staples have open
contracts where they can receive more than $10,000 in contracts annually without the City
going through bidding. We could make small MWBEs more competitive by raising that
limit substantially.
 79

Additionally, we recommend that the City of Rochester and Monroe County examine their
vendor payment policies. We understand that New York State does have prompt payment
laws but those can still be disadvantageous for smaller businesses. In reviewing these laws,
we find that a subcontractor may still have to wait between 37 - 52 days before payment.
We feel that upon completion of work, subcontractors should be able to expect payment
within two weeks. The City and County should think of creative ways to make this possible,
including bridge loans that use the contract as collateral.

Finally, we recommend that the City of Rochester and Monroe County consider
implementing a holistic “best value” bid scoring system. Bid criteria is often designed to
award contracts to the lowest bidder. However, this system can disadvantage smaller and
less established businesses, such as MWBEs, which face difficulty competing with large,
well-established firms that can leverage their size and economies of scale to offer lower
prices. While simple lowest-bidder criteria may provide cheaper costs to local governments
and taxpayers in the short run, in the long run it can raise costs and reduce competition by
preventing smaller MWBE firms from receiving the level of business necessary to develop
into larger, more cost-effective bid competitors.

In contrast, a “best value” bid system would evaluate how well bidders meet several criteria,
including the bidder’s previous contract performance and success in meeting supplier
diversity goals as part of their scoring. For example, local businesses certified as good
performers who consistently meet diversity goals could be given a 5% bid preference. Such
a policy could be leveraged to intentionally increase supplier/vendor diversity and
competitiveness, resulting in a larger, more equitable field of businesses ready to contract
with local governments.

Key Issue #4: Communications/Outreach

● Host an annual joint City/County MWBE Business Development Fair, which can:

● offer training on certification and contracting requirements;

● publicize forthcoming contract work suitable for small businesses and MWBEs;
● promote local and regional MWBE businesses;
● provide matchmaking for MWBE vendors and subcontractors with municipal
agencies, prime contractors, and major local purchasers.

● Audit the City and County’s business development services to better coordinate
outreach and communication, eliminate duplication and assess the efficiency of current
services.
Based on the input gathered from our community engagement, we found that many MWBE
entrepreneurs have little-to-no contact with representatives from the City or the County.
Many of these entrepreneurs then face challenges in navigating the City/County bidding
and contracting processes. The City and County must position themselves as advocates for
MWBEs and do much better at communicating and reaching out to MWBEs.
 80

To resolve this issue, we recommend that the City of Rochester and Monroe County host an
annual MWBE Business Development Fair that highlights local MWBEs, acts as a forum
for continued engagement, provides training on contracting and procurement processes,
and offers the opportunity to review or bid on current opportunities.

The MWBE Certification process cannot be an exercise in compliance. The City and County
should be heavily promoting the products and services of MWBEs, sharing information on
the best ways to turn an MWBE certification into new business, and providing the
opportunity to take part in the bidding process. A local MWBE Business Development Fair
can help accomplish these goals and help the local community view MWBEs as vibrant
businesses with something to offer.

In addition to the MWBE Business Development Fair, the perceived lack of communication
from the City and County must be addressed. We recommend that an audit be performed
on the functions of the City and County government regarding MWBE business
development. For example, we know that the City employs community liaisons but we need
to know if they are being effective in their work. If we find they are not, we need to reimagine
how community outreach should work on a day-to-day basis.

Another step in the audit is to identify inefficiencies between departments that do similar
work. In our outreach, we spoke to many people in City and County government and found
that resources are often limited to one person doing a lion’s share of the work. Before
looking to increase headcount, we should examine overlap in the Department of
Neighborhood and Business Development and the Office of Community Wealth Building.
If we find that they are doing similar work, we may be able to realize efficiency gains and
become more effective in promoting successful MWBE development.

Parking Lot
The above recommendations cover only some of the items the Business Development
working group considered; specifically, those it believes will have the broadest possible
impact and should be given the highest priority for action.
Simultaneously, the working group has identified a secondary set of more specific priorities
and recommendations related to each of the recommendation areas above. These
recommendations should not be considered less important; rather, their adoption can
provide critical support to each of the priority areas identified above.

Access to Capital
● New loan/grant products to better serve community

● Increase 50/50 matching grant programs to 15k/25k for new/existing businesses.

● Create convertible loan-to-grant programs tied to major milestones for established
businesses to support next-stage growth.
● Examine “brick and mortar” requirements to access City funds.
 81

● City/County should develop a proposal to bring a black-owned bank to serve Rochester

and Monroe County.

Operations/Mentorship
● City/County funded grants for businesses after they complete certain programs
(economic gardening, the Jobs Kitchen, Center for Urban Entrepreneurship trainings,
etc.).
● Develop mentoring program that provides tax incentives to participants at completion.
● Expanded support for programs teaching entrepreneurship and business skills to
school-aged children, such as Junior Achievement.

MWBE Certification/Contracting
● Examine insurance/bonding policies; high requirements often block small MWBEs.

● Consider a bonding readiness program, such as that offered by New York City. 71
● Encourage anchor institutions to adopt MWBE contracting policies that will increase
their spending with MWBE contractors.

● 25% increase per year over four years

● Review representation at all leadership levels in City/County to ensure they are
proportionate to the population.

Communications/Outreach
● City/County-sponsored shared workspaces that turn abandoned buildings into store
fronts, art galleries, etc. that will work as incubators for small businesses.

71
https://www1.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/article/bond-readiness-program
 82

Criminal Justice
The leaders: Commissioner Logan Brown, Commissioner Danielle Ponder and
Commissioner Catherine Thomas led the criminal justice work group. This group met
weekly or biweekly from September to November 2020. Subgroups were developed to
focus on: Juvenile Justice System, Probation and Parole, Court System and Judicial
Review, District Attorney/Public Defender, and Pre Trial/ Post Conviction/ Criminal
Codes.
The members of the Criminal Justice Working Group: Yesenia Reed, Frank Liberti, Joe
Hennekey, Carlos Garcia, Kayla Atkin, Michael Simpson, Lisa Johnson, Yohannes Tesfa
Michael, Corey Hepburn, Frank Ham, Ciera Caldwell, Sydney Cuyler, Lisa Barr, Michael
Bleeg, Frank Hamlin, Torey Richardson, Cynshel Wilson, Lamaar Jackson, Pamela
Flemming, Amanda Santacroce, Raymond Kenne, Kerry Gant, Michelle Daniels, Isaac
Elliot, Sherron Sawyer, Wayman Harris, Vanessa Cheeks, Anayra Gutierrez, Carla Perez,
Yesenia Reed, Frank Liberti, Joe Hennekey, Carlos Garcia, and Kayla Atkins.
Working group members included Monroe County residents with backgrounds in
criminal justice including defense attorneys and former law enforcement personnel.

Summary of Group’s Process

Resources Consulted
∞ Meetings with several system players reviewed Monroe County Disposition data. RIT
Center for Public Safety Initiatives reports were consulted: COVID-19 Pandemic and
the Opioid Epidemic 72, Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings in the City of Rochester 2015-
2018 73, Local Criminal Justice Data: Part I in a Series Police Staff & Population 74,

72 Duda-Banwar, J., & Altheimer, I. (2020, April). COVID-19 Pandemic and the Opioid Epidemic (Rep. No.
2020-03). Retrieved
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/docs/CRIM%20Resources/COVID-
19%20Pandemic%20and%20the%20Opioid%20Epidemic%20_WP%202020_03.pdf
73 Burt, J., Duda-Banwar, J., Altheimer, I., & Klofas, J. (2019, April). Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings in the
City of Rochester 2015-2018 (Rep.). Retrieved
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/docs/CRIM%20Resources/Fatal%20and%20
NonFatal%20Shootings%202015-2018%20Working%20Paper%202019-04.pdf
74 Burt, J., Duda-Banwar, J., Klofas, J., & Altheimer, I. (2018). Local Criminal Justice Data: Part I in a
Series Police Staff and Population (Rep.). Retrieved
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/documents/our-
work/Local%20Criminal%20Justice%20Data%20Part%20I%20_Police%20Staff%20and%20Population.pd
f
 83

Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2019 75 and, Living with Warrants: Life under the
Sword of Damocles 76.

∞ Juvenile Alternative & Reform Team – (JART) Report Barb Mitchell – Monroe
County Juvenile Justice Planner, Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, Monroe
County – Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) 77, Reduction Strategy
Development Program Final Report, Sheriffs General Orders 78, RPD General Orders 79
and Police Union Labor Relations Agreement 80.

Community Engagement
∞ Engaged working group members for several weeks to define priority issues.

∞ Hosted virtual Town Hall with Timothy Donaher from the Public Defender’s Office
and Kristine Durante from Probation.
∞ Conducted a focus group with formerly incarcerated men that was facilitated by
working group members, Kerry Grant and Pamela Flemming.

∞ Twenty-five youth held at the Monroe County Children’s Center were engaged in
conversations relating to their experiences in the juvenile justice system. In order to
create trust, interviews were conducted individually or in groups of two. This strategy
allowed participants to easily communicate their opinions. Youth participants were 14
to 19 years old and had been placed at the Children’s Center facility multiple times.
Their adjudication status was Adolescent Offender (AO), Juvenile Delinquent (JD) or
Juvenile Offender (JO). Most of the youth that we spoke to were charged with serious
felonies. However, there were a few JD youth that were in the facility for minor
misdemeanor charges. Many youth have lingered in the facility far beyond the
regulations time this may be due to COVID.

75 Altheimer, I., Klofas, J., &

Rodriguez, L. (2020, January). Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2019 (Rep.
No. 2020-01). Retrieved from
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/docs/CRIM%20Resources/Rochester%20Ho
micide%20Statistics%20for%202019.pdf
76 Duda-Banwar, J., & Burt, J. (2019, October). Living with Warrants: Life under the Sword of Damocles
(Rep.). Retrieved
https://www.rit.edu/liberalarts/sites/rit.edu.liberalarts/files/docs/CRIM%20Resources/Warrants%20Co
mmunity%20Report%20-%20Final%20for%20Distribution.pdf
77 https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/ofpa/jj/documents/monroe-co-dmc-report.pdf
78 https://www.keysso.net/genOrds
79 http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/General%20Order%20Manual%20-
%20March%202016.pdf
80
http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/Locust%20Club%20contract%20PLC%20CBA%202016-
2019.pdf
 84

Key themes expressed by youth: 1) Frustrated because often times they were unable to
speak to their attorneys prior to court and in a timely fashion; 2) Frustrated because
they were unable to speak out; 3) The lack of attorney contact often caused uncertainty
regarding their disposition; and 4) Concerns about school credits and the possibility of
graduation.
∞ Conducted a conversation with Mercy High School’s Mosaic & Leadership Clubs.
Approximately 40 students/faculty attended the presentation. Distributed a criminal
justice survey to assess perceptions regarding the criminal justice system.

∞ Lisa Carr, Kerry Gant and Mike Bleeg presented a plain language questionnaire for the
incarcerated.

∞ Mike Bleeg connected with LEAD: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, a pre-arrest
diversion program that improves public safety and public health through partnership
between community, police and service providers.

∞ Presented work to Black Women’s Leadership Forum and solicited recommendations.

∞ Presented to Rochester-Monroe County Youth Bureau - 20 minute presentation to
approximately 30 Juvenile Justice Employees.

∞ RMAPI presentation that provided an overview of RASE and the 4 key areas to be put
forward for final report. Solicited feedback

∞ Presented an update to the Juvenile Alternative & Reform Team (JART) Work Group
to provide and solicit input for the RASE.

∞ Unable to do a jail visit due to COVID outbreak.

Prioritization of Issues
∞ Our issues were prioritized after several meetings with working group members, one
community town hall and a focus group.

∞ Working group was split into four sections looking at different areas of the system,
courts, district attorney & public defenders, pre-trial and post-conviction.
 85

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1 PRE- ARREST DIVERSION
ACT Rochester data shows that Black individuals in Monroe County are arrested at a rate
6.8 times greater than white residents. 81 Of all felony arrests in 2019, Black people
constituted 56% compared to 29% whites. 82 Once in the Monroe County court system,
Black people are more likely to receive prison sentences compared to their white
counterparts. Of the 500 individual sentenced to prison in Monroe County in 2019, 61%
were Black and 22% were whites. According to the ACT Rochester report, racialized
stereotypes, community conditions, and policy all work together to create
disproportionate arrest rates. 83
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services data for 2019 indicates that two-
thirds of all adult arrests in Monroe County are for misdemeanor crimes. In 2019, 8,401
adults were charged with a misdemeanor in Monroe County. 84 There are racial disparities
in misdemeanor sentencing outcomes in this region. About 12% of Black people who are
arrested for a misdemeanor will serve time in jail compared to 6.9% of whites. 85 Only
9.4% of Blacks are fined compared to 25.4%of whites for misdemeanor sentencing. 86
These statistics demonstrate harsher sentencing for Black people in Monroe County’s
criminal justice system. 87
Community: There was a general consensus within the Criminal Justice working group
that Monroe County should use incarceration as a last resort county. It is
important that we find ways to deal with social problems that does not involve
incarceration. Alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice, and diversion programs
were frequently discussed in the Town Hall and working group meetings. Youth at the
Juvenile detention center also highlighted the need for vocational training.
System Players Consulted: Dr. Lyman-Torres, Mike Bleeg, Simeon Banister & Irshad
Altheimer

81
Arrest Rates by Race/Ethnicity. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2021, from
https://www.actrochester.org/public-safety/arrest-rates-by-race-ethnicity
82 NYS Adult Arrests and Prison Sentences by Race/Ethnicity in 2019. (2020, August 31). Retrieved from
https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/comparison-population-arrests-prison-
demographics/2019%20Population%20Arrests%20Prison%20by%20Race.pdf
83 Arrest Rates by Race/Ethnicity. (n.d.).
84 Disposed Adult Arrest Demographics. (2020, July 17). Retrieved from
https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/dispositions-adult-arrest-
demographics/2019/Monroe.pdf
85 Ibid.
86 Ibid.

87
Data is only available for arrests that have reached a final disposition. Arrests with no disposition, an
interim disposition, or a conviction without a sentence are not included.
 86

Dr. Lyman Torres leads the city’s Crisis intervention Team. Her program allows 911
operators to divert calls from the police to crisis intervention teams. This program
primarily focuses on individuals who are in mental health crisis. While this program is a
strong start, limiting it to just individuals with mental health issues lessens its impact.
Working group member Michael Bleeg and United Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM)
developed a proposal for a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program. The L.E.A.D.
program would give officers on the street the ability to refer “suspects” to diversion
programs. There are currently Pre-Arrest diversion programs such as BHAC. According to
Public Defender Timothy Donaher, these programs are rarely used by law enforcement
officers.
Recommendations
Develop a Pre-Arrest Diversion Program:
To address the disproportionate arrest of Black and Latinx residents, the City of
Rochester and Monroe County should create and adequately fund community alternatives
to police. The cases of George Floyd and Daniel Prude, and so many others, makes it clear
that armed police officers are not the appropriate party to respond to non-violent crimes
and mental health crises. Instead, the City and County must build off the work of the PIC
units to create more alternatives to traditional policing that utilize trained community
responders, crisis intervention specialist and mediators. 911 should analyze calls for
service over the last 5 years to understand patterns for calls for service in order to
determine the appropriate amount to reallocate. Being that over two-thirds of crimes in
Rochester are misdemeanors, funds diverted from RPD must be significant. As City and
County begin to decrease the size of police departments and increase the size of crisis
intervention units, there must be a priority to hire Black and Latinx community members.
a). Crisis Intervention Team: a team of mental health professionals, social workers
and/or crisis counselors to send as first responders to calls involving mental health crises,
welfare check, substance abuse, family disputes and homelessness such as the CAHOOTS
model in Eugene, Oregon.
b). Trained Community Responders: a team of community responders who can respond
to low level crimes, crimes of poverty such as retail theft and some non-violent felonies.
These responder will connect individuals with community services, support and if
necessary mediation.
C) The city should aim to utilize these alternatives for most low level crimes and non-
violent offenses.
End Pre-Textual Stops:
Pre-Textual stops are a tool often used by law enforcement agencies by allowing an
officer to stop an individual for a minor infraction for investigatory purposes,
however, its value is outweighed by its harm. Being stopped by police for minor
infractions is an experience shared by far too many Black men. These stops can result
in humiliation or even death as we saw in the case of Philando Castille, Walter Scott
and Sandra Bland. Evidence shows pre-textual stops increase racial bias in the system
 87

and do not make communities safer. A national study found that white drivers were
about 20% less likely to be stopped than Black drivers. The study further revealed that
white drivers, were searched 1.5 to 2 times less often than Black drivers, but were
more likely to have drugs, guns or other contraband. 88 For these reasons the following
policies should be implemented:

A. Upon stopping a vehicle for a minor traffic infraction, officers should not
engage with occupants beyond what is necessary to issue a citation. Before
searching or asking for consent to search officers should have probable
cause to believe that the vehicle contains evidence of a crime. Upon asking
for consent to search, law enforcement in Monroe County should advise
occupants of their right to refuse consent.

B. Law Enforcement agencies should end the practice of stopping vehicles

and pedestrians for the following infractions: failure to use the sidewalk,
jaywalking, no bell on bike, no light on bike, front or rearview obstructed
(VTL 375) and tinted windows.

C. Law Enforcement agencies in Monroe County should not be permitted to

searches vehicles, or persons based on the smell of marijuana.

D. All vehicle and traffic stops should be recorded, race and ethnicity of the
motorist should be documented.

End Zero Tolerance Policing. The City of Rochester should end zero tolerance policing
by decriminalizing and de-prioritizing the following quality of life ordinances: marijuana
possession, disorderly conduct, public use of marijuana, trespassing, open container of
alcohol, littering, public intoxication, loitering, and aggressive panhandling. These
activities do not threaten public safety and are used to over-police the black and Latinx
community. Community concerns regarding the aforementioned violations should be
routed to community responders.

Key Issue #2 DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND PUBLIC DEFENDER

Several community members spoke to what they believe to be an unfair prosecution of
Black and Brown community members. During the Town Hall, community members
spoke about the charges filed against protestors, the lack of restorative justice programs
and what was perceived to be an up-charging of minor crimes to felonies. Community
members also expressed concern with the Public Defender's Office representation of
defendants. Youth at the Children’s Detention Center expressed that they never hear from
their lawyer and they rarely understand court procedures.

88 https://5harad.com/papers/100M-stops.pdf
 88

New York State legislation put a cap on felony caseloads for the Monroe County Public
Defender’s Office in July of 2019, to be fully implemented by 2023. 89 Prior to the change,
caseloads were unacceptably high with around 200 non-violent felony cases or 85 violent
felony cases being assigned to the Public Defender’s Office per year. 90 This finding sheds
light on the low-quality representation community members may have experienced in the
past.
System Players Consulted: Timothy Donaher & Sabina Lamar
Timothy Donaher: Mr. Donaher stated that historically a lack of funding impacted the
Monroe County Public Defender’s office ability to provide quality representation.
Recently, state aid has increased, barring any cutbacks from the pandemic, with
additional funding Mr. Donaher can decrease the caseload of his attorneys. One area of
specific interest is Family Court where Black families face child removal proceeding at a
higher rate. Mr. Donaher believes that one factor which contributes to this is the
insufficient number of family court attorneys, and the lack of blind removal proceedings.
Sabrina Lamar: Acknowledge that oversight of the District Attorney office is difficult.
Legislator Lamar states that the legislator only has control over the District Attorney’s
budget but not over the office's daily policies and practices.
John Klofas: Regarding criminal arraignments. In Rochester, a person arrested can be,
and frequently is, taken directly to jail. The Monroe County jail has an RPD lockup
process and section. That person will wait in jail until their arraignment- it could be the
next day, or after the weekend, or after the holiday. City Court Juries. The County
Commissioner of Juries manages this process. City Court and Town courts both have jury
trials, although they are not as numerous as in the higher courts.
Recommendations
District Attorney/Public Defender: Inequitable practices impacting BIPOC include
lack of 24-hour arraignments for people arrested in the City (as opposed to those in the
suburbs); lack of adequate funding for the Public Defender’s office, contributing to an
overwhelmed Family Court section, as one example; and lack of transparency and
progressive policies in the District Attorney’s office.
24 Hour Arraignment for City Court Residence: Create 24 hour arraignments for
Rochester City Court allowing criminal defendant to immediately see a Criminal Court
Justice upon their arrest.
Public Defender’s Office Funding: In order to reduce the caseload of attorneys and
provide families with quality representation, fully fund the Monroe County Public
Defender’s Office Family Court Section

89
Moffit, J. (2019). Office of the Public Defender Annual Report (Rep. No. 20-0003).
90 Ibid.
 89

Public Defender Fee Exemption: Monroe County should waive any county imposed
fees for any criminal defendant who financially qualifies for a public defender, including
but not limited to fees for probation and the victim impact panel.
Data Transparency: The district attorney should provide extensive data on cases,
pleas, disposition etc., to the community through an open data portal.
Tie DA budget allocation to the increased use of diversion programs.
End Project Exile: Monroe County should end referrals of gun charges to the federal
courts. Project exile a program which started in Richmond, Virginia has been
discontinued in several cities. Rochester is one of the few cities which still utilizes this
program. There has been no research to support its efficacy and it is a clear example of a
policy that results in lengthy sentences for primarily Black men. 91
The District Attorney is the most powerful player in our local criminal justice system.
While District Attorneys across the country have adopted progressive policies Monroe
County lags behind. The Mayor and County Executive should publicly recommend that
the District Attorney adopt the Brennan Center for Justice’s 21 Principles for the 21st
Century Prosecutor. Progress on these principles and diversion efforts should be reported
in the District Attorney’s annual report to the County’s legislative body.
Juvenile Justice Recommendations
• Training for Parents of involved youth with the criminal justice system regarding
navigating systems and understanding terminology.
• Adequate time granted for youth to consult with public defender/attorney prior to
going into a court proceeding.

Key Issue #3 COURT/ PROBATIONS / JAIL

Once again a recurring theme for community members was the need for an alternative to
the traditional court system. The community expressed interest in restorative justice,
treatment programs, and other alternatives to incarceration. Formerly incarcerated
individuals also shared the feeling that probation was a “set up” and would only result in
defendants going back to jail.
There were no diversions reported for misdemeanor or felony charges in 2019 for the
12,538 arrests that occurred in 2019 in Monroe County. 92 However, not all diversion
program statistics are provided to Division of Criminal Justice Services. Additional data
from Monroe County is needed to confirm available statistics.

91 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.487.3638&rep=rep1&type=pdf
92
Disposed Adult Arrest Demographics. (2020, July 17). Retrieved from
https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/dispositions-adult-arrest-
demographics/2019/Monroe.pdf
 90

As cities across the United States grappled with the effects of COVID-19 on prison and jail
populations, policy-makers urged cities to release low-level offenders, especially for
technical parole violations. 93 The willingness of correction officials to release these
inmates draws attention to the criminal justice system’s propensity to incarcerate
individuals for reasons apart from public safety. Monroe County should consider the high
costs of incarceration to the individual and community when alternative forms of justice
are not explored.
Also, the criminal justice administrative fees including those imposed by probation place
a burden on individuals especially for those living on limited incomes. 94
System Players Consulted: Judge Craig Doran, Yohanness Tesfa Michael (probation).
Kristine Durante (probation)
Judge Craig Doran: lack of resources for alternatives to incarceration. Judges need more
community led programs to refer defendants to OCA (Office of Court Administration)
does not collect data, Judges do not know whether they are acting in a discriminatory
manner.
Yohannes Tesfa Michael: Probation has become an extension of law enforcement, there
should be a greater focus on rehabilitation.
Recommendations
Increase transparency on sentencing: Monroe County Judges should be required to
collect and report all sentencing data, including the race and gender of defendant.
Probation Transparency: should collect and release all data regarding technical
violations, probation terms and racial and gender demographics.
End the fee for administration of probation services: Monroe County currently
charges a fee for probation supervision. This fee is currently $30 a month. Individuals
on probation with limited means experience are greatly burdened from this
assessment. Furthermore, a monthly fee gives the county motivation to keep
individuals on probation for a longer term.
Jail Budget Reduction. The County should reduce the corrections budgets due to the
declining jail populations as well as end the practice of charging for jail calls. The
County should reinvest these savings into community based diversion programs.
Invest in restorative justice and diversion programs
Family Connection for incarcerated persons: Forty years of research has
consistently demonstrated that inmates with strong family connections also have

93 Bertram, W., & Widra, E. (2020, April 24). Hundreds are still jailed for technical parole violations in
NYC, which means decarceration is happening far too slowly. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/04/24/nyc-technical/
94 https://nydailyrecord.com/2010/11/09/the-high-price-of-supervision/
 91

lower rates of recidivism. 95 By providing a source of support during the incarceration

period and after release, the family can act as a social support that inhibits criminal
activity. 96 Monroe County should end the practice of charging families for phone calls
made to the jail. Monroe County should provide free jail calls to all inmates.
The RTS Bus System provides transportation to the Monroe Correctional Facility from
the city of Rochester which takes a half-hour to reach. 97 Monroe County should invest
in a program that provides family members free transportation to the juvenile facility.
The Monroe Correctional Facility is only open for visitors from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM
on Tuesdays. 98
Department Probation should transform its culture of punishment to one that embraces
guidance and services and supports. To that aim probation should take the following
steps:
a) Severely limit the practice of violating probationers for technical rules, and end the
practice of violating for failure to pay fines.
b) End the practice of drug testing individuals who are not on probation for a drug or
alcohol related crime.
c) End the practice of warrantless searches of probationers home.
d) Decrease reporting requirements, and decrease the use of punitive measures such as
curfew and ankle monitors.

Juvenile Justice Detention

• The Criminal Justice Working Group focused special attention on Juvenile Justice.
The Juvenile Justice System in Monroe County is disproportionately represented
by Black youth. In 2018, 55% of the juvenile cases related to probation intake were
Black compared to 27% for whites. Seventy-seven percent of the juvenile
detention population were Black, non-Hispanic teens whereas only 11% were white,
non-Hispanic.

95 Friedmann, A. (2014, April15). Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication. Retrieved

January 22, 2021, from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/apr/15/lowering-recidivism-
through-family-communication/

96
Ibid.
97
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Rochester,+NY/Monroe+Correctional+Facility,+750+E+Henrietta+Rd
,+Rochester,+NY+14623/@43.1304574,-
77.6510822,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d6b3059614b353:0x5a001ffc4125e61e!2m2!1d-
77.6088465!2d43.1565779!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d14b261107b01b:0x8ff7385eff21dc90!2m2!1d-
77.6125529!2d43.1065784!5i2
98 https://www.monroecounty.gov/sheriff-jailbureau
92
 93

• In 2019, 21% of Monroe County’s youth population was Black, 15% Hispanic, 60%
White and 4% Other/Not Report. In contrast, Black youth were overrepresented in
probation intake (56%) and detention (65%). While white youth represent 60% of
the County’s youth population, they only reflect 27% of those involved with
probation intake and 17% of those held in detention.
 94

• Data from the first through the third quarter of 2020 shows that although Black
people present 21% of the 10-17 population, they represent 57% of those involved
with probation intake and 3% of the JD/JO detention population. 99

99
Mitchell, B. (2020, December 3). Juvenile Alternatives and Reform Team Review. Monroe County (NY)
Department of Human Services.
 95

• In 2020, there were 147 youth from Monroe County detained at the Children’s
Detention Center. Out of the total, 25 had been detained more than once. Youth
were brought to the Detention Center after being arrested from charges of violation
of probation/parole, misdemeanor to serious felony charges. Length of stay in the
Children’s Detention Center facilities has increased over the last 5 years (2015-
2019 the average length of stay for Juvenile Delinquents was 17 to 20 days). From
2017 through the third quarter of 2020, Black youth represent over 50% of all
Juvenile Delinquent (JD) intakes followed by white youth at about 25%.
 96

• The JD intake rates per 1,000 Monroe County youth were highest for Blacks at 1.44
followed by Latinos at .47 and whites at .24. Black and Latino youth intake rates
were 6 and 2 times respectively greater than whites.
 97

• Juvenile delinquent (JD) and juvenile offender (JO) detention admissions among
BIPOC youth were at a higher rate than other ethnic groups according to the JART
2020 Youth Report from 2017 through the third quarter of 2020. In 2017, Black
youth represented 76% of detention admissions followed by Latinos at 21%. By the
third quarter of 2020, Black youth represented 73% of detention admissions, a 3
point drop from 2017. Latino youth detention admission representation also
dropped 7 points from 21% to 14%.

Detention Admissions (JD/JO) by Race &

Ethnicity

76 77
73

65

17%
21
14
11% 16 %
2
1% 1% 2% 1%
N=163
N=116 N=113 N=79 Q1-3
2017
2018 2019 2020

Black Hispanic White Other/Not Reported

 98

• In 2019, the detention admissions rate per 1,000 Monroe youth was.04, ten times
greater for Blacks (.41) than whites (.04). The Latino youth detention rate per
1,000 at .47 was four times larger than whites.

“Raise the Age” legislation is currently in effect for 16 and 17 year olds as of October 1st,
2019 to divert youth charged with misdemeanors to family court instead of criminal court
as well as the majority of youth charged with a felony. 100 While this is a promising first-
step to address the over-criminalization of youth, further action is needed in Monroe
County to reduce the disparate impact of incarceration on Black minors in this region.
∞ Lack of job opportunities for justice involved youth was identified as a barrier. Work
group recommends community connections along with mentoring programs for youth
to eradicate the recidivism rate.
∞ Research shows that youth are less like to re-offend when they are provided with
community based services and supports. Justice involved youth have little alternatives
to detention.
∞ Recommendations
∞ Monroe County must invest in a community based program for youth facing criminal
charges. This program should include:
∞ a) Counseling and mentorship.
∞ b) Restorative Justice Circles. Increase restorative circles use starting in the schools
and community for lower level offenses.

100 Moffit, J. (2019). Office of the Public Defender Annual Report (Rep. No. 20-0003).
 99

∞ c) Case Managers that create a comprehensive plan for success with parents and
youth.
∞ d) Education for family members.
∞ e) Respite Services.
∞ f) Forensic Psychiatric specialist equipped to handle youth with complex mental health
issues.
∞ g) Increase community mentoring programs opportunities for kids at risk.
∞ h) Create a job training program that diverts youth from the penal system into skill
training and employment.
∞ i) Develop an after-hours diversion program for youth in jeopardy of detention
placement.
∞ j) Place social workers in Youth Court.
∞ k) Establish within Monroe County a psychiatric facility that is equipped to assist
youth facing criminal charges who are struggling with mental illnesses. While these
youth are often brought to the detention center, the center is not adequately staffed to
meet their needs.

Key Issue 4: Language

The working group identified the lack of an interpreter as a gap in the criminal justice
system and disadvantages those who are non-English speakers or deaf. 101 This is an issue
at all phases of contact within the system including at arrest and during arraignment.
According to Part 217 of the Uniform Rules for NYS Trial Courts (and Judiciary Law
section 390 regarding sign language interpreters for the deaf or hard of hearing), courts
must provide translation services free of charge for all participants involved in the
proceedings. 102
Language: Raymond Kenney.
Recommendations
• Interpreters should be present from the beginning of a case. Defendants
need their own interpreter throughout the pendency of their court case.
• 911 Operators should be trained to inquire about the language needs of
suspects.
• County should create uniform standards with respect to interpreters
providing services in the criminal justice system.

Parking Lot
101
https://www.cdrnys.org/blog/advocacy/rochester-police-department-meets-with-the-deaf-community/
102 We Speak Your Language. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2021, from
http://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTINTERPRETER/index.shtml
 100

∞ Several state law issues were not considered, including:

∞ Mandatory surcharges for criminal convictions

∞ Bail reform

∞ General orders relating to juveniles

∞ Alternatives to placement for 18 year olds who don’t have parents as resources to
return home, therefore lingering in detention longer

∞ Preventative services for youth

∞ Alternative to Detention options should be offered around the clock. NO youth should
be detained in a Detention facility due to not being able to contact a parent.

∞ More funding should be put into Restorative Justice Programs.

∞ Funding should be invested into programs such as Incredible Messengers.

∞ Funding should be provided to develop options for youth prior to Detention and after
Detention, particularly our Adolescent Offenders (16-18) year old who do not have
viable resources available returning to the community.

∞ Reclassify criminal offenses and turn misdemeanor charges that don’t threaten public
safety into non-jailable infractions, or decriminalize them entirely.

∞ Support the Less is More Parole Reform Act

∞ Support an end to cash bail.

∞ Support the abolishment of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing laws

∞ Demographic database

∞ Advocate for the end of felony disenfranchisement and make all inmates and felons
eligible to vote
 101

Education
Summary of the Group’s Process
Resources Consulted
Workgroup Members:

Facilitators:
Luis Ormaechea
Denishea Ortiz

Workgroup Members:
Donald Brian Bartalo Karen Lankeshofer
Victoria Blackham Caterina Leone
Mannino
Gwen Clifton Steve Martin
Bryant Cromartie Emily Odhiambo
Dan Drmacich Laura Smith
Nolica Murray-Fields Michael Vaughn
Kerry Foxx Diane Watkins
Emily Goldsmith Jen Weg

Access and Resources

● Common Ground Health. Beatriz Lebron and Jenn Beidenman. HealthiKids and
PlayRoc
● Community School Data Synthesis. Roc the Future.
https://rocthefuture.org/community-schools-data-synthesis/
● E-Learn Act. www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/shelley-b-
mayer/senator-mayer-advocates-announce-e-learn-act-provide-free
● Free Learning Pods Debut in City Libraries. Oct 27, 2020.
https://www.racf.org/news/free-learning-pods-debut-in-city-libraries-2/
● RCSD: Comprehensive Plan Chapter 130
● Johnson, Rucker C. (2014). Essay in NYU’s The Dream Revisited, "In Search of
Integration: Beyond Black & White", January 2014.
● https://furmancenter.org/research/iri/essay/in-search-of-integration-beyond-
black-white
● Monroe County Office of Mental Health
● New Vision for Youth Bureau. https://www.monroecounty.gov/news-2020-09-16-
youth
 102

Testing and Curriculum

● Antiracist Curriculum Project
https://pathstone.foundation/antiracist-curriculum-project/
● Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). US Department of Education.
https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn
● NY State’s Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact/
● The Global Achievement Gap. Wagner. 2007
● The New Jim Crow in Education, Well. 2018
● The Testing Charade: Pretending to Make Schools Better. Koretz. 2017

Language Access
● Lourdes Rios - Mid-West RBERN (Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network)
Executive Director located in BOCES II, Monroe County
● Monroecounty.gov
● Monroe County Language Access Coalition

Funding
● Declining Child Care Options for Young Children Pre-K Expansion and the
Birth-3 Gap in Rochester, NY. The Children’s Agenda., Pete Nabozny
thechildrensagenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Declining-Child-Care-
Options-for-Young-Children-Exec-Summ-01_09_20-Final.pdf
● RSCD Budget meetings

Discipline
● Breaking the School to Prison pipeline, 2019. The Children’s Agenda.
thechildrensagenda.org/publications/2019-breaking-the-school-to-prison-
pipeline/
● End Suspensions for children in Pre-K through 3rd grade. Sept 2019. The Children’s
Agenda.thechildrensagenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/K-3-suspension-
fact-sheet-final.pdf
● Joseph Durlak et al., 2011.The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional
Learning: A Meta‐Analysis of School‐Based Universal Interventions.
● New York Equity Coalition. Stolen Time. 2018
https://equityinedny.edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/08/Stolen-
Time_2018.pdf
● New York State Education at a Glance. data.nysed.gov/

Integrated Schools
● Brown vs Board, Johnson, Holme & Finnigan, 2019
● Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works, Rucker Johnson, 2019
 103

● Monroe County School Diversity Index (NYS Education Department)

● Parent Survey Summary Report, Great Schools 4 All, 2016
● Regional Magnet School Study, William Cala, 2014.
● Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative resulted in Recommendation #5:
Children’s Education: Racial, Social–Economic Integration (RMAPI Progress
Report, 2015)
● Striving in Common: A Regional Equity Framework for Urban Schools. Jennifer
Jellison Holme and Kara Finnigan, 2018

Community Engagement:
We understand that many other community groups and individuals have tackled issues
related to education in the Rochester and Monroe County region. Our goal is to supplement
these efforts, and to focus on what we understand to be a unique approach, impacting City
and County laws and policies on issues related to racial and structural equity. We are
grateful for the others who have tackled these issues, including but not limited to those who
provided input for our work. We understand that there will be overlap with the efforts of
others in this space and respectfully offer our recommendations with no implied or explicit
declaration that our recommendations should supplant, replace, supersede, or otherwise
interrupt the work of such other organizations and individuals. Our goal in preparing and
submitting our recommendations is to meet the charge of the Commission, and in
anticipation of our recommendations potentially being further studied and possibly
supported by others. Some of the organizations and individuals that provided input for our
work included:

• Guest speakers included: Shane Wiegand - educator and creator of redlining/race

curriculum; Justin Murphy – D&C education reporter; Eamonn Scanlon – education
policy analyst; Marlene Cortes – senior program manager at Empire Justice Center;
Analy Cruz-Phommany – RCSD director of bilingual education; Angelica Perez-
Delgado – CEO of IBERO; Dr. Thomas Putnam – superintendent of Penfield school
district; and Leah Kedley – assistant vice principal of Victor primary school

• Focus groups with 10th and 11th graders in RSCD classes; youth from Teen
Empowerment; Dr Leslie Myers-Small – superintendent of RCSD; Kathleen
Graupman – superintendent of Greece school district; the Black Agenda Group, and
the Latino Leadership Round Table

• Various discussion with individuals and offices including: Monroe County Office of
Mental Health; Monroe County Library System; numerous parents; RCSD parents;
former RCSD board members; Monroe County Youth Bureau; Roc the Future;
Children’s Agenda; Universities: Brockport, SJFC, MCC; BOCES; Great School 4 All;
RCSD budget meetings and school board meetings
 104

• Community survey was distributed in December with 96 respondents.

• Workgroup members consisted of RCSD teachers; RSCD principals and former

principals; Suburban district teachers and former teachers; former superintendent;
social workers; parents of students; amongst others

Prioritization of Issues:
Education is a complex topic involving many issues. Due to the nature of the Commission
(focus on local laws and policies, focus on RCSD, etc.), it was necessary to quickly narrow
the scope of the issues to approximately six focus areas, all while maintaining an approach
that was consistent with the charge of the Commission. The process was facilitated by
Commissioners working with City and County Staff and Commission co-chairs. Moreover,
the process involved many volunteers from the community. The processes listed below
were utilized to prioritize issues for our recommendations. While the education priorities
of the Commission are a result of these processes, they are not presented as necessarily
representing the education priorities of the City of Rochester or of Monroe County.
Different analyses will result in different priorities. However, much overlap can be
observed between the priorities identified by the Commission and the goals and priorities
of other community groups and individuals. The processes utilized by the Commission to
identify education priority areas included:

• A rubric scorecard and worksheet were used to determine top areas of focus (due to
the 6-month timeframe of the Commission, among other real-world limitations, it
was not practicable to review all possible issues for drafting of recommendations).
This rubric was used to narrow the following list of topic areas (developed by
Education Working Group volunteers) down to approximately five issues that could
be further analyzed in depth for preparation of recommendations (the issue areas
that were not selected may be the subject for future recommendations to be made by
others):

Administration Diversity Language Access Standards and

Expectations
Curriculum and Teaching Professional Development Support Services
Discipline Racially Integrated / Universal School District
Segregated schools
Equitable Access & Special Education
Resources
Equitable Funding Standardized Testing

• A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) was conducted for each
area of focus to narrow recommendations
• An analysis of recommendations was aligned with the results community survey and
the Commission’s charge
 105

• A review of recommendation from working groups assisted with prioritizing primary

and secondary focuses

Key Issues and Recommendations

Key Issue #1: Limited access and resources

Access and Resources addresses issues including the following: Not enough schools have
mental health providers and in RCSD they are a shared resource and not provided to all
students. This leads to a lack of social and emotional support. There are enrichment and
advanced learning opportunity disparities for students in RCSD. More so, there is a lack of
early grade learning support and remediation.

Recommendations in this area include the following:

• Integrate Monroe County youth services into school system to provide a

continuation of learning and access during suspension and long-term absences.
• Implement internet access through the City as permanent legislation starting at Pre-
K
• Create a system for the Department of Mental Health to lead and set expectations
for certifications and yearly training for teachers, school therapists, and social
workers.

Suspensions deprive students of a formal education and classroom instruction. Nationwide

the disparity between Black students’ and White students’ suspensions is great. In New
York State, Black students are suspended as much as four times higher than White
students, leading Black students to fall behind in academic coursework. Many Black and
Brown students lack the support systems White students have to catch up or continue self-
learning while out of school.

Two of the Monroe County Youth Services Bureau’s goals are to “support the achievement
of high academic success and physical/mental wellbeing” of youth and to have a “keen focus
on equity in funding ensuring equal representation of the populations served.” To combat
the racial disparity in education, it is imperative for the County to create a policy that serves
the education needs of students who are suspended and/or have long-term absences.
Teaching/learning responsibilities should not be placed on working families with limited
resources, such as transportation, financial constraints, or limited employment flexibility.
Students are missing days of instruction, the learning gaps are widening, and students are
engaging in delinquent activities. Access is imperative to learning, growth, and achieving
academic success. A policy change can help decrease the likelihood of drop outs, failure to
graduate, and school to prison pipeline.

According to our community survey, 67% of respondents are in support of a policy that will
bind County youth services to integrate into school systems to promote continued learnings
for students during suspensions and long-term absences.
 106

The Monroe County library system should also play a role in educating students and being
a resource. A policy (and funding) must be established to provide learning pods for students
who are suspended or for long term absences. This act will allow students to have a
productive learning environment and provide reliable digital access to learning materials.

To close the digital divide facing many families of color in the City of Rochester, the City
must enact high quality broadband to every home in the city. The current E-Learn act has
two pitfalls: 1) it applies to students aged 5-21 and 2) it is a temporary solution for the
current pandemic. We need city action to advocate to lower the age to 3, pre-K, so young
students may begin to build strong foundational education at home. Additionally, the City
must enact into law to make high quality broadband access permanent. Many city residents
rely on data from phone service, which can be spotty pending service providers and not
adequate to service high tech programs or classes such as graphic design and tech classes.

In essence, families should have access to support early child care development and post-
pandemic, students will continue to need access to the internet for education. For example,
for snow days students may be required to engage in online learning, in which internet
access is still needed. Additionally, having broadband will allow families access to tele-
medicine and tele-therapy, which improves physical, mental, and emotional health while
eliminating the inability to attend such appointments in-person due to work,
transportation, and other factors.

Lastly, expectations for mental health therapists vary across school districts. The County’s
Office of Mental Health needs to lead and set expectations for certifications and yearly
training for school administrators, teachers, therapists, social workers, and community-
based organizations (CBOs) in school settings. This will improve awareness of community
issues that directly affect students and align solutions. The County works with CBOs who
serve school districts and this equitable opportunity should be free of charge to RCSD.

Key Issue #2: Testing & Curriculum

Standardized Testing & Curriculum issues include: Too many schools are labeled as failing
in which students are seen as failures and this negatively impacts student engagement and
self-esteem. Also, failing school accountability policies do not account for differences in
student backgrounds. Federal and state accountability policies are more likely to negatively
impact urban schools that serve students of color from low-income circumstances. Test
scores are used as test measurement for school and teacher performance and it negatively
affects students in RCSD. Additionally, an anti-racist curriculum should be infused at all
grade levels and anti-racism training should be developed for staff. There is a lack of any
desegregated schools in Monroe County to model an integrated school culture and an
intrinsically motivating curriculum, and a lack of any serious anti-racist curriculum or
multi-racial/cultural emphasis in any K-12 school district.

Recommendations in this area include the following:

 107

• Seek New York State Board of Regents approval to eliminate yearly standardized
testing for all RCSD students in grades 3-12.
• Apply for a waiver from the New York State Board of Regents to use alternative
methods of assessments that allow students to demonstrate proficiency.
• Create a county-wide team to identify critical skills required for K-12 student
development for responsible citizenship and incorporate training in antiracist values
and behaviors.

In 2019, 13.2% of RCSD students were proficient in English Language Arts and 13% were
proficient in math; compared to Pittsford students with proficiency at 72% and 79%
respectively and Greece 32% and 37% respectively. Standardized testing is focused on
what students know, not how students can apply their learning.
The methods required of students to demonstrate their proficiency in the skills and
knowledge assessed for state standardized tests are primarily psycho-linguistic, despite
that students of color have more dominant skills in other domains, such as oral responses
and presentations of portfolios and projects. This assessment requirement opposes most
research and is institutionally racist, leading to the failure of many students who might
have demonstrated proficiency using a different domain.
RCSD is required to take part in state-level assessments. Our recommendation to urge
the County and City to advocate for changes to the New York State Board of Regents to
eliminate standardized testing and use alternative methods that will allow students to
demonstrate proficiency; for example, oral exams, interviews, reports, creative arts,
portfolios, and performance and project-based assessments. Another alternative can be
auditing a cohort of students every other year instead of yearly. An alternative assessment
and curricula system would be more culturally and racially sensitive and fairer to all
students, but especially to those who are disadvantaged by poverty and/or descend from
traditionally marginalized communities of color.
The decades-long emphasis in NYS on a standardized curriculum, grade-level
expectations, and high-stakes standardized testing has failed to demonstrate that it
improves student achievement in the RCSD, and in fact, creates another measure of racial
disparity. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a provision to “advance equity by
upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students'' and
“maintain an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive
change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making
progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.” Both
provisions speak directly to RCSD and finding an alternate method to effect positive
change is through eliminating standardized testing.
76% of survey respondents support providing alternatives to testing for students to meet
graduation requirements. Survey respondents agree that standardized tests are racially
and culturally biased; testing is time consuming and takes away from true learning and
comprehension; and students learn differently and testing does not recognize these
differences nor does it reflect student’s strengths in other areas.
The test scores also have an effect on the designation of the school quality in a
neighborhood, which places lower ratings in communities of color devaluing the
education system and the property value.
 108

More so, teachers tend to teach to test, spend less time on critical skill building and have a
lack of antiracist training to effectively connect with students of color. There is a
significant gap between what is assessed and what students need to know to be well-
informed, economically empowered citizens and being culturally sensitive while teaching.
We urge the County to create a countywide team composed of teachers, researchers,
political scientists, diversity specialists, mental health providers, parents, and students to
identify the key, critical skills, values, and knowledge required for K-12 student
development for responsible citizenship and careers (e.g., problem solving, critical
thinking, and analysis). In addition, this group must incorporate a focus on antiracist
training for staff and students to create healthier learning environments for positive
growth and development. The outcome should drive all curriculum, teaching and
assessment development.

Key Issue #3: Language access

Language Access issues include the following: English Language Learners (ELLs) in the
school districts experience inequities across many facets in the education system.
Assessments do not fully represent skills and knowledge of ELLs and assessments are not
offered in native languages. ELLs do not have access to instructional programs that build
foundational literacy, are not provided choices to instructional programs, and do not have
similar access to counseling and mental health support as non-ELL students. Additionally,
parent activities are predominately in English. These issues lead to achievement gaps in
ELLs.
Recommendations in this area include the following:

• Create a centralized language center for residents to access resources in their native
language
• Create a county-wide magnet school with a focus on multicultural and multilingual
education.

It has been determined that about 14% of Monroe County residents communicate in a non-
English language. This includes over 100,000 individuals, many of who reside in the City
of Rochester. In 2019, the County Clerk's Office introduced a Language Access Plan. The
plan requires meaningful access to services under the Clerk's jurisdiction to individuals
with limited English proficiency, and is meant to ensure compliance with Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, although there is a wealth of language and dialects in the
county, the current provision of translations and support services is not equitable and non-
existent across County districts.

Therefore, one recommendation is to create a centralized language center that all Monroe
County students and families can access resources in their language working in conjunction
with local universities, school districts, and non-profits serving immigrant communities.

Over 60% of survey respondents support the creation of a language center for non-English
speakers to seek information in native language for a variety of services.
 109

There are over 6400 English Language Learners in Monroe County; there are significant
achievement gaps in NYS assessments and Regents/local diploma attainment across all
districts. Moreover, English Language Learners, or ELLs, are disproportionately over-
represented in the poverty rate in each district. However, no district, except for RCSD,
provides bilingual education options for students in the largest language groups.

To address these issues, another recommendation is the creation of county-wide magnet

school with a focus on multi-cultural, multi-lingual education for English speakers and
English Language Learners alongside one another in a dual language immersion model.
43% of survey respondents support the development of a City/County international magnet
school to serve ELLs and general education students.

Key Issue #4: Funding

Funding addresses issues include the following: Inequitable state funding contributes to
RCSD disparities. The city has contributed the same amount of school funding even as tax
rates have increased. Voter exclusion from school funding decisions limits input regarding
the city’s contributions to the annual budget. Additionally, bearing the cost of
administering funding to private and charter schools uses vital human and capital
resources for RCSD.

Recommendations in this area include the following:

• Create a city or county-level platform through which philanthropic funding can flow
to individual schools and districts.
• Create or fund county-wide processes and form for transferring between and among
schools within the district.
• Implement a need-based model which would allow the funding-levels to adjust as
need increases or decreases within districts
• Create a business incubator model, driven by the City and/or County, to stimulate
multilingual translation services.

Funding issues tie in to every other issue related to education, often directly. Because of
this, there are several recommendations in this area.

First, barriers exist to philanthropic and individual fundraising efforts of individual schools
or at the district level. Therefore, it is recommended that the City or County create a city or
county-level platform or conduit through which funding can flow to individual schools and
districts.

It is also recommended that the City and County create and fund county-wide processes
and forms for transferring between and among schools within the district. This is meant to
address odd standards/paperwork that must be completed for families who are attempting
to transfer between and among districts within the county.
 110

Another recommendation is the implementation of a need-based funding model for schools

across the County which would allow the funding-levels to adjust as need increases or
decreases within districts. The update to the allocation of the tax allotment for the RCSD
can find support in legislation such as the Morin-Ryan Act (1985).

Also, it is recommended that business support funds and resources be made available,
perhaps utilizing a business incubator model, to stimulate multi language translation and
interpretation business creation for City businesses.

ADDITIONAL ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following issues were also addressed by the Education Work Group.
Recommendations were drafted for each issue. Rationale for each may be found in the
additional issues chart below. They are included in this section for the reasons provided
below.

Issue #5: Discipline

Included as an additional recommendation because Discipline is more directly addressed
within each school district (i.e., through school district discipline/code of conduct
documents).

Discipline issues include the following: Racial and disability disparities in the RCSD Code
of Conduct and sanctions exist in the disciplining of students in Monroe County. Black
students are 2.3 times more likely to be suspended than whites for similar infractions.
Students with disabilities were four percentage points more likely to be removed than
students without disabilities. Harsher penalties are imposed on students with a disability,
Black students, and Latino students. Additionally, there are inconsistent applications of
school discipline policies and criminalization of student behavior.

Recommendations in this area include the following:

• Offer credit bearing Social Emotional Learning curriculum to students.

Social, Emotional Learning (SEL), provides a foundation for safe and positive
learning, while enhancing students’ ability to succeed in school and in life. Research
shows that SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points,
but it increases pro-social behavior (kindness, sharing and empathy), improves
students’ attitude toward school, reduces depression and stress among students.

• County wide advocacy to adopt restorative practices and publicly publish with
insights discipline and referral data by school.

Before the implementation of a Restorative Practice policy into the new Code of
Conduct (2016), Black and Latino students were being suspended at an alarming
rate. At one point, they were missing a total of 55, 000 days of school (2009-10).
This caused the dropout rate to increase (60%), while the graduation rate decreased
 111

(9%). Consequently, the school to prison pipeline increased. The review of

disciplinary data on a quarterly basis will allow for early interventions to support
both students, teachers and administrators to address inequitable disciplinary
practices.

Issue #6: School Segregation and Integration

Included as an additional recommendation because this issue was reviewed by a group of
volunteers collaborating outside the formal Work Group.

School Segregation/Integration issues include the following: Central to the Mission of the
RASE Commission and provides an action-oriented outcome for replication by other
Commission committees; Exemplifies the structural racism that permeates our
community; Schools in Monroe County are racially segregated; Separate is never equal;
Little change in achievement gap between the city and the county schools

Recommendations in this area include the following:

• Establish a County/City policy for developing inter-district, integrated magnet
schools for children and students from the city and suburbs.

The City and the County to work together to close the county-wide school integration
gap. A school integration policy would be the first step toward racial equity and
accountability.

Secondary Issues:
ISSUE RECOMMENDATION RATIONALE
Create a Monroe County - Students should have access to the same
database that connects all category of books across the county.
Limited access & school libraries with an audit - Serve as a resource to find diverse and
resources requirement of adequate appropriate cultural relevant content.
representation of culturally - Ensure equity and representation of books that
relevant text. speak to all students and their backgrounds.
Expand community school - School social workers focus on immediate needs
model to increase access, (clothes, food) with lack of time for therapy,
awareness and provide which are referred out. Adding additional
Limited access & coordination of resources for satellite offices or community schools with
resources families. provide services families need.
- Disparities in wealth to gain access to services
and community schools would begin to close this
gap.
BOCES to provide continuity of -Students who are not proficient in literacy and
services from pre-k through 8th numeracy skills continue to fall behind their
for high need students who are suburban counterparts, widening the
Limited access & not meeting proficiency, achievement gap, and limiting these students
resources especially at 3rd grade and above from gaining access to advanced and credit-
at a level 1 on NYS standardized bearing classes. More so, students who cannot
tests read at grade level are entering colleges such as
MCC and are required to enroll in non-credit
 112

bearing remedial courses causing an undue

financial burden.

Create a policy for county-wide -Many students who would greatly benefit from
school access to low income and county wide school access are marginalized due
Limited access & highest need students. to socio-economic disparities.
resources -Students would be benefit academically are
often overlooked or denied.

Require the RCSD to develop a Not all students are interested in a college
high-standard career and education after high school and prefer or must
Testing & Curriculum technology vocational diploma enter a job or career to support their families.
program for grades K-12.

Advocate all county school -A well-defined multi-racial, anti-racist, and

districts to implement a K-12 cultural curriculum with learning that is
multi-racial, anti-racist, and historically accurate can assist in creating more
cultural curriculum and require positive relationships among all Americans.
Testing & Curriculum
proof of inclusion in teachers’ -To dismantle entrenched racism in school
lesson plans. communities and to enable students to be active,
anti-racists who are part of a strong diverse
democracy.
Monroe County should create a -This role would immediately address the
specific leadership role focused County’s gaps in compliance with its Title VI legal
on Language Access. obligation as recipients of Federal financial
assistance to take reasonable steps to make their
programs, services, and activities accessible by
eligible persons with limited English proficiency.
This should not be limited to just spoken
languages but should include ASL and other sign-
Language
based communication. The role would connect
Access/Funding
all Monroe County school districts and with
existing community resources to identify
opportunities for support.
-The County has developed a current fund that is
unallocated. This is a recommendation for use of
that fund to simultaneously remove significant
structural barriers and to stimulate economic
growth.

Monroe County, through MCC -The individual school districts struggle with the
and other appropriate channels, logistic and financial challenges of supporting the
to invest in a program to number of languages spoken in the homes of
support those proficient in students. For example, in 2019-20 the RCSD has
languages other than English 75 home languages spoken. Students in districts
Language (including ASL or other with low numbers of multilanguage learners also
Access/Funding language involving sign) to struggle because it’s such small numbers. Often
obtain the required students in those districts can’t receive support
certifications to establish because there isn’t enough of that language
themselves as translation or speaker to trigger certain support programs.
interpretation resources. -The current pandemic has highlighted that there
is a clear lack of interpretation and translation of
community information from both Monroe
 113

County and the School Districts which stops

families from not only participating in the
community but also understanding critical
health messages regarding services for
themselves and their children.
-Multilanguage learners are missing out on
critical school hours due to absence to provide
translation support to family members.
-There is too much of deficit mindset regarding
multilanguage learners both in schools and in the
community. This rich language source should be
viewed as opportunity for business growth in
Monroe County. Money spent on translation and
interpretation services could create a substantial
local small business economy.
City or County serve as fiscal Currently, money to charter schools runs through
administrator for private and RCSD first.
Funding charter schools.

Fund the establishment of

contracted childcare/Pre-K -There are limited child care center slots
networks from infancy to school available in Rochester. The number of licensed
entry; support RCSD with same preschool slots in childcare centers located in the
city of Rochester increased considerably (27%)
from 2012 to 2019 while the number of infant and
toddler slots decreased by 23% over the same
period. Home-based childcare capacity in
Rochester fell by nearly 25% from 2012 to 2019.
Funding
4. Turnover of home-based childcare is a great
concern in Rochester. There were 467 regulated
family and group family childcare programs in
Rochester in 2012; by 2019, 336 (72%) had
closed. Expansions in New York State funded 3
and 4 -year-old Pre-K unintentionally
incentivized providers to reduce infant/toddler
care which has much higher costs and less stable
funding sources than Pre-K.
The City should use its resources These networks, comprised of home-based
to better support childcare childcare, center-based care, and district-
businesses -- small, revolving operated Pre-K programs, would ensure that
loan fund for capital families can receive high-quality childcare from
improvements to childcare infancy through age 5, and that Pre-K
facilities, allowing access to programming is supported by after-school care
Funding existing small business grant and throughout school breaks. Home-based
and loan programs, and career childcare providers and childcare centers that
development, etc. entered into these networks would contract with
Monroe County and RCSD to provide care before
children entered school and during breaks in
education
 114

Fund reparations based on an

analysis of communities that Provide monetary relief to compensate for
have been inequitably harmed generational inequities
Funding
by unjust laws and policies in
the education system

City Council to advocate to Allow for a more democratic process to

change state policy to allow determine expenditure on school budgets.
Funding residents to vote on school
budgets.

City or County serve as fiscal

administrator for private and Currently, money to charter schools runs through
Funding charter schools. RCSD first.

County-wide funding policy.

Helps balance inequities between City and
Funding suburbs. Providing funds from a county-wide
resource to schools with greater need will help
offset inequities.

Discount the busing cost from

accounting to reflect actual This will more honestly reflect actual education
Funding
education cost per student. cost per student. This figure can better inform
policy decisions regarding student funding.
City and County take legal Legal action may succeed in obtaining additional
Funding action to get foundational aid funds.
from the state.
 115

Healthcare
Summary of Group’s Process
Resources Consulted
The Healthcare Workgroup consulted extensive resources, including:
• Previous data collection done in Rochester and Monroe County that was done using
participatory research methods or that included extensive documentation of
residents’ voices and experiences
• Reports of healthcare and health disparities in Rochester and Monroe County that
drew from local archival data
• State-wide and national research on healthcare and health disparities based on race
and income
• Recommendations for best practices published by healthcare associations, research
and advocacy groups
• Models of policies and community strategies to eliminate health disparities from
other states, counties, and municipalities

Community Engagement
The Healthcare Workgroup’s community engagement activities included:
∞ Drawing extensively from the experiences and personal/professional networks of
workgroup members 103
∞ A virtual town hall discussion
∞ An online survey
∞ Meeting with the County Health Advisory Board
However, it should be noted that the workgroup’s community engagement was severely
curtailed by challenges of reaching out in authentic ways during the pandemic. There is a
deep and long history of exploitation of communities of color by healthcare and health
research systems, the resulting mistrust of those systems, and personal experiences of bias
in healthcare. In Rochester there is also a fatigue with the community being asked for their
input but then people seeing no changes or benefits to participating in those discussions.
Bridging those experiences requires building trust. Online methods and surveys did not
have the sufficient reach and personal connection. Therefore, community voices and
experiences were largely represented by the insights and experiences of workgroup
members and previous research in Rochester and Monroe County that documented
community experiences and voices.

103
Workgroup membership included: Nurse, health educator, physician (4), speech language
pathologist, health advisor/coach (2), health administrator (2), behavioral health provider, special
education teacher, researcher (2), social worker, pharmacy technician, and advocates (3). Membership
also included representatives from the Black Physicians Network, Black Nurses Association, Native
American Cultural Center, and Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services.
 116

Prioritization of Issues
The generation and prioritization of issues was done through an iterative process that
cycled back and forth between the multiple sources of information and perspectives and
wove them together. Centering the prioritization were the experiences of our community
with priority given to Black and indigenous communities of color and others who are
vulnerable to systemic oppression including immigrants and refugees, people with
disabilities, seniors, children, and people in lower income households.

At each step of the process, from the workgroup’s first meeting through its current
discussions, every recommendation was checked back against the community experiences
and voices we heard, whether we heard them directly from community members as a
workgroup, in our professional and personal interactions with residents of Rochester and
Monroe County, or in published reports that relied on and documented community
experiences.

Workgroup
Experiences
& Insight

Other
Municipal Community Local Data
Experiences & Reports
Models

Best
Practices

Key Issues & Recommendations104

Health and healthcare in Monroe County are marked by striking contrasts. On the one
hand, we are rich in healthcare resources. We have two major medical systems that operate
four hospitals, the Center for Community Health and Prevention that supports and

104
Recommendations highlighted in green are top priorities of the workgroup
 117

facilitates community-academic public health partnerships, Common Ground Health that

provides community-based health planning, the Finger Lakes Performing Provider System
that is working to create an accountable and coordinated network of care, the Rochester
Regional Health Information Organization that provides a secure electronic health
information exchange for over 1.4 million patients, and a primary provider-to-patient ratio
of 970:1 which ranks Monroe County as the sixth best in New York State 105.
On the other hand, our county has some of the most dire health outcomes and health
disparities in the nation. Life expectancy ranges from 72.4 years in some city ZIP codes to
81.1 years in some of the suburbs. 106 Additionally, the causes of premature mortality differ
by race/ethnicity with Black residents being more likely to die from cancer, heart disease,
homicide, injury, and diabetes. 107

105
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, County Health Rankings at
https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/new-york/2020/measure/factors/4/data?sort=sc-3
106
NYSDOH Vital Statistics 2012-2014 3 year estimates
107
Monroe County Community Health Needs Assessment.
 118

The infant mortality rate in Monroe County is twice the national average. 108 Mortality is
worse for African American children who are 3 times more likely to die before the age of
one year and Latino children who are 2 times more likely than White children. 109 African
American mothers are 2.5 times and Latina mothers are 2 times more likely than White
mothers to give birth to low-weight babies. 110 From 2014-2016, 44% of our region’s
emergency department visits were attributable to health inequity and households in
poverty are 105% more likely to lose their teeth, 154% more likely to have diabetes, and
224% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. 111 These are but a few of the deeply
entrenched disparities linked to both poverty and race/ethnicity.

The health of our community is not merely a matter of the healthcare system itself. Poverty
and racism, as manifest in socioeconomic factors, physical environment, and health
behaviors account for most of the disparities. 112 Consequently, although city and county
government do not regulate the healthcare system, they do have the ability to impact health
and healthcare through laws, policies, and programs that are under their authority. The
recommendations from the RASE Commission Healthcare Workgroup, detailed in the
pages that follow, reflect ways the City of Rochester and Monroe County governments can
positively impact people’s health through governmental structures, land use, employment
policies, and other mechanisms.

108
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2014/11/babies_are_dyingin.html
109
Common Ground Health, Overloaded.
110
Common Ground Health, Overloaded
111
Common Ground Health, Overloaded
112
Common Ground Health, Overloaded
119
 120

Key Issue #1: Government Systems/Infrastructure

The first step city and county government must take is to define health and healthcare as
part of the role and responsibility of municipal and county government. This requires
implementing governmental structures so that health is prioritized in policy making and
the health impacts of all policies are considered. The workgroup noted from the beginning
of our process that neither the City nor County have a health committee in their legislatures
and the county advisory bodies related to health do not require representation from Black,
Indigenous, and other People of Color. In light of the dire health disparities noted earlier,
health must be prioritized as an essential function of municipal and county government.

In response to community experiences and research, the following recommendations are

made to create an overarching government system and infrastructure that prioritizes
healthcare and eliminating health disparities:

Recommendation City County

Adopt a Health in All Policies framework that takes
into account health impact in all levels of decision-making
and aims to align different governmental agencies around
√ √
a shared vision of healthy and equitable communities,
including requiring Health Impact Assessments for all
major projects
Amend Chapter 101 of the County Codes to require
representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Color
on the County Medical Advisory Council and County √
Medical Advisory Board and (if permitted by state law)
compensate members for their service
Make a formal declaration that racism is a public health
√ √
crisis
Establish a standing Health Committee in the Monroe
County Legislature with a charge that includes eliminating
√
health disparities for Black, Indigenous and People of
Color
Establish a standing Health Committee in the
Rochester City Council with a charge that includes
√
eliminating health disparities for Black, Indigenous and
People of Color
Establish a Community Health Advisory Board for
the City of Rochester that requires representation of
√
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and (if permitted
by state law) compensate members for their service
Allocate funds and personnel to the Department of
Public Health to study and create anti-racist health √
interventions
 121

Set goals and benchmarks for eliminating health

disparities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color with √ √
public reporting of strategies, progress, and impact
Establish a funded department of Equity and Justice
(see Kings County, WA, for a model) whose charge
√ √
includes eliminating health disparities and addressing
connections between health, healthcare, and other issues

Key Issue #2: Access & Affordability of Healthcare to Increase Racial

Health Equity
The fee-for-service model of healthcare in the United States was identified by workgroup
and community members as a major barrier to the healthcare access. Monroe County’s
uninsured rate (5%) surpasses state and national trends. 113 City residents
disproportionately are uninsured (7.4%) or rely on public health coverage (56%).10
Furthermore, lack of insurance within the city is concentrated in lower income
neighborhoods that were historically redlined, as shown below.10

113
Monroe County Community Health Needs Assessment at
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/MediaLibraries/URMCMedia/community/documents/Final-MC-Needs-
Assessment.pdf
 122

Even when people are covered by health insurance, the feedback received from the
workgroup’s community engagement and from workgroup members’ experiences as
healthcare providers and health advocates indicated that the location of health services is a
persistent and significant barrier. Not only is there the cost of transportation (both fares
for public transit and parking fees), there is also the cost of time. This is especially a barrier
for people who rely on public transit.
As an illustration, consider what is required for someone who lives on Conkey Avenue and
has an appointment at either Strong Memorial Hospital or Rochester General Hospital.
One-way transit would be:

Destination Direct Route Bus Route # Buses

Strong Memorial 4.6 miles 46 minutes 2 buses
Rochester General 2.6 miles 54 minutes 2 buses

Despite the short direct distances that could be traveled by car, taking public transportation
means that the time required, round trip, would be a minimum of:

Destination Transit Appointment Total

Strong Memorial 1 hour 32 minutes 30 minutes 2+ hours
Rochester General 1 hour 48 minutes 30 minutes Almost 3 hrs

These times do not include time for walking from home to bus stop or from bus stop to
office, which can add at least another 20 minutes. Clearly, even a short medical
appointment represents a significant barrier in terms of time. For hourly and shift workers
this may necessitate taking a full day off work for a single appointment. For parents, this
may require additional or disrupt existing childcare. “Access” is not merely about insurance
and availability of providers. Locating more primary and specialist care in and near
neighborhoods can help alleviate barriers to access.

In response to community experiences and research, the following recommendations are

made to create access and affordability of healthcare in a way that increases racial health
equity:

Recommendation City County

Fund training and recruitment of Black, Indigenous, and
People of Color as doulas and make doulas available as a √
public health service
Fund school based health centers in all RCSD schools √
Create/amend Land Trusts and Land Banks to
include use of land for community health centers in
√ √
neighborhoods with high populations of Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color
Decentralize Monroe County Department of Public
Health services and put locations in neighborhoods with
√
high populations of Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color
 123

Fund transit services to provide residents without

√ √
transportation to primary and specialist healthcare visits
Create a municipal health care access program that
guarantees affordable healthcare for any uninsured
county resident who does not qualify for another √
healthcare plan, regardless of immigration status, income
level, or pre-existing conditions
Integrate telemedicine into 911/EMT triage to ensure all
residents have access to appropriate medical care and are √
not transported to Emergency Departments unnecessarily
Endorse and engage in intergovernmental advocacy
for passage of the New York Health Act to provide
√ √
comprehensive, universal health coverage for every New
Yorker

Key Issue #3: Impacting Social Determinants of Health to Increase

Racial Health Equity
Social determinants of health account for approximately half of health disparities. Those
determinants include education, job status, family/social support, income, community
safety, and physical environment. 114 Additionally, health behaviors, that account for
another 30%, can also be related to environmental factors.

Most notably, diet and exercise are integrally tied to factors such as access to stores that sell
reasonably priced fruits and vegetables and safe public spaces for outdoor exercise. The
combination of corner stores and fast food outlets with relative few full-service grocery
stores creates “food swamps.”16 Additionally, food insecurity in Monroe County is
concentrated in the City.

114
Common Ground Health. Overloaded.
 124

While traditional health education focuses on teaching people the importance of health
diets, data from the Finger Lakes indicates that differences in diet are not due to differences
in attitudes. In fact, higher percentages of Black and Hispanic residents reported that
“eating healthy is very important” than white residents. 115

The differences between those beliefs and eating habits may be explained by a lack of access
to and affordability of healthy foods. The top barrier to healthy eating that residents
identified was “Buying healthy food is too expensive.” (38%). This is a matter of our
economy and the location of healthy food sources – factors that municipal and county
government can impact.

Management of chronic health problems are also tied to structural, environmental factors.
Residents living with obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure frequently
cite diet, exercise, and food cost/access as major challenges.17

115
Common Ground Health. Food and Health Connection.
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/food-and-health-connection-final-report-2019opt.pdf
 125

Other chronic health problems such as asthma are also tied to economics and public policy,
most notably to housing quality. Rochester census tracts with the highest rate of health-
related code violations also have a rate of asthma-driven emergency department visits that
is nearly 9 times the rate in suburban towns. 116 The availability of affordable housing and
code enforcement are central to municipal and county government and can positively
impact health outcomes.

116
Common Ground Health. Overloaded.
 126

To ameliorate social determinants of health in ways that increase racial health equity, the
workgroup recommends:

Recommendation City County

Establish a universal basic income for women at risk
for maternal mortality and premature birth who are
√
disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and Women of
Color
Amend Zoning Codes, Incentive Zoning, and
Planned Development Districts to support
development of grocery stores, pharmacies, community
√
health centers, primary and specialist care, recreational
green space, and fitness centers in neighborhoods with
high racial health disparities
Require that all grocery stores apply to SNAP and WIC
as a condition of Planned Unit Developments, public-
√
private partnerships, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes
agreements (as permitted by state law)
Include chronic health issues, which disproportionately
affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as a
√ √
qualifying criterion for City- and County-funded,
administered, and approved housing programs
Adopt an Active Transportation Plan and Complete
Streets Plan that prioritize safe streets, walkability, and
bikability in neighborhoods with health disparities that √
disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color
Establish public-private partnerships to support
development of grocery stores, pharmacies, community
health centers, primary and specialist care, recreational √ √
green space, and fitness centers in neighborhoods with
high racial health disparities

Key Issue #4: Preventive Care to Reduce Race Disparities in Health

and Well-Being
Too often, healthcare is equated with treating health problems after they arise. Equal
emphasis should be placed on preventing health problems. Areas of significant need in
Monroe County include preventing chronic disease, promoting a healthy and safe
environment, preventing communicable diseases, promoting healthy women, infants and
children, and preventing substance abuse. 117

117
Monroe County Community Health Needs Assessment.
 127

To reduce race disparities in health and well-being through preventive care, the workgroup
recommends:

Recommendation City County

Create a partnership between Department of Public
Health, Monroe Community College, and Rochester City
√
School District to offer free online and in-person courses
on preventive health topics in community settings
Integrated data flow that ensures Department of Public
Health can access necessary patient information,
√
including mental health data and Early Intervention and
Preschool Special Education data
Funding for comprehensive developmental
screenings (through the GROW program) and to bring
√ √
those screenings to neighborhoods with high racial health
and education disparities
Invest in a lactation academy certification program at
Monroe Community College to train peer lactation √ √
consultants
Integrate and expand lactation services in the
Department of Public Health maternal/child health √
services with an emphasis on peer consultation

Key Issue #5: Anti-Racist, Respectful, Integrated, and Quality Care

Disparities in quality of care have been documented across the nation. A study published
by the National Academies of Science found that half of first- and second-year medical
students believed false information about Black people’s pain tolerance, skin thickness,
and/or blood coagulation. 118 False beliefs can translate into differential practice, as seen in
a meta-analysis of 20 years of studies that found Black patients were 22% less likely than
white patients to receive any pain medication. 119 Nationally, recommendations to address
racial discrimination in healthcare include: ensuring equity in access, data systems and
monitoring quality of care, regulatory vigilance, monitoring managed care, and education
and training. 120

118
Hoffman et al. (2016). Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false
beliefs about biological differences between Blacks and whites.
https://www.pnas.org/content/113/16/4296
119
Meghani et al. (2013). Time to take stock: A meta-analysis and systematic review of analgesic
treatment disparities for pain in the United States. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22239747/
120
Williams & Rucker (2000). Understanding and addressing racial disparities in healthcare.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4194634/
 128

Workgroup and community members shared story upon story of racism they encountered
when accessing healthcare. From ignoring pain levels to assuming drug use, from judging
patients’ behavior to denying referrals to specialists, from inaccurate medical records to
lack of knowledge about how symptoms and diseases manifest in people of color, from
undiagnosed developmental delays in children to inadequate care in nursing homes -- the
experiences of inadequate and harmful care were innumerable.

Racial discrimination in healthcare is exacerbated by the underrepresentation of Black,

Indigenous, and other People of Color in healthcare professions. Compiling data from the
US Census, the Health Professionals for Diversity Coalition found: 121

Racial disparities are also seen in the employment of Black, Indigenous, and other People
of Color in lower paying healthcare positions such as home health aides, licensed practical
nurses, and health support professions. These positions are more often filled by women 122
and nearly half of low-wage jobs are filled by women of color. 123 For example, 86% of
personal care aides and 88% of home health aides are women. These workers who provide
professional services and upon whom the healthcare system depends often do not earn a
living wage. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the following national wage
statistics: 124

Profession 10th Percentile 50th Percentile

Home Health Aide
Hourly $9.16 $11.63
Annual $19,060 $24,200

121
Health Professionals for Diversity Coalition, https://www.aapcho.org/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2012/11/NeedForDiversityHealthCareWorkforce.pdf
122
National Women’s Law Center. When hard work is not enough: Women in low-paid jobs.
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Women-in-Low-Paid-Jobs-report_ES_pp01.pdf
123
The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/women-in-low-wage-jobs-are-
underpaid-and-overloaded/431166/
124
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm
 129

Pharmacy Aide
Hourly $9.76 $13.39
Annual $20,300 $27,850
Hospital Orderly
Hourly $10.38 $13.93
Annual $21,590 $28.980
Nursing Assistant
Hourly $10.56 $13.93
Annual $21,960 $28,980
Phlebotomist
Hourly $12.50 $17.07
Annual $26,000 $35,510
Licensed Practical/Vocational
Nurse $16.61 $22.83
Hourly $34,560 $47,480
Annual

A historical review of Black women in the workplace indicates that Black women have
always had the highest level of labor market participation, compared to other women,
regardless of their age, marital status, or motherhood. 125Yet, government has failed to
protect Black women as workers and have often left them vulnerable to exploitation.
Municipal and county government are obligated to provide baseline workplace protections,
including livable wages, healthcare, and paid sick and family leave – whether those workers
are government employees or contracted workers.

In response to community experiences and research, the following recommendations are

made to ensure anti-racist, respectful, integrated, and quality healthcare:

Recommendation City County

Pay living wages for all staff employed by or contracted
by the Department of Public Health and Monroe County
Hospital, with emphasis on the lowest paid employees √
who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and People
of Color
Establish living wage requirements in the City and
County for home healthcare providers and peer health
√ √
advocates, the majority of whom are Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color
Enact County policies to guarantee residents the right to
have a health navigator or advocate of the patient/client’s
√
choosing present at all appointments for County-
administered public health, human, and social services
Establish a County-wide ombudsperson office where
residents can report discrimination in healthcare √
(whether provided by the County or private healthcare

125
Banks, N. (2019). Black women’s labor market history reveals deep-seated race and gender
discrimination. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/blog/black-womens-labor-market-
history-reveals-deep-seated-race-and-gender-discrimination/
 130

systems) and receive assistance in filing complaints with

the NYS Commission on Human Rights. Office to have a
Community Advisory Board with requirements that
members include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
and representatives from other marginalized groups who
(if permitted by state law) are compensated for their
service
Increased reimbursement levels to increase
availability of and compensation for para-level health √
services
Amend Section 63 of City Charter to prohibit
discrimination, including racial discrimination, in health √
care
Require all recipients of County public health and mental
health services be provided clear notification of their
rights and how to file a complaint with the County-wide √
ombudsperson office and the NYS Commission on Human
Rights
Establish a Patient Advisory Board at Monroe County
Hospital with requirements that members include Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color and representatives of √
other marginalized groups who are compensated for their
service
Enact County procedures to ensure rapid availability of
translators and ASL interpreters for County- √
administered public health, human, and social services

Key Issue #6: Anti-Racist Training & Leadership

Achieving anti-racist, integrated, respectful, and quality care requires training and
leadership. Research on training around racism and bias indicates that a general, “Racism
101” type of training is not effective. 126 Training should be linked explicitly to skill
development relevant to job roles.

In response to community experiences and research, the following recommendations are

made to ensure anti-racist training and leadership:

Recommendation City County

Mandate training for Department of Public Health staff
on racism, implicit bias, and cultural and linguistic √
competency tied to their job roles in health services,

126
See Musa al-Gharbi Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible for an overview of
research. https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/09/16/diversity-important-related-training-terrible/
 131

screening, and counseling, including communication with

deaf and hard of hearing clients
Mandate training for contracted service providers
of the Department of Public Health on racism, implicit
bias, and cultural and linguistic competency tied to their
√
job roles in health services, screening, and counseling,
including communication with deaf and hard of hearing
clients
Establish public-private partnerships to recruit more
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as service
√
providers in the Department of Public Health and among
contracted service providers
Allocate funding for the training and employment of
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as healthcare √
workers at all levels of the Department of Public Health
Convene a partnership between BOCES and RCSD to offer
the New Visions program to RCSD students to introduce
them to healthcare professions and mentor them in √ √
applying for post-secondary certification and higher
education programs
Establish full tuition scholarships and grants for
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who are enrolled √
in medical programs at Monroe Community College
Mandate training for 911 staff on racism, implicit bias,
and cultural and linguistic competency tied to their job
√
roles in emergency response, including communication
with deaf and hard of hearing clients
Amend Part II, Section 28 of City Charter to mandate
training of licensed ambulance operators and other
first responders on racism, implicit bias, and cultural and
√
linguistic competency tied to their job roles in emergency
response, including communication with deaf and hard of
hearing clients
 132

Advocacy and Cross-Sector Systems Change

In addition to the above recommendations that can be enacted at the City and County levels,
the following recommendations are priorities for the private healthcare systems and state
and federal policies.

Recommendation Private State Federal

Truly integrated medical records across
hospitals, private practices, and labs so all providers √
understand the patient’s story, needs, and context
Strengthen the Early Childhood to Post-Secondary
Education pipeline for Black, Indigenous, and
√
People of Color to enter health professions, including
non-clinical jobs
Better retention of Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color health professionals and promotion to √
leadership positions
Adoption of health professions curricula that
adequately prepare all healthcare providers for
treating Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as √
patients including effective diagnosis and treatment
of health conditions in these populations
Require ongoing training on racism, implicit bias,
and cultural and linguistic competency tied to √
specific job roles in healthcare services
Locate primary and specialist services in
neighborhoods, on transit lines, and reducing √
payment for parking
Reform the residency match process to eliminate
barriers for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
√
medical school graduates from US medical schools
being matched
Pass New York Health Act √
Lift restrictions that refuse insurance to individuals √
without documented immigration status
Ease restrictions on scope of practice √
Remove barriers to licensing exams due to √
financial hardship
Single payer healthcare √
Adopt national reciprocal agreements to
recognize licensure of nurses and allied health √
professionals across all 50 states
Adopt a national telemedicine compact √
 133

Provide loan forgiveness for Black, Indigenous,

and People of Color who have educational debt
√
related to their training in all healthcare and allied
health professions
 134

Selected Resources Consulted

Rochester and Monroe County Data on Health Disparities
• Hard Facts Update: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area
https://actrochester.org/tinymce/source/2020HardFactsUpdate/2020HardFacts.pdf
• Overloaded: The Heavy Toll of Poverty on Our Region’s Health
https://www.commongroundhealth.org/news/articles/study-finds-regions-no-1-health-
concern-is-poverty
• *Health Equity in the Finger Lakes Region
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/health20equity20chartbook202018-
20181128113414.pdf
• ACT Rochester Health Data https://actrochester.org/health
• Monroe County Health Profile
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/monroe-county-health-
profilerev10272020.pdf
• RMAP Progress Report
https://uwrochester.org/UnitedWayGreaterRochester/media/Documents/RMAPI_progre
ss-report_readers_spreads_lowres_5.pdf
• State of Play in Rochester
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/healthi20kids20-
20state20of20play20in20rochester20ny20-20data20brief202016-20160428053223.pdf
• Addressing the Barriers to Play for Children in Rochester
https://media.cmsmax.com/9p433trpk8pdaaywwkfzb/alr-2017-addressing-the-barriers-
to-play-in-rochester-ny.pdf
• Barriers to Health Equity: Place Based Disparities in Clinical Care
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/barriers20to20health20equity2010-4-
201720002-20171004031159.pdf
• Food and Health Connection https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/food-
and-health-connection-final-report-2019opt.pdf
• Health Impact Assessment: The Rochester Bike Share
https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/134-7-cgh-rbs-hia-apr-11-2018-r8-
20180802100333.pdf
• *Place Matters https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/healthi20kids20-
20place20matters20for20bicyclists20and20pedestrians-20180424014920.pdf
• *The High Blood Pressure Collaborative
https://www.commongroundhealth.org/insights/reports?page=2
• COVID Nursing Home Data for Monroe County (5 documents emailed to Healthcare
Workgroup as attachments on 11/2/2020)
• *Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in New York State: A review of Data and
Recommended Strategies from Center for Governmental Research (emailed to Healthcare
Workgroup as an attachment on 11/3/2020)
• *Social Determinants of Health: A Primer and Discussion of Possible Focus Areas (emailed
to Healthcare Workgroup as an attachment on 11/3/2020)
 135

Models from Other Places

• *Local Solutions to Reduce Inequities in Health and Safety
https://www.preventioninstitute.org/sites/default/files/publications/IOM_Exec%20Sum
m_032310.pdf
• *Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity
https://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/dch/pdf/health-equity-guide/Practitioners-Guide-
section1.pdf
• *Anchor Institutions https://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/anchors/index.html
• California Preterm Birth Initiative (link here)
• Abundant Birth pilot giving a $1000/month stipend to cohort of pregnant BIPOC people
(ongoing)
• Expansion of Medicaid funds to cover doula services in NY state (link here)
• Pregnancy Pop-Up Village (pilot program) California based, community-health system-city
partnership, will deliver co-located clinical care, government/public health entitlements,
and wraparound services into high-need neighborhoods, as a “one-stop-shop”, on a
recurring basis.
• Project ETHAN in Houston using telemedicine to triage appropriate level of care for people
seeking EMS

Monroe County Health Services

• Description of County services https://www.monroecounty.gov/health
• Local Government Role in Health from Center for Governmental Research (emailed to
Healthcare Workgroup as an attachment on 9/23/2020)

City, County and NYS Laws

• City of Rochester Charter https://www.ecode360.com/12554029
• Monroe County Codes https://www.ecode360.com/MO0860
• NYS General City Law https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GCT
• NYS General County Law https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CNT
New York State Human Rights Law https://dhr.ny.gov/law
 136

Housing
The Working Group’s co-facilitators were Commissioners Damond Wilson and Steve Brew.
Members generally met weekly from September through December – and sometimes more
often in subgroups – to identify key issues with racial and ethnic disparities in housing; to
review data and research; to speak with content experts and community organizations; and
develop recommendations.

The group also organized and led a community engagement meeting on Dec. 9, and
designed, implemented and analyzed a community survey.

Working Group members were:

Mohamed Abukar Virginia Maier

Ryan Acuff Rebecca Miglioratti
Marcus Bliss Chris Raymond
Daniel Cadet Barbara Rivera
Christine Church Joan Roby-Davison
Joe Di Fiore Michael Rood
Julie Domaratz Piffanie Rosario
Jim Dukette Shawnee Rosenborough
Karla Gadley Victor Sanchez
Leonard Hall Steve Santacroce
Allison Harper Bondi Mildred Scott
Graham Hughes Van Smith
Alexander Leonty Richard Tyson
Eric Van Dusen

Resources Consulted
The Working Group reviewed data or recommendations from the following resources:
∞ Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative Progress Report: A Roadmap for Change
(2015)
∞ Hard Facts Update: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area
(ACT Rochester, 2020)
∞ Zombies Among Us: The Monroe County Vacant and Abandoned Property Taskforce
(2016)
∞ Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, City of Rochester (2015 and 2020
update)
∞ Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, Monroe County (updated 2020,
discussed in 2020-24 Strategic Plan)
 137

∞ The River Runs Dry II: The Persistent Mortgage Drought in Rochester’s Communities
of Color (Empire Justice Center)
∞ Rochester 2034 (City of Rochester Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2019)
∞ Citywide Housing Market Study (City of Rochester, 2018)
∞ Confronting Racial Covenants (City Roots Community Land Trust and Yale
Environmental Protection Clinic, 2020)

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1
Discriminatory practices in housing. Historic practices such as redlining, racial
covenants and other discriminatory real estate practices provided white residents of our
region a pathway to build wealth through homeownership, while excluding Black residents
and fostering segregated areas of concentrated poverty. While this overt discrimination is
barred today, our community still reflects this dynamic, with redlined neighborhoods still
suffering from disinvestment and many residents having been denied a significant
opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. Even today, Black and Hispanic residents of
Monroe County own their homes at less than half the rate of white residents (32% among
Black residents, 35% for Hispanic, and 71% for white). 127
There also is strong evidence that housing discrimination against Black and Latino or
Hispanic residents continues today, albeit in more subtle forms, as do practices that
reinforce racial disparities, regardless of intent. Consider, for example, recent instances of
redlining 128 and reports of income discrimination against tenants who receive public
assistance, despite a 2019 state ban on such discrimination. Empire Justice Center (EJC)
and the Greater Rochester Community Reinvestment Coalition (GRCRC) have documented
high rates of home loan denials to Black and Latino or Hispanic applicants. 129 EJC and
GRCRC as well documented that the recent foreclosure crisis disproportionately harmed
predominantly Black and / or Hispanic or Latino neighborhoods in the City of Rochester. 130
Recommendations:
∞ Monroe County and the City of Rochester should adopt a policy in support
of “greenlining.” This term refers to initiatives and programs designed to make
significant public investments in previously redlined communities. By adopting a policy
commitment to greenlining, the County and City would consider broadly how best to
invest existing resources to maximize benefits to redlined neighborhoods and
communities. Options could include providing incentives for innovative models of
housing that would expand opportunities for individuals and collectives to build wealth,

127 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2014-18.

128 Daneman, Matthew. Democrat and Chronicle. “NY settles with Five Star Bank over mortgages.”
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/2015/01/18/five-star-settles-redlining-claims/21879775/
129 Van Kerkhove, Barbara. Empire Justice Center. “The River Runs Dry II: The Persistent Mortgage Drought in

Rochester’s Communities of Color.” https://empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/river-runs-dry-ii.pdf

130 Hanley, Michael, & Maker, Ruhi. Empire Justice Center. “In the Eye of the Storm: Why the Threat of Foreclosure

Damage Continues.” https://empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/report-in-the-eye-of-the-storm.pdf

 138

or expanding down payment assistance for low-income residents to buy homes in

redlined areas. 131
∞ Explore expansion of tenant protections at the local level, as a
disproportionate share of people of color in our region rent their homes.
∞ Adopt a tenant right to counsel. Consider a local law or policy commitment to
ensure tenants county-wide have a right to counsel in eviction proceedings. There is
evidence that providing tenant access to counsel helps tenants and property owners
to more frequently reach a resolution in such proceedings without eviction. 132 One
option is to pursue a county-wide expansion of an existing City of Rochester
collaboration with legal aid organizations to offer free representation to City tenants
facing eviction. 133
∞ Explore a “just cause” eviction law. Such laws typically allow a landlord to
choose not to renew a resident’s lease only for documented violations of the lease
(e.g., nonpayment of rent, damage, criminal or nuisance behavior). It is not
immediately clear, however, whether the City or County have authority to adopt such
a law at the local level. Within New York State, just clause eviction applies only to
rent-regulated units in New York City. Legislation for statewide just cause eviction
is pending at the committee level. 134
∞ Consider adoption of a County-level law prohibiting discrimination in the
sale, purchase, financing, renting or leasing of housing. Federal and state laws
already prohibit various forms of discrimination in the homeownership and rental
housing markets, including race-based discrimination, but research shows that such
practices continue. A quick review of Rochester-area apartment postings, for example,
suggests limited compliance with a recent state-level ban on discriminating against
prospective tenants based on their source of income; apartment ads still often say
property owners will not accept applicants who receive public assistance or Housing
Choice Vouchers (or Section 8). A County-level law would provide means for Monroe
County to provide enforcement that may be lacking or infrequent at the state and federal
levels. Similar laws exist in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and allow for county-level
commissions on human rights to investigate complaints of discrimination. 135

Key Issue #2
Land use regulations and economic development incentives. Exclusionary zoning
laws limit where affordable and multi-family housing can be built in our region, with a
substantial portion of the most affordable, public and / or income-restricted housing stock

131 The Greenlining Institute. “Equitable Housing & Homeownership.” https://greenlining.org/our-work/economic-

equity/homeownership/
132 Stout Risius Ross, Inc. “The Financial Cost and Benefits of Establishing a Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings

Under Intro 214-A.” https://legalaidresearch.org/2020/01/31/the-financial-cost-and-benefits-of-establishing-a-right-

to-counsel-in-eviction-proceedings-under-intro-214-a/
133 Fanelli, Gino. City. “Tenant ‘right to counsel’ program begins in Rochester.”

https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/tenant-right-to-counsel-program-begins-in-
rochester/Content?oid=12170284
134 Senate Bill S2892B. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s2892
135 Long Island Board of Realtors. Fair Housing Information Hub. https://www.lirealtor.com/legal/fair-housing
 139

concentrated in the City of Rochester, and to some extent, in neighboring suburbs. 136
Exclusionary zoning was sometimes adopted with explicitly racist intent in decades past. 137
Today, whether intentional or not, zoning still contributes to racial and class divisions.
Land use regulations and economic development incentives also play key roles in “job
sprawl” – the outflow of jobs from the urban core to areas that are more difficult to access
by transit. 138 The overall result is limited housing options of good quality in areas of
economic and educational opportunity for low-income residents, who are
disproportionately Black and / or Latino or Hispanic. Note that while cities, towns and
villages in New York are enabled to adopt zoning, counties cannot; county governments
may, however, prepare comprehensive plans that lay out guidance or overarching goals for
development. 139 The County is preparing to begin a comprehensive planning process in
2021.

Recommendations:

∞ Work to reduce or eliminate exclusionary zoning. As noted above, Monroe

County cannot impose zoning laws on municipalities. It can and should, however, play
a leadership or convening role in a countywide effort to identify and reverse zoning laws
that unnecessarily restrict affordable and multifamily housing, playing an important
role in continuing to segregate the Rochester region by race and class. The upcoming
County comprehensive planning process offers an opportunity to do this.
∞ Encourage or incentivize affordable housing in all communities within
Monroe County. The County should encourage affordable housing county-wide, with
consideration to which locations could best provide access to economic and educational
opportunities. For example, a countywide framework or plan for affordable housing
could focus on key transit routes to ensure that low-income residents without cars can
access employment from new developments. Efforts should be made to ensure that
affordable housing is not concentrated or clustered, but well-distributed throughout
both individual developments and larger communities. Another option is inclusionary
zoning, which requires that certain new market-rate residential developments include
a percentage of affordable units as well. The County lacks authority to enact such a
requirement, but it could create a model zoning law and identify incentives to encourage
individual municipalities to adopt such a law.
∞ Consider targeted use of County tax incentives to encourage affordable
housing development. The County should explore the viability of conditioning tax
incentives on the inclusion of affordable housing units in any major development
project with a residential component. Any such incentives should be aligned with any

136 Johnson, William A., Jr. “Sprawl and Civil Rights: A Mayor’s Reflections.” In Bullard, Robert D. (Ed.), “Growing

Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity.” The MIT Press.
137 Reynolds, Conor Dwyer. “The Motives for Exclusionary Zoning.”

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3449772
138 CGR. “Transportation and Poverty in Monroe County: How Land Use, Job Locations and Commuting Options

Affect Access to Jobs.” https://www.cgr.org/our-work/case-studies/highlighting-links-between-transportation-

poverty/
139 New York State Department of State. “Land Use Planning and Regulation.”

https://www.dos.ny.gov/lg//handbook/html/land_use_planning_and_regulation.html
 140

county-wide framework or plan for affordable housing if one is developed, as described

above.

Key Issue #3
Housing affordability. The 2018 Citywide Housing Market Study stressed that low
incomes, rather than rising prices, were the largest source of challenges with housing
affordability in the City of Rochester. Whatever the primary cause, housing costs are clearly
burdensome for many in our region. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development guideline
for affordability says that rent should be no more than 30% of a household’s income, but
Census data show that a median Hispanic renter in Monroe County spends about 44% of
income on rent, and Black renters, 45%. A median white renter, by contrast, spends about
30%. 140 Compounding this challenge, financing is very limited to develop affordable
housing for particularly low-income residents.

Recommendations:

∞ Support the expansion of community-controlled models of

homeownership and rental housing. Community land trusts (CLTs) are an
established model for community stewardship of land. They are often a mechanism for
low-income residents to own and build equity in affordable housing, as well as a tool for
broader community-building. Upward of 250 CLTs exist across the U.S. 141 CLTs are
generally nonprofits governed by boards of community residents. There is an existing
CLT in Rochester (City Roots Community Land Trust). The City and County should seek
opportunities to expand and support CLTs as a vehicle for empowering low-income
residents – particularly those of color – and providing pathways to ownership and
wealth-building. This might entail continued efforts to partner with existing CLTs to
rehabilitate existing homes for affordable housing and / or identify funding
mechanisms and sources of technical support to foster the creation of new CLTs. The
County and City should also explore additional housing models that might achieve
similar goals.
∞ Explore the feasibility of a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase law in
Rochester. This type of program would provide an opportunity for rental tenants,
qualified housing nonprofits or some combination to assemble funds to purchase a
rental property if an owner offers it for sale. Such programs exist in Washington, D.C.,
Denver and San Francisco, but there is limited (if any) precedent for this in New York
State. It is not clear whether Monroe County or the City of Rochester could adopt such
a local requirement, as there is no specific legislation enabling it at the state level. State
Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn, is reportedly developing such legislation at the state
level, but it has yet to be filed. 142 Legislation pending before the New York City Council

140 U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2014-18.

141 Community-wealth.org. https://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/clts/index.html
142 Pereira, Sydney. Gothamist. “Tenants Would Get Priority to Buy Their Landlord’s Building Under New Bill.”

https://gothamist.com/news/tenants-would-get-priority-buy-their-landlords-building-under-new-bill
 141

would allow a list of pre-qualified entities to submit a first offer and match competing
offers on certain rental properties listed for sale, but it has not yet been adopted. 143
∞ Explore additional funding mechanisms for affordable housing
development. The County should explore creation of an Affordable Housing Trust
Fund dedicated to affordable homeownership and rental projects, as well as many of the
initiatives described above (e.g., greenlining, expansion of community-controlled
housing organizations, tenant opportunity to purchase, etc.). Potential mechanisms
include an increased deed recording fee or property transfer tax, and / or filing fees for
properties with particularly high sale values.

Cross-sector recommendation
Explore a county-wide effort to realign school district boundaries. Racial and
socioeconomic inequities in our region’s housing are interconnected with inequities in
schools. It will be difficult to make meaningful progress on one issue without also
confronting the other. As we described above, discriminatory laws, policies and practices
in housing have helped create a region profoundly segregated by race and income, and
where poverty is deeply concentrated among Black and Hispanic families in the City of
Rochester. Schools are a critical part of this divide. The Rochester City School District
(RCSD) is widely considered among the most academically challenged urban districts in
New York, a short drive from some of the highest-performing districts in the state. Consider
that:

∞ In the 2018-19 school year, 90% of students in RCSD were considered economically
disadvantaged, compared to 4% in the nearby Pittsford Central School District. [1]
∞ The boundaries separating RCSD from neighboring districts like Penfield, Brighton and
West Irondequoit are among the most economically segregating in the nation, according
to a 2016 study and a 2020 update by the national educational advocacy group
EdBuild. [2]
Our school districts do not simply reflect our divisions; they help fuel them. In a community
survey conducted by this Working Group, 21% of respondents said “school district quality”
was the most important factor in their housing choice, second only to “cost of housing.”
Among respondents in suburban Monroe County with children, 61% cited “school district
quality” as the major factor in their housing choice. Perceptions of schools are clearly a
driver of housing decisions for parents with the means to choose.

At the same time, our survey found strong interest in at least exploring alternatives to the
status quo in public education in our region, as 87% of respondents to our survey approved
of the following statement: “Develop policies that break down legal walls segregating our
community by race and class, for example, school district boundaries.”

143 New York City Council, Int. 1977-2020.

https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4573837&GUID=0603C069-82DE-4977-904B-
A07F3F468D90&Options=&Search
[1] https://data.nysed.gov/.
[2] EdBuild. “Fault Lines: America’s Most Segregating School District Borders.” https://edbuild.org/content/fault-

lines/full-report.pdf
 142

The County and City should join with school district leaders and state lawmakers in our
region to seriously explore realignment of school district boundaries to reduce racial, ethnic
and socioeconomic segregation, with the goal of developing a specific proposal or range of
alternatives that can be considered by key decision-makers and the public.

Parking Lot
The following recommendations deal with issues beyond the ability of the City or County to
address alone in the near term, but requiring attention of government at the State and / or
Federal levels.
∞ Advocate for a public bank that can be used to support affordable housing efforts as well
as credit unions that produce mortgages for low-income homebuyers. Public banking
appears to require state legislation to amend state finance and / or banking law. State
Sen. James Sanders Jr. has a pending bill to amend banking law to create a framework
to allow cities and counties to create public banks. It is before the Banks Committee. 144
∞ Advocate for additional flexibility with Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). Housing
Choice Vouchers provide housing assistance to low-income families, among other
eligible participants, to rent a home. They are administered locally by the Rochester
Housing Authority. The Working Group is interested in allowing them to be used more
flexibly to cover other housing costs for low-income residents, such as mortgage
payments. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) indicates that in limited cases,
public housing authorities may allow voucher recipients to purchase a home and receive
monthly assistance in meeting homeownership expenses. 145 HUD records indicate the
Rochester Housing Authority had limited participation in this program as recently as
2017. Any additional flexibility or wider participation in the program would likely
require action by the Housing Authority and / or the federal government.
∞ Advocate for state-level legislation to reduce or prohibit exclusionary zoning. The
County and City should work with state legislators to identify and prohibit current tools
of exclusionary zoning at the state level.
∞ Advocate for state-level action inclusionary zoning incentives and / or requirements. It
is difficult to meaningfully expand affordable housing by adopting zoning changes one
community at a time. The County and City should explore working with state legislators
to enact farther-reaching requirements and / or incentives to include affordable housing
in new residential development.

144https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s1778
145U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Homeownership Vouchers.”
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/homeownership
 143

Human & Social Services

Workgroup Members
Commissioners: Karen Elam, Mitch Gruber, Bruce Popper

Workgroup:

Absolom (Abu) Abraha Kiah Nyame

Pamela Kim Adams Alexandra (Lexi) Popovici
Shaka Bedgood Donette Scott
Jennifer Cathy Raquel Serrano
Khari Clarendon Diana Simpatico
Tracy Collins Rose Tomlinson
Brandi Hayes James Waters
Ke-nijah Holloman Jeffrey Williams
Bill McDonald Thalia Wright
Rodney Young

Resources Consulted
The Human & Social Services Working Group as a whole began by consulting the following
documents:
• Monroe County Department of Human Services Annual Report 2018
• Monroe County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Report 2019
• Monroe County Transition Report delivered to County Executive Adam Bello,
February 11, 2020
• Hard Facts Update by ACT Rochester & Rochester Area Community Foundation,
August 2020
• Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative Progress Report, September 2015
We soon realized that we would need to divide our work into smaller subcommittees, given
the breadth of human & social services. The four subcommittees were (1) Child Welfare, (2)
Eligibility, (3) Older Adults, and (4) Cultural Competence.

The Child Welfare Subcommittee consulted the following sources:

• 2012 Monroe County Institutional Analysis

• 2019 Foster Care Admissions/Discharges Disparity Data
• Disparity Rates in Child & Family Services by Key System Point, 2015-2018. Source:
OCFS Comparative Disparity Rates Annual Reports
• DMR County Comparison 2018
• DMR Data
 144

The Eligibility Subcommittee consulted the following sources:

• Monroe County Public Assistance Sanctions, Application Denials, and Case Closings
in the Context of NYS OTDA Data for Four Large Urban Counties by Harry Murray,
Professor of Sociology, Nazareth College, 8/3/2018
• OTDA regulations at https://regs.health.ny.gov/content/section-3512-aspects-
investigation-and-eligibility
• Employment Plans of Monroe, Onondaga and Erie Counties available at
https://otda.ny.gov/resources/employment-plans/
• Interviews with local CASACs, Human Service employees from other counties, and
the former Corporation Counsel for NYS OASES
• Interviews with attorneys for LawNY and Empire Justice Center

The Older Adults Subcommittee consulted the following sources:

• Monroe County Transition Report (Adam Bello Transition Team)

• Disrupt Disparities 2.0 Solutions for New Yorkers Age 50+ (AARP)
• Disrupt Disparities 3.0 COVID-19 Wreaking Havoc on Communities of Color
(AARP)
• American Tragedy: COVID-19 and Nursing Homes (AARP)
• Age Wave - The changing demographic landscape of America and Greater Rochester
(Lifespan)
• ALICE in New York: A Financial Hardship Study (United Way of New York)
• America's Opportunity Gaps: By the Numbers, Systemic Barriers to Equality of
Opportunity for Black Americans and People of Color (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
• Hard Facts Update: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area
(ACT Rochester, RACF)
• Profile of the Hispanic/Latino Community in Monroe County: A Demographic and
Socioeconomic Analysis of Trends (Ibero American Action League and La Cumbre)
• Overloaded: The Heavy Toll of Poverty on Our Region's Health (Common Ground
Health)
• Health Equity in the Finger Lakes Region: A Chartbook (Common Ground Health)
• Digital Divide in Rochester & Monroe County (RMAPI, RACF, ROC The Future)
• Connecting, Supporting, Transforming - Together! (Connected Communities)
• What Older Adults Need from Congress (Justice in Aging)
• RFP: Age Friendly Livable Community Initiative for Older Adults (Monroe County)
• MCOFA 2020-24 Four Year Plan Abstract (Monroe County Office on Aging)
• Building Stronger Families: 2018 Annual Report (Monroe County Dept. of Human
Services)

The Cultural Competence Subcommittee consulted the following sources:

• https://www.racialequityalliance.org/
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• https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/CCP-2018_2019-
Update.pdf
• https://www.smchealth.org/sites/main/files/file-
attachments/san_mateo_county_cultural_competence_plan_2018_final.pdf
• http://www.ocwtp.net/PDFs/Assmt%20VI%20Culturally%20Responsive%20Servi
ces.pdf
• https://cceh.org/cultural-competency/
• https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-
public-liaison/clear-communication/cultural-respect
• https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/brief_enhancing_cultural_comp
etence_final_022114.pdf
• https://health.hawaii.gov/healthequity/cultural-competency-policy/
• https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2017-06/cultural-competence-guide.pdf

Community Engagement
The Human & Social Services commissioners and work group members held a virtual Zoom
Community Listening Session from 6 pm to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 to
hear from community members with experience interacting with human and social services
such as financial assistance through TANF or Safety Net, food assistance from SNAP, and
healthcare through Medicaid, as well as child welfare programs like Child Protective or
Preventive Services and Foster Care. We sought responses to questions such as: What was
your experience like? Did programs and staff members help you? Were you treated with
respect? What worked well, and what could be improved?

In addition, the Eligibility subcommittee created a public forum for people to be able to
share their stories. The community was given an email address, phone number, and a
website link to provide testimonial or schedule an interview with the Commission.

The Older Adults Subcommittee expanded its membership beyond the initial working
group to include persons from Aging Alliance, United Way, Life Results, Ibero American
Action League, and Monroe County Office on Aging. The subcommittee interviewed
officials from the Monroe County Federation of Social Workers, Monroe County Office of
Aging, Lifespan, Aging Alliance, Jewish Family Services, Catholic Family Services, NYS
Assembly Committee on Aging, Legal Assistance of Western NY, and Woods, Oviatt law
firm.

The Cultural Competence Subcommittee interviewed Lenora Reid-Rose, Director of

Cultural Competency and Health Equity at CCSI, and Kesha Carter, Chief Diversity Officer
at CCSI.

Prioritization of Issues
The Human & Social Services commissioners asked each member of the working group to
send in their recommendations and compared those to the issues that had been highlighted
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by our pre-reading and the feedback from the listening session. In the end, we proposed to
prioritize four areas and then vetted this with the entire work group.

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1
Child Welfare
African-American children in Monroe County disproportionately enter out-of-home (i.e.
“foster”) care placements by a significant margin (see data below). Monroe County
Department of Human Services (MCDHS) must develop a strategic plan for
implementing an equitable case practice, with a shared vision that includes
the development and consistent use of criteria to make decisions about the
removal of children and service provisions.

Additionally, we believe that MCDHS can address this disproportionality by incorporating

culturally responsive engagement strategies, changing some internal policies, and
implementing practices to improve cultural competency and educate the community.

Culturally Responsive Engagement Strategies

- Implement Blind Removal Meetings

o The goal of this strategy is to have unbiased decision-making in removals
o Participants are not provided with any demographic information that would
reveal the race or ethnicity of the family being discussed

- Hire Cultural Brokers

o These are members of the community who advocate for families and help
navigate through the complex child welfare system. Cultural brokers help
educate on:
• Child welfare laws and system processes
• Implementing safety measures to ensure the well-being of children
• Positive steps to prevent the child or children from being removed from
the home
• Developing effective communication skills
• Strengthening parenting skills and life skills
• Navigating the systems within the community
• Locating and accessing information and resources
• Understanding and demonstrating acts of protection toward their
children
• Building and strengthening formal and informal support systems

- Create Kinship Navigators

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• MCDHS staff will verify that all viable relatives and adults have been explored
to achieve a kinship-placement before making a non-kinship placement.
• This will increase kinship-placement and preserve recruited foster homes for
children who do not have kin resources, and children who can transition out
of congregate care placements.

Internal DHS Policy Change

DHS staff have inconsistently applied the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA)
and the Inter-Ethnic Placement provisions of 1996 (IEP). MEPA and IEP do not prohibit
consideration of race when making foster placements although they create very narrow
parameters in which race can be considered. DHS leadership must develop new policies
and create trainings that will maintain compliance with MEPA and IEP but will ensure
that staff employs as much discretion as possible to improve outcomes.

We echo some of the recommendations of the eligibility subcommittee because TANF

sanctions have a significant impact on child welfare programs, too. Because of the
frequency of issued TANF sanctions in Monroe County DHS, some parents choose to
prioritize following their TANF plan at the expense of accessing Medicaid to pay for
services required by the child welfare system. This results in delayed entry into court-
ordered treatment services, thus delaying permanency for children. In other words,
attempts to stave off sanctions can end up destabilizing families. DHS must coordinate
between TANF and child welfare and, if necessary, advocate for NYS to waive TANF
sanctions under specific circumstances.

DHS must ensure consistency in case workers. Some families of color have experienced
more than three different case workers, which makes it harder to stabilize families.

Cultural Competence and Community Education

Many of the findings of this subcommittee echo the findings of the subcommittee on
cultural competence. We must expand cultural competence and diversity training with
opportunities for professional development grounded in the concept of cultural humility
and the understanding of race as a construct in the development of American society.
Moreover, staff should be familiarized with the construct of race and the ways in which
this construct has shaped institutions in society, as well as LIVED experiences of families
and the community over time.

Far too many of the individuals we spoke to reported feeling judged and intimidated by
CPS workers during investigations. Biological parents also reported feeling judged and
being excluded from the decision-making process for their children. The only way to
address these issues in an effective, holistic way is to ensure that CPS workers understand
the construction of race and have lived experience that reflects the communities they
serve.
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DHS staff should develop education and training materials for community groups,
schools, hospitals, and others who are classified as mandatory reporters. These
community partners must understand the impact of their reporting and develop tools to
increase cultural competence.

Finally, MCDHS should expand service options, availability and accessibility of resources.
African-American families have identified multiple challenges regarding the availability of
services that match the needs of their households.
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Key Issue #2
Eligibility
Human/Social Services provide critical Public Assistance (PA) programs that provide
financial support to individuals and households struggling to meet basic needs. PA
programs exist to help recipients stave off crisis and become self-sufficient. County
Departments of Human/Social Services (DHS) administer these programs and strive for
fairness, equity, and compliance with all federal and state requirements.

When a PA recipient is deemed non-compliant, DHS will issue a “sanction” that strips a
recipient of PA for a predetermined number of days (“durational”) or until deemed
compliant. PA recipients may request a “Fair Hearing” to challenge the sanction before an
administrative judge.

Monroe County DHS maintains the highest sanction rate of the largest counties in New
York (those with urban centers), and an exceptionally high rate of Fair Hearings requested.
We cannot know if these sanctions are disproportionately impacting people of color
because this data is not publicly available. However, we do know that PA recipients in
Monroe County are disproportionately people of color.146

RASE assessed Monroe County’s rates of sanctions and Fair Hearing cases because it is a
clear path to dismantle systemic and institutional inequities across NYS. Financial
assistance programs are the bottom of the safety net. We must ensure that these benefits

146
All data is in the corresponding appendix
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are provided to any eligible applicant whenever possible. Sanctions must only be used
as a last resort – not a first step – toward compliance.

Key Findings:

• For the past four years, Monroe has issued the most durational sanctions for
substance abuse and employment. In fact, Monroe uses durational sanctions more
than any other County.
• In 2020, FA recipients in Monroe requested Fair Hearings more than in any other
County.
• Nearly two thirds of Fair Hearings resulted in favorable findings for the client, with
judges often questioning the strict discretion exercised by Monroe Co that leads to
more sanctions
• High rates of sanctions is in part responsible for the precipitous decline in financial
assistance recipients in Monroe County – a more than 50% decline since 2014.
• The number of children receiving Public Assistance in Monroe Co has fallen by
48.9% since 2014 despite the city of Rochester maintaining one of the highest child
poverty rates in the country.

Recommendations:

• Since most sanctions are a result of non-compliance of requirements related to

employment or substance abuse, we must assess the way Monroe Co determines
compliance and relax any regulations that create particularly high rates of sanction
(see analysis to follow).
• Reimagine the process by which someone is sanctioned and then conciliated in order
to create a system that uses sanctions as an absolute last resort (analysis to follow).
• Begin to track sanctions and Fair Hearings by race and ethnicity.

Employment Plan Requirements

CGR reviewed the employment plans of Monroe, Erie and Onondaga counties for the
eligibility subgroup and found Monroe County has the most stringent, rigid rules around
compliance. The employment plans describe the work requirements for individuals
receiving public assistance. Key comparisons:

• Both Erie and Onondaga offer reductions in work activity requirements for
households with children under 6 years of age. Monroe County explicitly disregards
age of children in the household when determining work activity requirements.
• For TANF and Safety Net Assistance applicants, Monroe County has the highest
number of requirements for work activities and job contacts.
• Erie County has specific, detailed strategies for engaging sanctioned participants as
soon as they are sanctioned, whereas Monroe County only has specific, detailed
strategies for engaging sanctioned participants after the sanction is complete.
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• Monroe County has the most rigorous employment standards for the conciliation
process. In Monroe County, sanctioned individuals are expected to demonstrate
double the number of job contacts as their peers in Erie and Onondaga.
In addition to these examples, Monroe County has the most specific “engaged in work”
requirements and processes and more detailed processes related to employment
assessments.
Recommendation: Monroe County should review its Employment Plan in the context of
the comparative information gathered and submit revisions that significantly relax the
employment requirements for individuals receiving public assistance. This particularly
important right now, as the COVID-19 epidemic has significantly impaired our local
economy and created exceptionally high unemployment rates. Monroe County’s
employment plan must match this economic reality and be “person-centered” to ensure
that we are providing public assistance to as many vulnerable households as possible.
Specifically, we recommend:

• Reducing work activity requirements for households with young children, as Erie
and Onondaga do.
• Engaging participants facing sanctions early in the process (see detailed
recommendations in the section on conciliation).
• Reducing the requirements for work activities and job contacts, both for public
assistance applicants and those in the midst of the conciliation process. Monroe
County could match the requirements in Erie or Onondaga without changing the
goals of the employment plan.
• Conducting a full reassessment of the Work Experience Program (WEP) since the
entire subcontract was awarded to RochesterWorks. Anecdotally, there is concern
that WEP has not been as effective in finding permanent jobs for individuals since
RochesterWorks began to administer the entirety of the program. Monroe County
should convene a committee of individuals and organizations who participated in
WEP and develop a plan for making it more efficient and effective.
Substance Abuse Requirements

Monroe County is unique among counties in having developed a database, Addiction

Recovery Employability System (ARES), for substance abuse treatment providers to closely
track the progress of all recipients of financial assistance. The system has been in place for
many years and has evolved significantly over time. County officials expressed a belief that
it simply streamlines the process of tracking state-mandated requirements, but the
eligibility subgroup heard from many in the community that the use of ARES hinders both
recovery and stability for people receiving assistance. In short, ARES seems to facilitate a
rigidity that leads to the outsized number of sanctions and fair hearing cases in Monroe
County.

According to treatment providers interviewed by the subgroup, Monroe County requires

financial assistance recipients to maintain an 85% attendance rate in treatment programs
(though this has been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic). Treatment providers
noted that an 85% attendance requirement is not in accordance with the best practices
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about addiction recovery services, which recognizes that relapse is often a part of the
recovery process and that harm reduction - including meeting basic needs - is often an
important part of an effective treatment approach.

This requirement is explicitly a local choice, and not something mandated by NYS. State
regulations require screening for substance abuse disorders, assessments of those believed
to be dependent on alcohol or drugs, and participation in treatment for those deemed to be
dependent. Further, treatment programs must submit progress reports on their clients
every three months. 147

Recommendation 1: Monroe County should review the ARES system with a committee
that consists of experts in addiction recovery, community-based CASACs, and individuals
who previously received public assistance. The committee should set out to amend the
reporting system to follow best practices of addiction recovery, and to ensure that a
sanction is never used as anything other than a last resort.

Recommendation 2: Monroe County should permanently eliminate the 85% attendance

threshold for individuals recovering from substance abuse. The County should work with
the Committee established in Recommendation 1 to create new, person-centered
requirements in line with NYS rules and regulations.

Recommendation 3: Monroe County should evaluate all substance abuse practices and
policies with a goal of embracing harm reduction as an evidence-based strategy, while still
encouraging abstinence as appropriate. (This echoes a recommendation of the Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services Working Group.)

Internal Strategies to Reduce Sanctions

When MCDHS believes that an applicant or recipient of assistance has failed to comply with
a requirement of the public assistance program, it sends the individual a written notice
demonstrating the intent to impose a sanction. If the applicant or recipient does nothing
the sanction takes effect. The individual may contest the sanction by using an informal
conciliation process, or by requesting a Fair Hearing. Either way, the individual has the
burden to demonstrate that either they did comply, or that they had a good reason for not
complying.

Monroe County has the highest rate of sanctions among large urban counties.
Furthermore, it has the highest rate of Fair Hearing requests for Public Assistance issues of
any county in the state. Our data shows that MCDHS often reverses the imposition of a
sanction when challenged. Sometimes reversals are spurred by internal review; other times
it is due to the Fair Hearing. Therefore, it is recommended that MCDHS adjust internal
processes to ensure that sanctions are only used as a last resort. This will maximize improve

147
See (i) Requirements for alcoholism and substance abuse screening, assessment and rehabilitation
service at https://regs.health.ny.gov/content/section-3512-aspects-investigation-and-eligibility
 154

the compliance of participants, reduce the number of Fair Hearings, and help to achieve
the ultimate goal of financial assistance programs – employment and self-sufficiency.

Pre-Sanction Review Process

We recommend that MCDHS move to a pre-sanction case review process. This would
involve an additional level of review after MCDHS believes that a sanction is appropriate
but before a sanction notice is issued. This additional level of review will allow
opportunities for identification of whether the applicant or recipient actually failed to
comply with a known obligation, and if so, to determine whether there were barriers to
compliance that could be removed so that the applicant or recipient can comply with
MCDHS requirements. This would reduce the number of applicants or recipients who are
sanctioned for minor issues or incorrectly sanctioned. It would also decrease the number
of Fair Hearings requested within the County and lead to cost savings for the agency. Most
importantly, often it would increase the chance that the applicant or recipient will
successfully obtain employment at an earlier date.

A pre-sanction review would provide the agency with another opportunity to evaluate the
circumstances of a possibly non-compliant family or individual, and assist the family or
individual to participate successfully in program activities. Additionally, a pre-sanction
review provides the individual with more information and understanding around what is
required for compliance. This is especially important for individuals who do not speak
English as their first language and/or who are illiterate or have intellectual or
developmental disabilities.

A pre-sanction review would encompass the following elements:

• A local notice in plain language to the applicant or recipient that fully explains what
MCDHS believes the applicant or recipient failed to do, the impact of a possible
sanction, and offering the opportunity to discuss the matter with the agency and the
availability of additional resources to assist the applicant or recipient.
• Reengagement with the applicant or recipient to identify if they failed to comply with
a known obligation and, if so, why and what barriers may have prevented
compliance.
• A determination whether the required activity can be modified based on the
individual or applicant or recipient’s needs (like hidden disabilities) and the
indicated barriers.
• A determination whether the applicant or recipient, or, especially, any child involved
in the case, is likely to become homeless as a result of the sanction. In the event that
an applicant is homeless and asking for emergency housing assistance, MCDHS
must create a route to compliance that can accomplished by day’s end as per Fair
Hearing #7810833P
• The creation of a conciliation plan to foster compliance, including potential referrals
to additional community supports that may help overcome barriers to compliance.

Post-Sanction Support System

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If a sanction is imposed, MCDHS should engage the individual and family to discuss the
parameters of the sanction, opportunities to lift the sanction or come into compliance, and
additional supports available to ensure compliance is maintained. Post sanction
engagement would also assist the agency in keeping in contact with sanctioned individuals
and families giving them the best possible opportunity for success and reengagement. Post-
sanction support should be provided orally by a caseworker and in plain language notices,
covering the following:

• Guidance on how to come into compliance and end the sanction

• Identify any barriers to compliance to ensure future success
• Connect to additional resources to address loss of income due to sanction

Establishment of a Working Group for Continuous Improvement

In order to support and guide the above recommendation, we recommend that an active
working group be formed that seeks continuous improvement around the sanctioning
process and improving communication about that process within the community. Members
of the group would include MCDHS staff, legal services providers, medical providers,
treatment providers, applicants and recipients of public assistance and other identified
stakeholders.

This working group would be charged with reviewing and making recommendations
related to the above recommendations and, more specifically:

• Identifying any needed process improvements;

• Implementing training envisioned above;
• Connection to community-based resources to assist in re-engagement
• Researching and recommending best practices from other localities.
• Developing “plain language” communications for pre-sanction review process
• Creating new communication strategies for recipients who do not speak or read
English

Key Issue #3
Older Adults
The older population of Rochester and Monroe County is increasing rapidly and the rate of
elder poverty is exploding, particularly within the City of Rochester. There are significant
racial disparities of income and wealth between older African Americans and other people
of color, and whites.

There are vast disparities in resources, physical space, and programs between senior
centers in urban and suburban location. There is a need to construct better spaces for urban
centers, as well as “reinvent” the very role and function of the centers as inequities are
corrected.
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Most services for older adults flow through the Monroe County Office on the Aging
(MCOFA). Most of MCOFA’s funding comes from Federal and State sources, and roughly
85% of the county’s expenditures and programs for older adults are subcontracted to non-
profit agencies.

Many of the issues and recommendations that follow in this report will be detailed in more
depth by the Livable Communities for Older Adults Initiative (LCOAI), which was recently
awarded a planning grant from Monroe County. LCOAI is expected to address many of the
service and systemic needs of the elderly with a particular focus on older adults in need, a
disproportionate number of which are African Americans and other people of color. The
County and City must fully support and invest in LCOAI.

Key Issues Facing Older Adults

Many of the issues that face older adults, and specifically people of color, are a direct result
of the increasing poverty in our region. Many older adults live on fixed incomes that do not
provide enough to meet the cost of living. This means that the older adults in need are facing
challenges to afford health care, access nutritious food, pay for transportation, maintain
safe, quality housing, adapt to new, expensive technologies, and more.
We expect each of these issues to be addressed in the overall report of the RASE
Commission. But we encourage a consistent focus on older adults as each of these issues
are addressed. Moreover, we are confident that LCOAI will create strategies for each of
these issues and reiterate the need for Monroe County and City of Rochester to support and
invest in that initiative.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1: Support and Invest in Livable Communities for Older

Adults Initiative

The plan will focus the needs of poor elders, persons of color, and those with disabilities;
and address racial and economic disparities that exist in Rochester and Monroe County.
The Livable Communities approach will provide a broad and coordinated platform for all
those involved in services to older adults in which to participate.
Implementation of Livable Community proposals should include the establishment of
representative and diverse advisory boards with significant oversight responsibilities.

Recommendation 2: Establish a “Navigator” training program and broader

communication to front line workers

MCOFA should establish a “navigator” training program and create information materials
about available services and benefits for older adults. The navigator program could be
modeled on the Affordable Care Act navigator role where front line workers were trained
to assist consumers in accessing and choosing the best medical insurance plan to meet their
needs. It could also be modeled on the highly successful “one stop” Elder Source program
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run by Lifespan and Catholic Family Services. The navigator program would train and
orient all front line county and non-profit staff who have direct contact with older adults in
their jobs, and provide the necessary resources for them to direct seniors to appropriate
assistance.

MCOFA should also be funded to embark on a multi-media educational program on

available services and benefits, with particular focus on older adults of color. The objective
is to create and enable a more holistic approach by front line workers serving older adults,
backed up by an improved communication program. The program should endeavor to
overcome language barriers by communicating in other languages, especially Spanish.

Recommendation 3: Upgrade senior centers in neighborhoods of most need

Huge disparities exist in funding, programs, and physical structures between senior centers
in urban and suburban locations. The amount of base funding for senior centers is largely
determined by the volume of free meals served each year. The county subcontracts with
towns (suburbs) and non-profit organizations (city) to fund senior centers. Many of the
towns supplement this funding with their own tax revenues, resulting in significant
disparities in physical space, programs, and other key features of the centers. We call for a
realignment of funding for senior centers in Monroe County to ensure equity regardless of
location. Most importantly, Monroe County and City of Rochester should collaborate to
rebuild the physical infrastructure of senior centers. This project could resemble the
Rochester School Modernization Program. In conjunction with new capital projects, senior
centers should:

- Undergo a strategic planning process to ensure they have measurable, achievable

goals that improve quality of life for older adults in need.
- Maintain direct connection with accessible, affordable transit options.
- Emphasize cultural competence and appropriateness.
- Help address the digital divide by offering training programs on computer literacy
and access to free internet and MiFi devices.

Recommendation 4: New Procedures for MCOFA and their Non-Profit

Subcontractors
MCOFA must be deliberate and intentional in trying to reach older adults who have not
historically used their services, and specifically people of color. Part of this work is detailed
in the report by the subcommittee on Cultural Competence. In addition, MCOFA should:

- Put all MCOFA functions under one roof in an accessible location

- Create and maintain a MCOFA Facebook page
- Provide materials in multiple languages
- Streamline all application processes and offer help in completing them
- Create forum to regularly seek stakeholder input on policies/practices
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So much of MCOFA’s work is to subcontract federal and state dollars to non-profit CBOs.
Far too often, MCOFA is not advancing racial equity in the way that it contracts with these
CBOs. We have two clear recommendations to help address this:
(1) MCOFA should insist that all CBOs it contracts with has a diversity, equity, and inclusion
policy in place for both staff, executive leadership, and its board, as well as whether they
comply with the proposed new contract requirements listed below. The CBOs should report
back on this policy on an annual basis and before having any contracts renewed. Key
reporting factors should include:

- Submission of board and senior staff conflict of interest forms

- Signing of the RMAPI employer pledge; which includes paying a livable wage,
providing affordable health insurance and an employer financed retirement plan.
- Affirmation of the absence of a union avoidance program and absence of a union
avoidance consultant.

(2) To subcontract with MCOFA often requires a substantial (often 25%) match of the
program cost. MCOFA should remove this match when possible, especially to allow for
partnership with more diverse organizations that can effectively reach older adults in need.
These recommendations are specifically relevant for MCOFA, but they are applicable for all
public contracting with CBOs. The RASE Commission should use all opportunities to
leverage public contracts to improve tangible Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals at all
CBOs in the region.

Additional Recommendations

Much of the work done by this subcommittee overlaps with other work being done by RASE
work groups. We remain concerned that some issues seem general but actually require a
specific focus on older adults. We believe that LCOAI will help create a forum for this focus,
but we want to highlight a few issues that deserve specific attention:
- Healthcare – A task force on healthcare for older adults could work on increasing
participation in the EPIC prescription program and other ways to reduce the cost of
prescription drugs, increasing participation in Medicare Part B, improving the
quality of care in skilled nursing facilities, addressing health care worker shortages,
and more.
- Digital Divide – Addressing this issue for older adults must include trainings,
collaboration with businesses, and mentorship opportunities
- Poverty - the disproportionately high rates of poverty among older Black Americans
and other adults of color, and their greater need for services, is primarily caused by
a lifetime of higher instances of occupational discrimination, underemployment,
and lower rates of
intergenerational wealth, due in part to redlining and discrimination. There are no
quick fixes for the massive income and wealth disparities in our society that are
engineered into the fabric of structural racism and the exploitation of labor. The only
way to reduce these inequities in the next generation is to correct the current
compensation structure of the workforce, while noting that many older adults are
currently working in low wage jobs at well beyond “normal” retirement age. Nothing
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short of “making work pay” will solve the moral injustice of increasing poverty and
disparities in the older adult population of Monroe County, a condition largely
attributable to declining wages and benefits. Therefore, both county and city
governments should join and lead in all efforts to bring every job in Monroe County
to a level of self-sufficient wages, comprehensive medical benefits, and retirement
savings paid by the employer. One such effort is RMAPI’s employer pledge. Others
include the “Fight for $15” and the drive for a voluntary living wage paid by all
employers.
- Lessons from COVID: As of November, 2020, African Americans and Latinx
residents of Monroe County have died at over twice the rate of whites from COVID-
19. Their rates of hospitalization have been even higher. A huge portion of COVID-
19 deaths has occurred among the elderly, especially those residing in local nursing
homes. By some estimates, that number has reached 50%. Although the issue of
racial disparity in COVID-19 death rates includes many factors (poverty, underlying
conditions, health status, housing, types of jobs), there also appears to be a higher
proportion of African Americans who reside in more poorly rated nursing homes
than whites, a probable contributing factor to this inequity. Monroe County must
launch a full and independent investigation into the response and preparedness of
local nursing homes to the pandemic. It should result in several action items to
improve care in nursing homes, and also in a comprehensive preparedness plan for
the possibility of future pandemics, with a priority for those most at risk: older
adults, people of color, and the poor.

There are, of course, many additional issues and policies that we would have addressed with
more time, and we will leave them in the “parking lot” below.

Key Issue #4
Cultural Competence
The Child Welfare League of America (2002) defines cultural competence as:

“the ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to

people of all cultures, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faiths or
religions in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals,
families, tribes, and communities, and protects the dignity of each.”
http://www.ocwtp.net/PDFs/Assmt%20VI%20Culturally%20Responsive%20Services.pdf

Other definitions include:

Cultural competence is the knowledge and understanding of the diverse and complex
needs of people from various cultural groups. Cultural competency is a continuum of
practice that involves acknowledging cultural differences, identify gaps in treatment, and
then tailoring your behavior and the services you provide to meet the needs of all groups by
hearing from the groups and involving them in changes and decision-making.
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Cultural humility challenges us to learn from those we work with and serve, reserve
judgement, and actively bridge cultural divides.

Cultural responsiveness is when services are framed by understanding of culture,

cultural competency, and cultural humility creating a cultural responsive foundation for
families and communities to be engaged and supported utilizing the strengths of their
diversity and cultural dynamics. Culturally responsive programs and services evolve
appropriately to engage families and communities in the design, delivery, and evaluation
of effective and appropriate services. Think of cultural responsiveness as a tool to ensure
the inclusion of various points of views and experiences. It often requires that those in a
position of power take stock of their role in society and the advantages that may come with
it and encourages the learning and understanding of other groups to foster respect, trust,
and inclusion of that understanding in every step of decision-making.
https://cceh.org/cultural-competency/

Cultural competence in human and social services is a core component to addressing racial
inequity. To be successful, cultural competence must be embraced at all levels, from front-
line staff to County and City leaders to legislators. Below are the recommendations put forth
by the Cultural Competence subcommittee of the Human and Social Services working
group of the RASE Commission.

Many of these recommendations were adapted from the San Bernardino County
Department of Behavioral Health’s Office of Cultural Competence and Ethnic Services
“Cultural Competency Plan Update” from December 2019.
https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Cultural-Competency-Plan-Update-
2020.pdf

RECOMMENDATIONS

I. Develop a County and a City Cultural Competence Plan with Designated

Budget Resources

A. Develop a Cultural Competence Plan that:

1. Includes policies, procedures, and practices that institutionalize the
recognition, value, and inclusion of racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic
diversity within all County and City systems through training, education,
monitoring, and evaluation
a. Develop mechanisms to measure and monitor the effect of identified
strategies, objectives, actions, and timelines on reducing or
eliminating disparities. Begin by identifying target populations and
establishing a baseline
b. Use available data to determine what steps should be taken vis-à-vis
clients, services, workforce, etc. and determine what other data
points should be used that are not currently utilized or available
 161

c. Develop racial equity audits with recommendations for mitigating

and eliminating racial disparities, to be conducted across all
departments
d. Develop client satisfaction surveys to assess cultural competence
e. Create a Code of Ethics
2. Incorporates robust community outreach, engagement, and involvement
efforts with identified racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic communities
a. Provide responsive services that accommodate clients’ cultural and
linguistic preferences through culture-specific programs and/or
referral to community-based, culturally appropriate providers
3. Solicits input to County and City planning processes and services by racially,
ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse clients, family members,
advisory committees, local boards and commissions, and community
organizations

B. Designate Budget Resources

1. Funding allocations should include, but not be limited to:
a. Developing policies, procedures, and practices that reduce racial,
ethnic, cultural, and linguistic disparities
b. Training and education
c. Monitoring and evaluation
d. Outreach to racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic target populations
e. Interpreter and translation services
f. If applicable, financial incentives for culturally and linguistically
competent providers
2. Set parameters around program cuts and program development when the
resulting impact would disparately impact communities/people of color

II. Ensure the Success of Cultural Competence Efforts through Staffing and
Contractor Supports

A. Recruit and hire or designate Cultural Competence Officers and Cultural

Competence Managers at the County and City
1. Recruit and hire or designate Cultural Competence Officers (CCO) to
facilitate the development of plans that embed the tenets of cultural
competence throughout County and City systems and to oversee the work of
Cultural Competence Managers
2. Recruit and hire or designate Cultural Competence Managers within each
department at the County and City to coordinate cultural competence plans
B. Recruit, hire, and retain a workforce made up of culturally and linguistically
competent staff representative of the client population
C. Require all staff to receive annual cultural competence training and tie this to
position credentialing requirements. Topics should include, but not be limited to:
 162

1. Cultural Formulation
2. Multicultural Knowledge
3. Cultural Awareness
4. Cultural Sensitivity
5. Social/Cultural Diversity
D. Embed cultural competence into all staff trainings
E. Develop evaluation methods to follow up and ensure that staff are utilizing the skills
learned
F. Develop mechanisms to measure staff satisfaction with the County and City’s ability
to value cultural diversity in the workforce and in delivery of culturally and
linguistically competent services
G. Develop processes for staff grievances and/or complaints with regard to cultural
competence in County and City departments
H. Evaluate contractors’ ability to provide culturally competent services when selecting
contract providers
1. Contractors performing the work should be directly tied to the community
2. Articulate any cultural and language competence conditions in contracts with
providers
3. Support contractors to meet these standards

III. Create a Cultural Competence Advisory Committee

A. Create a Cultural Competence Advisory Committee (CCAC) made up of:

1. Clients and family members
2. County and City management level and line staff
3. Community-based providers, faith-based organizations/individuals, and
other interested parties who advocate for the development, implementation,
and evaluation of high-quality, culturally competent services capable of
meeting the diverse needs of all cultural groups in Monroe County
B. The CCAC and its subcommittees should be community-led and chaired by members
of the community
C. The CCAC should interact closely with and advise the CCO on pertinent information
and research data regarding the special needs of the target populations in the
community. Likewise, information should flow from the CCO to the CCAC and the
diverse communities the membership represents. The philosophy of the CCAC
should include the belief that persons of all cultural backgrounds have the right to
receive quality services regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
socio-economic status, disability, religion, age, or nationality.

The objectives of the CCAC include:

• Promoting equal access to services
• Promoting equitable distribution of services utilizing multi-lingual, multi-
cultural staff
 163

• Supporting community inclusion and input

• Advancing cultural competency through participation in joint efforts to
improve the policies and effectiveness of services for all cultural groups
• Promoting research on promising practices with culturally diverse
communities
• Working toward cultural attunement and cultural competency as defined as
“a set of congruent practices, skills, attitudes, policies, and structures which
come together in a system, agency, or among professionals to work effectively
with diverse populations” (Cross et. al, 1989, cited in DMH Information
Notice 03-04).

Additional Considerations
Explore deep-rooted policies within the County as well as influence over civil service.
• Where do decision-makers have the ability to make change?
• Where are the decisions bound by civil service requirements?

Cultural Competency Resources

1. Community Toolbox
a. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/enhancing-cultural-competence
2. NYS Agency Cultural Competence Plan Format
a. https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/cultural_competence/guidance/agency_plan.
html
3. GARE Resource Guides on Racial Equity
a. https://www.racialequityalliance.org/tools-resources/

Parking Lot
The Older Adults subcommittee believes that the LCOAI will take up many of the following
initiatives, and advocates for the County and City to support them:

- Advocating for more support at federal and state levels.

- Monroe County Adult Protective Services.
- Establishing an office of Elder Advocate.
- Creating grandparent and caregiver support groups.
- Establishing a volunteer “buddy” system to look in on seniors living alone without
family support.
- Improving quality and increasing throughput of Meals on Wheels
 164

Job Creation
Introduction
Good jobs that pay living wages are at the heart of every thriving community. Cultivating
these in whatever ways it can is a critical mission for local government, but just producing
well-paying jobs is not sufficient in itself. Good societies and healthy communities must
work to ensure that opportunities for employment are readily available and equitably
distributed to all who seek them, and that everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or
background, has the chance to find meaningful and livable work.

The City of Rochester and Monroe County face problems that are echoed throughout our
region and country: a history of racism and discrimination has concentrated poverty among
people of color, while simultaneously excluding them from career pathways and job
opportunities that privileged white residents have long been able access. This not only
impacts day-to-day survival, but has robbed communities of color of the chance to
accumulate the kind of intergenerational wealth that has so aided white families’ pursuit of
the American Dream.

Undoing the legacy of racism and creating a community that truly centers equity and
inclusion is an enormous undertaking, one that will not be quickly or easily accomplished.
The RASE Commission is certainly not the first group to join in this mission. However, like
any daunting challenge, it must be faced one step at a time, with a commitment to the best
actions we, as a community, can take right now.

The RASE Job Creation working group surveyed the jobs landscape in Monroe County and
the City of Rochester to determine what actions, accomplished through the coordination of
local governments, could be most effective at this moment in reducing employment barriers
and disparities and fostering equity.

Statistics
The Job Creation working group reviewed statistics from the Census Bureau and U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop a picture of job creation and employment trends and
disparities in Monroe County and the City of Rochester.

Overall Unemployment
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unusual situation in regard to employment, and
no one is sure how long this will last. As of October 2020, Rochester’s unemployment rate
was 6.4%, the same as Syracuse and 0.5% less than Buffalo, 148 and two percentage points

148
https://www.bls.gov/charts/metro-area-employment-and-unemployment/metro-area-
unemployment-rates-map.htm
 165

below the state’s November rate of 8.4%. 149 However, with COVID-19 infections spiking in
the region in November and December, and accompanying closures, this rate is subject to
rapid change. Only time will tell where the employment level will stabilize, post-pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, overall employment in Monroe County and Rochester was going
relatively well, with Monroe County unemployment rates in 2019 at 4.2%, down from 8%
in 2012 and only a bit above the state average of 4.0%. Rochester’s rate was 5.9%, down
from 11% in 2012.

Unemployment by Race/Ethnicity
However, when examined by race and ethnicity, disparities are clear. During the 2014-18
period in Monroe County, while only 4.1% of Asians and 4.4% of whites were unemployed,
11% of Latinos and 14.1% of Blacks were unemployed. For the 2014-18 period in the City of
Rochester, while 6.7% 150 of Asians and 7% of whites were unemployed, 15.7% of Latinos
and 17.5% of Blacks were unemployed.

Job Creation Performance

Total jobs in Monroe County increased by 4% from 2001 to 2018, much lower than the
increases of 22% for New York and 21% for the United States. The county experienced the
most job gains in Educational Services (55%) and Financial Activities (37%). Over the same
period, Manufacturing and Information jobs in the county both fell, by 48% and 43%,
respectively. 151
Resources Consulted
To better understand the intersection of poverty and barriers to equitable employment, the
Job Creation committee reviewed a variety of reports and data sources, and invited leaders
of organizations with key impacts on employability to join working group sessions to
answer questions.
Research reports
Research reports consulted by the working group include the Rochester Area Community
Foundation’s 2020 Hard Facts Update 152, the City of Rochester, RMAPI and Strong
Medical’s 2018 Employment of People with Disabilities report 153, RMAPI and the City of
Rochester’s Wage Disparities in Monroe County by Race and Gender report 154, and CGR’s
Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce-sponsored 2020 Scan of Workforce
Development Efforts, Greater Rochester Region. 155

149
https://www.bls.gov/charts/state-employment-and-unemployment/state-unemployment-rates-
map.htm
150
Because of the proportionately smaller number of Asian residents in the City of Rochester, the
unemployment number has a standard error of 35%-50% of the estimate and should be considered
unreliable.
151
Statistics in the preceding two paragraphs from www.actrochester.org.
152
https://www.racf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/HardFactsUpdate2020.pdf
153
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=21474839457
154
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=21474842193
155
https://reports.cgr.org/details/1913
 166

Key interviews
The working group invited leaders of several organizations to share information relevant to
job creation and employment in the region. These included:

∞ Director of Monroe County’s Department of Planning & Economic Development, Ana J.

Liss, who oversees the MCIDC & COMIDA economic development agencies and Monroe
County’s workforce development, informed the working group about the past and
current initiatives related to employment that the County is and has been working on.
∞ Town of Penfield Human Resource Director, Tracey Easterly, who informed the working
group on issues of hiring and civil service process from an HR perspective, including
what opportunities there are across the community for Civil Service Jobs and what
limitations and barriers exist from the Town perspective.
∞ Regional Director of Greyston Center for Open Hiring, Mubarak Bashir (formerly of the
Urban League of Rochester), who informed the working group about the benefits of the
Open Hiring Model. 156
∞ Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority CEO, Bill Carpenter, who informed the
working group on the current Regional Transit System (RTS) re-imagining plan and the
effects this will have on the community.

Community Engagement
Community Survey
A 25-question survey of the employment experiences of community members was created
by the working group. The survey was made available in both electronic and paper format
and advertised and distributed through a number of routes, including being advertised via
social media and by business associations in the City of Rochester, including the Greater
Rochester Chamber of Commerce, As well, the survey was made available through Catholic
Family Services, RCSD’s Office of Adult & Career Education Services (OACES), and
libraries across the county. Surveys were also distributed at the RTS Transit Center in
downtown Rochester (60 St. Paul Street).

Results
The community survey garnered 178 responses, with more than 50% of respondents
identifying as people of color. Some key results of the survey pertaining to African
Americans:
∞ 30% of African Americans who completed the survey stated they lost a job because of
issues with transportation or child care.

156
https://www.greyston.org/about-the-greyston-center-for-open-hiring
 167

∞ 40% of African Americans who completed the survey stated they lost a job because of a
lack of skills.
∞ 71% of African Americans who completed the survey stated they experienced
discrimination in the work place. 23 % stated they experienced Gender discrimination
and 35% experienced age discrimination.
∞ 63% of African Americans who completed the survey stated that race was a barrier to
getting a job. 52% of all minorities who completed the survey stated race was a barrier
to getting a job.
∞ 52% of those who completed a survey made less than $43,000 a year.
∞ When asked what the survey participants would like to see in a job in relation to
diversity, 21% stated Equity or Equality, while 32% stated they would like to see more
minority representation in employees, middle management and leadership.
∞ African Americans responded to the survey question “Did you lose a job opportunity
because of any of the following” with the following reasons:
∞ Criminal History – 29%
∞ Transportation – 26%
∞ Education level – 19%
∞ Lack of Skill Training – 14.5%
∞ Child care – 10%
∞ Failed a drug test – 8%
∞ Race or Age – 3.2%

Human Resources Survey

The working group has also designed a 14-question survey for Human Resource directors
or hiring staff at local businesses. Data from this survey is still being collected and will be
given to the RASE Commission upon completion.

Prioritization of Issues
After initial consultation, the working group developed subgroups to look at job creation
through four different lenses: Civil Service, Private/Public Partnership, Minority- and
Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), and Workforce Development. Each
subgroup met independently to understand its subject area and bring issues and ideas back
for consideration and discussion by the whole group, from examining barriers and laws or
practices that are in place which impact job creation, to simply focusing on obtaining
employment for communities of color.

As a result of several rounds of research and discussion, four priority areas were identified:

∞ Improving access to Civil Service jobs;

∞ Supporting and promoting MWBEs;
 168

∞ Increasing Job Accessibility by reducing rules and regulations and barriers to

employment;
∞ Improving Job Equity in areas like wages and promotion opportunities.

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1: Equitable Access to Civil Service Jobs
Civil service is a system that has been in place for decades. It was originally intended to
prevent patronage and create a fair playing field for obtaining jobs. After decades of
manipulation of the system, in addition to an antiquated process, it has proven to be flawed
and no longer accomplishing its intent. It has not resulted in a fair process for people of
color to obtain a job.

The focus of the Job Creation working group is securing good jobs for our more
marginalized communities. Civil service jobs are some of the most sought-after jobs,
complete with good wages and attractive benefits, such as government pensions.
Revamping the civil service system can provide an opportunity for real equity in a major
sector of jobs throughout the city, county and state.

Note that the Job Creation working group is collaborating with the Policing working group
on civil service reforms as they pertain to recruitment of law enforcement jobs.

We are looking to change the current state of several laws, regulations, and practices that
we believe contribute to current inequities. Areas to scrutinize for change include:

∞ The marketing of civil service competitive examinations;

∞ The application process;
∞ Minimum qualifications;
∞ Overhauling state civil service laws.

Marketing of Exams
The working group considered how to get knowledge of Civil Service opportunities deeper
into the community and make the exam process more user-friendly.
Current state:
∞ Exams are announced 2 months prior to the test. Job Alerts is an automatic computer
system from Monroe County HR that allows interested individuals to have automatic
notifications sent to them about opportunities for new tests.
∞ Monroe County sweep computer program pushes announcements to Rochester Works,
Indeed, NYSDOL, school libraries.
∞ The County has study guides listed, but many applicants do not know where to go to
access them.
 169

∞ Application fees are between $15-$25; the fee can be waived for certain reasons

Recommendations:
∞ Simplify and streamline job classifications and applications.
∞ Make the Civil Service test free for all.
∞ Rebrand Civil Service by making it more enticing to the public:
∞ Human Resources departments in the county and city need to hire a marketing firm
to identify gaps in public awareness of civil service jobs and exam opportunities.
∞ Human Resources departments in the county and city should hire and train
recruiters who target underrepresented populations for recruitment to civil service
positions.
∞ Improve the publicizing and marketing of the exam to targeted audiences
including the Rochester City School District, shelters with Case Managers, and
on Social Media.

∞ Expand Civil Service-related Explorer programs in high schools. These have been shown
to boost applicants by modeling a career pathway.
∞ The Fire Department’s Explorer program is an example that has been successful in
increasing the percentage of people of color in Fire Department positions.

Application Process
The working group considered how to expedite the testing process to reduce the time-frame
from application to possible hire, including by eliminating redundancies related to test
scoring.
Current state:
∞ All tests are sent to Albany for processing, including auditing purposes, data analysis,
and a bell curve that is decided upon based on this analysis.

Recommendations:
∞ As a pilot test, New York State should authorize the local Civil Service Commission to
proctor, score exams and validate credits, and establish a list of qualified candidates.

Minimum Qualifications
The working group examined what minimum qualifications may no longer be relevant and
how these could be changed.
Current state:
∞ An exam gives a baseline of intelligence, but it does not show character, service attitude
or other characteristics that make a good worker and loyal employee.
 170

Recommendations:
∞ Expand credit given for a degree, work experience, volunteer work, minority status,
bilingual ability, etc.
∞ This would require changes at the state level.

Overhauling New York State Civil Service Law

The working group examined how current law restricts the ability of agencies to get
minority candidates into Civil Service positions.
Current state:
∞ Under the current system, departments are required to work within the rule of three 157,
within a banded scoring system. There is little flexibility to build teams.

Recommendations:
∞ Advocate for a change in state law:
∞ State Assemblymember Harry Bronson has a starting plan for legislation.
∞ New York State Senator Gallivan will assist with contact with other State Senators.
∞ Introduce the concept to newly elected representatives.
∞ The New York State Association of Police Chiefs (NYSACOP) and the New York State
Sheriff’s Association (NYSSA) have endorsed the need for change.
∞ Pastor groups are supportive of change.
∞ Develop a plan of action and walk it through the Legislature and lobby the governor’s
office

Key Issue #2: Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises

(MWBEs)
Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises are important to job creation for
communities of color. Our community is lacking in minority- and women-owned
businesses. We believe there are several contributing factors. Our working group plans to
collaborate with the Business Development working group to examine structural and
systemic flaws in the MWBE certification and education processes.

Our community lacks the resources and awareness to get certified and the process, at times,
can be cumbersome and time-consuming without the right guidance. We believe Monroe
County and the City of Rochester can work together to examine better ways to help MWBEs
get a fair chance at some of the important contracts and work that is available in our
community. This partnership can lead to the expansion of minority or women-owned jobs
and businesses.

157
The “rule of three” means that only the top three scoring candidates may be eligible for a position.
 171

Local MWBE Certification

One key recommendation is for a local MWBE certification program, similar to those Erie
County, Syracuse and Albany have in place. Please see Appendix for information and
comparisons of local MWBE certification programs that could serve as a model for a
Monroe County certification program.
Current state:
∞ Rochester is one of the few major cities in New York State without a local MWBE
certification program.

Recommendations:
∞ Create a local MWBE certification program that supports businesses both before and
after the certification process.
∞ This working group endorses the recommendations made by the Business Development
working group (under “Key Issue #3” of their section) related to MWBE certification
and contracting.

MWBE Contracting Requirements

Current state:
∞ Both Monroe County and the City of Rochester have some MWBE requirements in
place, primarily for construction work. The City has requirements for general goods and
services contracts, but it is not readily apparent that the County requirements cover
these.
∞ While the City’s current goals are 30% MWBE total, with 15% MBE and 15% WBE,
the County’s goals are 12% MBE and 3% WBE.

Recommendations:
∞ Monroe County should develop clear MWBE purchasing requirements that cover
county-purchased goods and services beyond the construction domain.
∞ Monroe County should consider increasing the MWBE percentage goals for all
contract types.

Key Issue #3: Job Accessibility

Some of the biggest problems and barriers that people face when looking for jobs involve
having the “means/requirements” to find employment and access jobs. When our subgroup
got together, we discussed several barriers related to job accessibility. We came up with
several that overlap between all jobs, public or private, relating to workforce development.
These barriers include, but are not limited to, transportation, child care, education,
minimum requirements, etc. The system in place does not provide an environment that is
truly accessible to marginalized members of our community.
 172

With regard to Civil Service, many potential applicants are deterred from taking exams by
their criminal history or drug history. The survey showed this as a very common issue with
obtaining civil service employment. Many people feel that they are automatically excluded
from even taking an exam if they have this history, and these rules are not typically clear.
The Working Group believes that substance use in the past should not prevent a person
from applying and working in a civil service job. We should examine how much time has
lapsed and not make these issues lifetime obstacles to the betterment of an individual.

Laws, regulations, and practices that exist, which currently impact job accessibility,
include:

∞ Criminal background checks;

∞ Drug testing;
∞ Minimum requirements for jobs;

Criminal Background Checks

Having stable employment is essential to reintegrating those who have been involved with
the justice system back into society. However, these individuals often report believing that
they are automatically excluded from most jobs (including Civil Service), or that employers
will not even consider them, based on a past criminal record. While this is often untrue,
requirements and rules are typically vague around issues like a criminal record. Enacting a
county-wide standard would encourage those with criminal records that they will receive a
fair shot at available employment opportunities.
Current State:
∞ The City of Rochester has passed a Ban the Box ordinance 158 to prohibit employers from
asking about criminal convictions during an initial job application or prior to the end of
the first interview (although they may ask later). Monroe County does not have an
equivalent rule.

Recommendations:
∞ Monroe County should enact a Ban the Box policy equivalent to the City of Rochester’s
policy.

Drug Testing
There are legitimate reasons to screen for use of illegal drugs, especially depending on the
responsibilities the work entails (such as operating machinery). However, many private
professional jobs do not require any drug screening, while government jobs with equivalent
responsibilities do.

158
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/bantheboxfaq/
 173

Contrary to the belief of some, there is no requirement in state law that individuals who
may have used drugs in the past are permanently disqualified from Civil Service eligibility.
However, there is a disparity in how this issue is treated by county government versus city
government.

Monroe County appears to have a strict policy relating to drug use and civil service:
applicants who fail a drug test for civil service eligibility, such as for marijuana use, are
permanently banned from qualifying for county jobs. 159
The City of Rochester has a less restrictive policy where all applicants are screened for
cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), amphetamines, and opiates, but not for other substances.
Applicants for police and fire positions and positions requiring commercial driver’s licenses
(CDLs) are additionally screened for marijuana. 160
Current State:
∞ Monroe County’s rules around a positive marijuana test will permanently disqualify a
candidate from a Civil Service position. The City of Rochester only screens for “hard
drugs” for most positions, excepting police, fire, and those who operate machinery.

Recommendations:
∞ Monroe County should adopt a drug testing policy congruent with the City’s current
policy.

Minimum Requirements for Jobs

Job postings often require a level of experience which is unnecessary to do the job itself,
such as preferring degrees and credentials not directly related to the work performed.
Employers often post profiles seeking their ideal applicant and may not be willing to
consider qualified applicants who lack formal credentials.
The Open Hiring model
The opposite of this is an Open Hiring 161 model, which sets no requirements for entry-level
positions other than the willingness to work. The money and time that is saved by
eliminating recruitment, application and screening costs can be redirected to training and
boosting the bottom line. Time to hire can be reduced from an average of six weeks to one
week, benefitting both the hiring company and the employee.
Current State:
∞ Entry-level and higher jobs often ask for experience and credentials which are not
necessary for the work being performed.

159
https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/hr/Pre employment documents/Drug Pamphlet 1-16.pdf
160
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589935825
161
https://www.greyston.org/about-the-greyston-center-for-open-hiring
 174

Recommendations:
∞ Review local government job postings. Remove any requirements for experience and
skills beyond the minimum necessary to directly perform the job, in order to make these
jobs accessible to individuals from a wider range of backgrounds.
∞ Encourage private employers to likewise review their hiring practices with the goal of
making them accessible to the widest possible pool of applicants.
∞ RMAPI’s Employer Pledge 162 provides a good model for this effort.

∞ Both private and government employers should consider the benefits of an “Open
Hiring” model and utilize it where appropriate.

Key Issue #4: Job Equity

Study after study has shown that Monroe County is one of the worst places to live as an
African-American in the entire country. This relates to racial wage disparities and
unfair/unequal opportunities that have been in place for centuries, and continue to plague
communities of color.

Discriminatory actions of our past have left black and brown people behind and catching
up seems nowhere in sight. Studies the working group reviewed established that people of
color make up a small percentage of those who are employed, and of those employed, a high
percentage of employees in the lowest paying jobs.

Job equity is important for giving people a fair chance to have good jobs with rewarding
benefits, and making sure that people of color are being paid what they deserve for doing
the same work as their counterparts who may not be of color.
Laws, regulations, and practices that exist currently which impact equity include:

∞ Wage policy, including:

∞ Lack of pay transparency;
∞ Lack of pay equity and enforcement;
∞ Lack of living wages.

∞ Inequitable promotion and advancement structures, including:

∞ Patronage practices, etc.

Living Wages
The City of Rochester has a living wage ordinance 163, adopted in 2001. This sets minimum
wage rates for employees of companies entering into contracts worth $50,000 or more for

162
http://endingpovertynow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RMAPI-Employer-Best-Practices-Pledge-
1.pdf
163
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589937003
 175

services with the City of Rochester, though certain contracts and types of employees are
exempt.
The wage is set so that a full-time employee with a family of four will not earn below the
poverty level. The current rate is $12.58 for employees offered health insurance benefits
and $14.06 for those not offered these benefits.
Current State:
∞ The City of Rochester has a living wage ordinance and Monroe County does not.

Recommendations:
∞ Monroe County should consider a living wage policy equivalent to the City’s.

Pay Transparency, Equity and Enforcement

New York State law currently forbids discrimination in pay rates for protected classes
(covering race, ethnic and gender pay discrimination), but the fact that salary information
is often closely guarded means that individuals may not be aware if they are being paid less
than colleagues for equal work.
One proposed solution to this is pay transparency: policies that require employers to
disclose salary ranges for positions, so that applicants may understand how their
wages/salaries compare to others currently in the position. With pay transparency, pay
inequities should become easier to identify and enforce.
Current State:
∞ There are no state or local pay transparency laws or requirements.

Recommendations:
∞ Advocate for passage of a state-level pay transparency law.
∞ Examine what ordinances, regulations or policies supporting pay transparency can be
enacted by local government.

Promotion and Advancement

Identifying and remedying inequities in promotion and advancement is more challenging
as promotion decisions are complex and there is not a standard metric equivalent to wages
to measure for fairness.

Regulated and unionized systems for promotion and advancement, such as Civil Service,
should have clear rules about the criteria for advancement, seniority and pay increases. In
private sector organizations, policies around promotion and advancement are often
substantially less transparent, which can breed mistrust and impressions that favoritism,
patronage or internal politics, rather than strict merit, determine who is advanced.

This working group has not yet identified policy solutions for local government to enact in
regard to advancement in private sector organizations. However, it encourages private
 176

organizations to consider their degree of transparency in promotion and advancement

decisions, along with the extent to which people of color and other minorities are
represented in top positions in the organization, and whether this is signaling an
environment of equity and inclusion to people of color in the organization, or non-
transparent promotion and advancement decisions are creating a culture of inequity,
distrust and exclusion.

From viewing the data and survey results, a lot of the respondents from the African
American community responded to have felt discrimination in the workplace before. They
also stated that having a more diverse leadership team within organization gives more hope
for advancement themselves.

One of the most important things to consider is accountability within structures that
perpetuate inequity and the steps to creating transparency, which can lead us to how to
determine accountability. These are barriers that were recognized between both our
Private/Public Partnership and Workforce Development subgroups.
Current state:
∞ Criteria for promotion and advancement are not always clear, building mistrust when
people of color are passed over for key positions.

Recommendations:
∞ Both public and private organizations should review their promotion and advancement
policies to insure they contribute to equity within the organization and are building a
sense of trust and inclusion in employees of color.

Parking Lot
Transportation Issues
The survey provided data to support the belief of committee members that transportation
and child care are issues that prevent people of color from maintaining active employment.
The committee examined public transportation, consulting with the head of RTS, Bill
Carpenter, on this issue.

∞ It was noted by Bill Carpenter that if we are going to put jobs where land is cheap (i.e.,
in outlying areas) we are going to have problems busing people there. Incentives for
businesses should be created to build where bus routes provide the most access to
potential employees.
∞ Monroe County needs to explore adding new bus routes to areas where businesses are
building.
∞ In other municipalities, funding comes from property tax so if they wanted a new
bus route their property taxes would increase. In Monroe County, public transit
 177

relies on federal money, state money and mortgage tax money. The $1 fare is the
lowest in the country and that is based on the poverty level in our community. We
need a subsidy to start a new route or take the service away from another area. Local
public transit is woefully underfunded and this should be reviewed from the
prospective of building employment and assisting our citizens with being gainfully
employed.

Survey Analysis
The Committee recommends that CGR break down the data from the Community Survey
as well as from the HR survey to gain a better understanding of the barriers in place that
prevent our citizens from gaining employment.

Workforce Development
Understand costs of training vs. costs of unemployment
We need to study the cost associated with training to employment and compare the
difference to the cost of unemployment and all the factors associated with that, including
disability benefits, welfare benefits, health care costs-(Medicare) on the community. We
must compare the cost of training and assistance needed to create a self-sustaining
employed citizen who increases the tax base in the community, to the cost of unemployment
on the taxpayer. This may provide the data needed to move this forward in the political and
business community.

Support high-paying jobs

The County should look to see if we can expand the MPOWER program to add financial
jobs or other jobs that would provide more than a decent wage to the citizens of our county.

Examine expanding apprenticeships

We need to look at apprenticeships for students in schools, assessing what skills are
required and how we can obtain these and then train to what is needed.

Support employment of the homeless

Many job applications require applicants to list a home address. This is problematic for
homeless individuals and it should be reviewed to see if homeless shelters could be allowed
to be used as an address.

Small Business Support

It was suggested that we need to start training small business people to get bonded. In order
to bid on a job in the County, you are required to be bonded. This may improve MWBEs’
chances of securing county contracts, which are paid at prevailing wage plus, as well as
 178

allowing MWBEs to bid for bigger jobs and hire more people. The need to assist small
businesses with this should be reviewed by the County.

Reorienting to Inclusive Attitudes

From the County Executive to the Legislature, people need to stop coming into the
community and asking: What is wrong with those people? Instead, we need to ask: What
are the systems in place that caused this issue for you? We need to ask the people in the
community how to best meet their needs. We need to build trust in the community by
working side-by-side to help them.
 179

Mental Health and Addiction Services

Facilitators:

Dr. Eric Caine

Richard Tantalo
Aaron Anandarajah

The RASE Mental Health/Addiction Service Working Group is one of several concurrent
efforts in Rochester and Monroe County to improve the accessibility and quality of local
mental health and substance use services, and to address long-standing structural barriers
and inequities in the availability and provision of these services. For too long, these
inequities have adversely affected the lives of Black, Brown, and other under-represented
individuals, families, and communities.

In response, the County and City have launched urgent initiatives to deploy new mental
health emergency response services. Immediate, integrated changes in the delivery of these
services are critically important; however, mindful that others are attending to these needs
and seeking to work in a coordinated manner, this Working Group focused on identifying
systemic changes, some of which can be instituted in the near-term and others requiring
more considered policy review and design. We also have sought to set into motion
programmatic changes that foster the development of a true system of care that
delivers comprehensive, integrated, accessible mental health and substance treatment
services for all who need such care.

Working with RASE Co-Chair Dr. Muhammed Shafiq, Commissioners Eric Caine, M.D.,
Richard Tantalo, and Aaron Anandarajah served as co-Facilitators for the Working Group.
Interns Rameen Copeland and Ashley Wimble supported the group. Members generally
met at least twice per week from September through December – and more often in
subgroups – to identify key issues confronting mental health and substance use service
recipients and providers in Monroe County and Rochester; review data and research; reach
out and speak with community members, leaders and members of community
organizations, and local content experts; and develop recommendations.

Working Group members were:

April Aycock Jennifer Cercone Miller

Michael Boucher Kit Miller
Tonia Canty-McKinney James Patterson
Diane DeRuyter Gerianne Puskas
Tanya Ferguson Brittany Raczkiewicz
Renee Gelsomino Carlos Santana
 180

Dina Johnson Michael Scharf

Lawana Jones Zena Shuber
Julio Jordan Mandy Teeter
Don Kamin Jason Teller
Noah Kosloske Jerry Thompson
Kenya Malcolm John Walker
Rebecca Maynard Kelly Wilmot

Community Engagement
Our “Community Voices” subgroup organized and led two community engagement
meetings, and designed, deployed, and analyzed a community survey, which yielded a
convenience sample of 102 respondents. The survey is summarized in the Appendix to this
report.

Key Issues & Recommendations

A guiding principle behind all the recommendations below is the emphatic need to stride
toward an integrated and accessible system that includes culturally attuned mental
health promotion and substance use prevention programs, as well as comprehensive
treatment and rehabilitation services involving areas that overlap with other RASE
Working Groups (e.g., housing and job training). All County and City efforts should work
toward this goal and avoid creating new silos. Further, local agencies must strive to use
whatever authority they have to coordinate and oversee care delivered by the health
systems and the many local care organizations.

It is important, however, to note that most mental health and addiction care is delivered by
the region’s large private health systems and nonprofit agencies, not by the City of
Rochester or by Monroe County. The roles of the County Office of Mental Health and the
County’s new Addiction Services in coordinating or overseeing care are limited, and the fee-
for-service model for delivering health care provides few incentives in the areas of mental
health promotion or prevention of substance use disorders.

Fundamental change in the provision of mental health and substance treatment services
will require extensive engagement from the region’s private health systems, providers, and
insurers. The leaders of Monroe County and the City of Rochester together must urgently
and repeatedly use their leadership positions to catalyze and foster the development of a
true system of care that reduces stigma and serves Black, Brown, and under-represented
individuals, families, and communities.

Key Issue #1
 181

Availability of sufficient, high-quality mental health and addiction services is extremely

limited in trusted community settings for people of color and low-income people.

Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (now known as Common Ground Health) has
identified behavioral health as “a significant emerging issue” in this region, which has
relatively high prevalence of mental health disorders, substance abuse, self-inflicted injury
and suicide. 164 Monroe County Office of Mental Health (OMH) data show about 42,000
individuals received services through public mental health providers in the County in 2018
– an increase of 9% since 2015. 165 There also is significant need for additional mental health
clinicians in the region – particularly those serving low-income residents who rely on
Medicaid. 166

Evidence suggests these issues have a disproportionate impact on people of color. Low-
income residents generally suffer from mental health issues at higher rates than the overall
population, and in Monroe County, disproportionate shares of Black and Latino residents
live in poverty. These populations may face a disparate burden from mental illness. 167
Firsthand experiences with racism have documented, harmful effects on perceived and
experienced stress, on overall mental health, and on overall morbidity and mortality of
members of Black and Brown communities. 168 Recent local and national experiences with
COVID-19 have again highlighted the profound disparities in health that affect persons of
color.

Compounding these issues, existing mental health and addiction services are not widely
available in trusted settings that can be accessed easily by Black or Latino communities.
The Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health in the Finger Lakes noted in a 2016
report that culturally appropriate care is nearly impossible to find for people of color in our
region, and there is little established process for the coordination of care among behavioral
health providers and trusted community institutions, such as churches and schools. 169
Transportation also is a challenge.

164 Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency. “Community Health Assessment / Community Health Improvement Plan /

Community Service Plan: Analytical Review of Selected Priority Areas.”

https://media.cmsmax.com/ravk3pgz5ktlujs1r08ci/amendedchipcha20report203172016-20160321114242.pdf

165 Monroe County Office of Mental Health. “Monroe County Behavioral Health Community Database: 2019 Mental

Health Summary Report.”

166 Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency.

167U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2015-19. People Living in Poverty.
https://actrochester.com/economic-security/people-living-in-poverty-by-race-ethnicity

168 The Community Health Improvement Workgroup. “Monroe County Community Health Needs Assessment,
2019-2021.” https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/health/DataReports/Final-MC-Needs-Assessment.pdf
169 Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health in the Finger Lakes. “Crisis in Care: Gaps in Behavioral Health

Services Are Failing Our Children.” http://www.thegrhf.org/wp-content/uploads/Crisis-in-Care-Report-2016.pdf

 182

Further, there is no local workforce of diverse, trained, community-embedded health and

mental health advocates / navigators who can play a critical role in connecting people of
color and low-income people to mental health and substance use care when and where
they need it. Such workers can conduct outreach and build community relationships;
facilitate connections to mental health and addiction providers; serve as educators and help
to combat stigma against seeking treatment for mental illness or substance use disorders;
perform early identification of distressed persons in order to forestall emergency
interventions; and provide indicated, low complexity, evidence-based therapeutic
interventions (with appropriate supervision).

These overarching issues came out clearly during the Working Group’s community
engagement meetings. Like other agencies nationally, the Mental Health Association of
Rochester / Monroe County this year expressed support for a declaration that racism is a
public health crisis in our region, and called for “systemic changes to the way our
community responds to individuals experiencing mental health distress specifically and the
way we, as a community, address mental health generally.” 170
Recommendations:

∞ Practices: Develop Community Behavioral Health Advocates (CBHA), a

program employing local residents who are trained and certified to assist

170Mental Health Association of Rochester / Monroe County. “Racism is a Public Health Crisis.”
https://www.mharochester.org/mha-acknowledges-racism-as-a-public-health-crisis/
 183

people with advocacy; offer help to connect with and navigate behavioral
health services; identify distressed persons who need services before
emergencies occur; and provide low-complexity therapeutic interventions,
as appropriate. CBHA employees will serve a unique role, with responsibilities based
in social work (e.g., service navigation, assisting case managers in primary care and
mental health / addiction treatment systems) and in informal mental health response.
They will respond to 211/LIFE LINE calls, when appropriate. To best serve under-
represented communities:
∞ Employees need to be diverse (e.g. Black, Brown, proficient in Spanish and / or ASL).
They must be embedded in the communities they serve and in trusted settings such
as schools and faith organizations, and empowered to develop community
relationships.
∞ To ensure accountability, CBHA should be constituted as a separate, independent
local organization with an executive director selected by a diverse community board,
which would carefully ally with local health providers and coordinate with the
County OMH.
∞ While employees should have tight connections to health providers to facilitate rapid
access to care and effective follow-up when appropriate, they should not be paid
directly by health providers, nor provide assistance on a fee-for-service basis.
∞ Without directly operating CBHA, the City and County should provide initial
support with identifying and helping to secure start-up funding in partnership with
local foundations and health systems, and developing a strategy for ongoing public
funding.
∞ The organization must develop metrics for rigorous, impartial evaluation that
emphasizes continuous improvement and incorporates regular community
feedback.
∞ Employee compensation should reflect the importance of this role, (e.g. $42,000 to
$45,000 annually plus 30% for benefits).
∞ Practices: Redesign City and County contracts to appropriately include
peer services as described above in key work areas that will enhance the
delivery of mental health and substance treatment services.
∞ Systems: Initiate the process of shifting and embedding currently funded
mental health services into trusted community-accessible sites (e.g.,
schools, faith communities) to the fullest extent possible.

Key Issue #2
A lack of diversity and cultural competency among local, licensed mental health or
addiction providers (in both public and private systems) leads to inadequate or
inappropriate services for people of color.
 184

Cultural and linguistic competency are critical in ensuring quality of care for people of
color. 171 There is a limited number of culturally and racially diverse, licensed clinicians in
the region. As well, there is a widespread perception within the profession that clinicians
often leave public systems once they are licensed and more experienced, preferring to enter
private practice where their income potential is higher and where they have the ability to
be more selective regarding the persons they accept for treatment. This has been equally
true for clinicians of color, who shift to private practice to access better pay, and for some,
to escape institutional racism that can occur in the workplace. A lack of diversity limits
cultural competency in local health systems and services, and in turn, makes it more
difficult for residents who are Black, Brown, or from other under-represented minorities,
or whose primary language is not English, to find appropriate care.

Recommendation:

∞ Systems: Assure robust services that serve our diverse communities,

provided by competent, culturally informed, licensed providers working in
the primary languages of persons and families seeking care. This may entail
setting specific goals for diversity and / or language proficiency in contracts with public
system providers. Another longer-term step should include a sustained and high-profile
campaign involving local government leaders, health systems, insurers, nonprofit care
organizations and universities throughout the region to recruit diverse candidates to the
mental health and addiction treatment fields. At the same time, local institutions at all
levels should work to create a local educational pipeline, reflecting local government
and university/college collaborations, to train a therapeutic workforce composed of
persons of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. While the payoff will be
measured in years, the process should begin soon.

Key Issue #3
Mental health and addiction services are often unaligned and disconnected, as are City
and County initiatives on these issues. Misalignment exacerbates and prolongs racial and
ethnic inequities in access to mental health and addiction services.

Monroe County has a large number of mental health and addiction providers and services,
but limited coordination or cooperation among them. County oversight of mental health
and addiction services also have been separated into different divisions – the existing Office
of Mental Health and a new Addiction Services function. 172 This occurred even as New York

171U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health
Professionals.” https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/education/behavioral-health

172 Monroe County. “County Executive Adam Bello Announces Monroe County's First Ever Addiction Services

Director.” https://www.monroecounty.gov/news-2020-09-28-tisha-smith
 185

State now considers combining the state-level OMH and Office of Addiction Services and
Supports (OASAS), given the diverse needs of common patient populations. 173

At the same time, ongoing City and County initiatives to improve responses to mental
health crises or emergencies do not appear to be fully aligned. Services should be provided
in an integrated and accessible system that promotes mental health and substance use
prevention and treatment programming; City and County initiatives should work toward
this overarching goal.

Mental health and addiction services also are not sufficiently aligned with more
comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation services to address other needs of individuals
and families, such as housing and job training.

Recommendations:

∞ Systems: Assure that current County and City initiatives regarding mental
health emergency response services are fully integrated — i.e., one
emergency response system, not two. An uncoordinated or siloed approach to
new initiatives will only prolong the inequities that residents have rightly called on their
leaders to address.
∞ Practices: Develop, maintain, and update regularly a community-wide
inventory of mental health and substance treatment resources, with online
and tablet-based tools that can be used readily by individuals, families,
navigators, and clergy for defining needs and facilitating access to care. The
lack of reliable information on services and capacity makes it difficult to coordinate
services or to assist individuals with navigating and accessing those services. To avoid
having the inventory immediately lose value as a tool, it will be crucial to assign a
responsible party to make regular updates.

Key Issue #4
Workflow / systems to access services are not consumer-oriented or person / family-
centered, are difficult to navigate, and create barriers to accessing care. This poses a
particular barrier to low-income Black, Hispanic and Latino residents.

Recommendation:

∞ Practices: Redesign workflow in the County Department of Human

Services to make it consumer-oriented, person-/family-friendly. This effort
should be led or coordinated extensively with the ongoing Monroe County Systems

173NYS OASAS. “Office of Addiction Services and Supports and Office of Mental Health Announce Integration
Listening Sessions.”
https://oasas.ny.gov/news/nys-office-addiction-services-and-supports-and-office-mental-health-announce-
integration
 186

Integration Project housed at United Way of Greater Rochester and with any relevant
recommendations of the RASE Human Services Working Group.

Key Issue #5
County interpretation of state / federal regulations for people undergoing addiction or
mental health treatment, including but not limited to program attendance and
compliance requirements, may unnecessarily disqualify people with addiction and
mental health issues from accessing financial and social services. Informally, this practice
is known as applying “sanctions” to people who do not meet program requirements.
A 2018 report by a Nazareth College sociology professor indicated that Monroe County
applied sanctions to benefits recipients for various reasons – including, but not limited to
failure to participate in mandated substance abuse treatment programs – more often than
the other three largest urban counties in New York State. 174 The County administration at
the time disputed these findings, however. 175
Recommendation:

∞ Policy: Re-examine and modify the interpretation of DHS regulations that

affect people with mental health and substance use disorders, including
but not limited to attendance and compliance requirements, which
otherwise may disqualify them for services. This also is a major focus of the
RASE Human Services Working Group; please see that Group’s section for a more
detailed discussion of this issue.

Key Issue #6
There has been limited local government support for harm reduction programs, including
but not limited to City-based syringe exchange programs and overdose rescue
interventions. In some cases, City, County and / or law enforcement policies may interfere
with effective implementation of harm reduction efforts. Black and Hispanic residents are
among those who might benefit most from expanded harm reduction.

Harm reduction is increasingly recognized as an evidence-based approach to reducing

adverse, sometimes fatal consequences associated with drug use. New York State has
increasingly embraced this overall approach in concept; for example, in 2018, New York
expanded coverage of harm reduction services at authorized syringe exchange programs
for Medicaid members who use or have used drugs. 176

174 Murray, H. “Monroe County Public Assistance Sanctions, Application Denials, and Case Closings in the Context of

NYS OTDA Data for Four Large Urban Counties.”

http://www.saintjoeshouse.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/MCDHS-Report.pdf

175Moule, J. City Newspaper. “County’s sanction rates are questioned.”

https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/countys-sanction-rates-are-questioned/Content?oid=7949097

176 New York State Department of Health. “Medicaid Harm Reduction Services Benefit.”

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/consumers/prevention/medicaid_harm_reduction.htm
 187

Trillium Health operates the region’s sole syringe exchange program in the City of
Rochester. Litter and other associated impacts drew concerns from neighborhood
residents; in response to these concerns, Trillium has deployed resources to address the
identified problems. At the same time, information from the New York State Department
of Health (DOH) has indicated that neither City leadership nor the Rochester Police
Department (RPD) are fully supportive of syringe exchange programming, despite ample
data of its impact decreasing preventable, communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDs and
Hepatitis C, and preventing conditions such as endocarditis and sepsis.

An increase in new diagnoses of HIV and other STI infections in Monroe County in 2019-
2020 suggests a need to expand the use of harm reduction practices locally. This issue
disproportionately affects people of color. More than half of people newly diagnosed with
HIV in Monroe County this year were non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic, according to NYS
DOH. New diagnoses among persons with a history of injection drug use in particular has
been elevated in Monroe County since 2019. 177

In response to this increase, NYS DOH has encouraged health care providers to take steps
to control HIV, including expanded HIV screening and testing. Critically, DOH also urged
local organizations to expand harm reduction services, including facilitation of access to
clean syringes, rapid entry to support services for persons who inject drugs, and easy
access to buprenorphine for individuals with opioid use disorder. Such recommendations
now are being viewed as the standard of care.

Other regions of New York have embraced and expanded harm reduction in recent years.
Monroe County and the City of Rochester are out of step with comparable upstate regions
and counties. The Capital Region’s Project Safe Point offers harm reduction services in 12
counties, 178 while Erie County helps fund Evergreen Health, which offers harm reduction
services in Buffalo and Jamestown, Chautauqua County. 179

Recommendations:
∞ Policy: Accelerate approval of harm reduction programming as an
indicated intervention for DSH-approved treatment.
∞ Policy: Lead a county-wide effort to re-examine and modify any policies and
practices of all municipalities and law enforcement agencies that interfere
with effective implementation of syringe exchange programs or overdose
rescue interventions.

177
New York State Department of Health. “Health Advisory: Increased Number of HIV Diagnoses In Monroe
County.” https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/providers/health_advisories/docs/health_advisory_monroe.pdf

178 Project Safe Point. https://www.projectsafepointcc.org/

179 National Association of Counties. “Erie County, NY: Rapid Access to Treatment.”

https://www.naco.org/sites/default/files/documents/ErieCounty_Rapid%20Access_8.25_LL3.pdf
 188

Key Issue #7
Follow-up or care is limited for people who require emergency treatment for acute
addiction problems and / or mental health transports. Monroe County OMH data show
that one service for individuals experiencing a psychiatric emergency – the Monroe
Mobile Crisis Team – serves a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic
individuals, who may particularly benefit from rapid access to care. 180

Individuals with acute addiction problems or mental health crises who are discharged from
emergency rooms without timely access to appropriate care may suffer adverse
consequences. An individual suffering from acute withdrawal, for example, is likely to use
drugs again in the absence of rapid access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) and
other care.

The New York Medication Assisted Treatment and Emergency Referrals (MATTERS)
network offers a model for increasing rapid access to MAT and other appropriate care for
opioid users who arrive at emergency departments. The program provides immediate MAT
and then transitions opioid users to longer-term treatment through community clinics,
generally within 1-3 days. The program was developed in Western New York, where
emergency departments at more than a dozen hospitals and numerous MAT clinics have
worked together to expedite treatment. This effort now is believed to be one factor that
contributed to a decline in opioid-related deaths in Erie County. The program has received
support from NYS DOH to expand statewide, but has not yet been fully implemented
locally. 181

A similar network could potentially be established for a broader set of mental health and
addiction issues addressed in emergency departments.

∞ Practices: Assure appropriate post-ER continuing of care (seamless,

expedited dispositions) for persons arriving with acute addiction problems
(e.g., MATTERS) and/or mental health transports. This might include Monroe
County and the City of Rochester serving in a leadership role to advocate for the rapid
expansion of the MATTERS model to Rochester-area hospitals and clinics. It also
should involve active oversight and review by the County OMH to monitor and report
on the success of post-ER (e.g., Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program,
Rochester Regional Health) mental health dispositions.

Key Issue #8

180 Monroe County OMH. “Mobile Crisis Activity for 2019 Full Year and 2020 January to June.”

181New York MATTERS. “Powerful opioid treatment program developed at UB goes statewide.”
https://mattersnetwork.org/powerful-opioid-treatment-program-developed-at-ub-goes-statewide/
 189

Stigma in local communities prevents people with mental health and addiction issues
from seeking or accessing needed care.

Stigma regarding personal needs for seeking care for mental and addictive disorders
remains high in the US and locally, and can serve as a barrier to seeking care among
communities of color. One study found that older African American adults were more likely
to internalize stigma and express less positive attitudes about mental health treatment than
their white counterparts. 182

Recommendation:
∞ Systems: Develop a City-County anti-stigma initiative, in collaboration with
local partners, for governmental agencies, health systems, employers, faith
organizations, and community members with regard to seeking care for
mental and substance use disorders, which adds to current and future anti-
racism efforts.

Key Issue #9
EMS / first responders generally lack sufficient training in trauma-informed interventions
to effectively engage and support mentally distressed persons and their families during
emergency interventions.
New York State sets training requirements for emergency medical service (EMS) providers
such as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. National standards drive
many of the state requirements. The existing curriculum offers limited instruction for EMS
providers on trauma-informed interventions with mentally distressed individuals. While
changing national or state-level curricula is outside the County and City’s scope of
authority, local authorities should create an additional training module or credential on
trauma-informed interventions for EMS providers through the Monroe County Public
Safety Training Facility, which provides education for police, fire and emergency medical
personnel. This should be offered to both new candidates and existing personnel seeking to
maintain certification.
Recommendation:
∞ Practices: Review, revise, and enhance curricula for Emergency Medical
Service (EMS) providers and other first responders regarding trauma-
informed interventions, and communicating and effectively engaging
mentally distressed persons and their families. Enhance training of EMS
candidates as well current first responders.

Cross-sector recommendation
∞ Create a County-City Accountability Committee/Board composed of a
diverse consumer, non-governmental organizations, and professional

182Conner KO, Copeland VC, Grote NK, et al. “Mental health treatment seeking among older adults with depression:
the impact of stigma and race.” Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010;18(6):531-543.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2875324/
 190

membership for monitoring system initiatives to overcome barriers to care

based on structure, race, or ability to pay. To ensure independence and
accountability to the community, however, the committee should not be led by a
professional.

Parking Lot
The following recommendations deal with issues beyond the ability of the City or County to
address alone in the near term, but requiring attention of government at the State and
Federal levels.
∞ Development of a “single point of entry” program for substance use treatment programs
(requires New York State funds).
∞ Expand community supported housing resources for individuals suffering mental
health or substance use disorders.
∞ Advocate expansion of Good Samaritan state laws to include persons on parole and
probation, or with outstanding warrants.
∞ Change from fee-for-service to population-focused universal payment systems for
health services to support community focused mental health promotion and substance
use prevention programming.
 191

Appendix: Mental Health Engagement Survey

Survey Questions
1. In the last 12 months, did you or someone you support (a child, parent, sibling, etc.)
seek care or receive “behavioral health” care? (We are using “behavioral health” broadly to
include services, such as addiction/chemical dependency services, going to an outpatient
counselor, utilizing mental health emergency services, psychiatric or addiction inpatient
care or detox, engaging mobile crisis, etc.)
a. Yes
b. No

2. When you think back on that experience, how did you get connected to that service?
(Choose all that apply)
a. 911
b. 211
c. Emergency Room
d. Medical Provider
e. Pastor
f. Faith Leader
g. Family/Friends
h. Self-referred
i. Other

3. What was your experience like engaging with the behavioral health system?
a. It was positive (The experience adequately met my needs. I went
away feeling respected, I understood what was expected of me, and
I had the resources to follow through on my care.)
b. It was negative (The experience did not adequately meet my
needs. I went away not feeling respected, uncertain about my care,
and needing additional assistance.)
c. A little bit of both

4. Please specify your experience engaging with the behavioral health system.
a. Written response

5. What systems did you engage in (ex. 911, URMC/Strong, RRH (RGH, Unity,
Parkridge), Catholic Family Center, Depaul, Mental Health Association, private therapist,
etc.)? Please list the organizations below.
a. Written response

6. When seeking behavioral health services, are there certain things you need (or
providers should be aware of) based on your language, race, religion, ethnic background
or culture?
 192

a. Yes
b. No

7. Please specify the things you need (or providers should be aware of) based on your
language, race, religion, ethnic background or culture
a. Written response

8. In the last 12 months, were the behavioral health services you received responsive to the
needs listed above?
a. Yes
b. No

9. Please explain how the behavioral health services you received responsive to the needs:
a. Written response

10. Using any number from 0 to 5, where 0 is the worst behavioral health services received
and 5 is the best behavioral health services received possible, please rate all your counseling
or treatment in the last 12 months.
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
e. 4
f. 5

11. Please explain your rating

a. Written response

12. If you were to seek behavioral health services, who would you prefer to reach out to for
assistance? (please check all that apply)
a. 911
b. 211
c. Emergency Room
d. Medical Provider
e. Pastor
f. Faith Leader
g. Family/Friends
h. Private therapist
i. Hospital outpatient department
j. Other

13. If you decided not to engage the system, why not? (Choose all that apply)
a. I feel I can handle the situation myself
b. I don’t trust the system to help me
c. I am afraid of the stigma of needing mental health care
 193

d. I am afraid of being criminalized or injured by someone in

the system
e. I don’t want to be a part of the system
f. I can’t afford to pay for services
g. There are no services available in my community
h. I don’t know how to access the system
i. g. Getting help with stress or behavioral health-related problems
without being diagnosed with a mental disorder
h. Having someone help me find a therapist, psychiatrist,
substance use counselor, or other behavioral health
professional.
i. Getting mental health or substance use care at a location that is
closer to where I live.
j. Getting an appointment more quickly so I do not have to wait a
long time to see a provider.
k. Receiving mental health or addiction services
inside my home.
l.Other I can’t find a provider of my
race/culture/religion/ethnicity,etc.
j.Other

14. What do you think would improve the experience(s) of those seeking mental health
services? (Select all that apply)
a. Calling someone for help in a mental health crisis or substance
use-related emergency without the chance of being arrested
b. Getting help that will not lead to an expensive bill.
c. Calling someone for help in a crisis or emergency without the
chance of being hospitalized against my will.
d. Getting help with stress or behavioral health problems
without judgment from my family or friends.
e. Getting help that is sensitive to the needs of people of my
race, culture, ethnicity, or language.
f. Getting help from someone who is of the same race, culture, or
ethnicity as I am.

15. In a perfect community, what would an ideal “Behavioral Health System” look like?
We encourage you to think big with no limitations.
a.Written response

16. Please provide us with your race/ethnicity information (Check all that apply): a. White
b. Hispanic or Latino
c. Black or African American
d. Native American or American Indian
e. Asian/Pacific Islander
 194

f. Other

17. What is your gender?

a. Male
b. Female
c. Prefer not to answer
d. Other

18. What is your age?

a. Under 18
b. 18-24
c. 25-34
d. 35-44
e. 45-54
f. 55-64
g. Over 65 years and older

19. Please enter your zip code.

a. Written response

Quantitative Responses Analysis

1. In the last 12 months, did you or someone you support (a child, parent, sibling, etc.) seek
care or receive “behavioral health” care? (We are using “behavioral health” broadly to
include services, such as addiction/chemical dependency services, going to an outpatient
counselor, utilizing mental health emergency services, psychiatric or addiction inpatient
care or detox, engaging mobile crisis, etc.)

Yes 52

No 50
 195

2. When you think back on that experience, how did you get connected to that service?
(Choose all that apply):

911 5

211 4

Emergency Room 6

Medical Provider 21

Pastor 1

Faith Leader 1

Family/Friends 13

Self-referred 16

Other 7
 196

3. What was your experience like engaging with the behavioral health system?

It was positive (The experience 23

adequately met my needs. I went away
feeling respected, I understood what
was expected of me, and I had the
resources to follow through on my
care.)

It was negative (The experience 7

did not adequately meet my
needs. I went away not feeling
respected, uncertain about my
care, and needing additional
assistance.)
 197

A little bit of both 22

6. When seeking behavioral health services, are there certain things you need
(or providers should be aware of) based on your language, race, religion,
ethnic background, or culture?

Yes 19

No 31
 198

8. In the last 12 months, were the behavioral health services you received
responsive to the needs listed above?

Yes 39

No 12
 199

10. Using any number from 0 to 5, where 0 is the worst behavioral health
services received and 5 is the best behavioral health services received possible,
please rate all your counseling or treatment in the last 12 months.

0 0

1 6

2 2

3 13

4 17

5 11
 200

12. If you were to seek behavioral health services, who would you prefer to
reach out to for assistance? (please check all that apply)

911 7

211 14

Emergency Room 7

Medical Provider 50

Pastor 14

Faith Leader 9

Family/Friends 45

Private therapist 58
 201

Hospital outpatient department 23

Other 11

13. If you decided not to engage the system, why not? (Choose all that apply)

I feel I can handle the situation myself 32

I don’t trust the system to help me. 26

I am afraid of the stigma of 24

needing mental health care.

I am afraid of being criminalized or 16

injured by someone in the system.
 202

I don’t want to be a part of the system 20

I can’t afford to pay for services 23

There are no services available in my 4

community

I don’t know how to access the system 11

I can’t find a provider of my 17

race/culture/religion/ethnicity, etc.

Other 25

14. What do you think would improve the experience(s) of those seeking
mental health services? (Select all that apply)

Calling someone for help in a mental 46

health crisis or substance use-related
emergency without the chance of
being arrested
 203

Getting help that will not lead to 63

an expensive bill.

Calling someone for help in a crisis or 41

emergency without the chance of
being hospitalized against my will.

Getting help with stress or behavioral 40

health problems without judgment from
my family or friends.

Getting help that is sensitive to the needs 48

of people of my race, culture, ethnicity or
language.

Getting help from someone who is of the 44

same race, culture, or ethnicity as I am.

Getting help with stress or behavioral 52

health-related problems without being
diagnosed with a mental disorder

Having someone help me find a 57

therapist, psychiatrist, substance use
counselor, or other behavioral health
professionals.

Getting mental health or substance use 38

care at a location that is closer to where I
live.

Getting an appointment more quickly so 65

I do not have to wait a long time to see a
provider.

Receiving mental health or addiction 28

services inside my home.
 204

Other 7

16. Please provide us with your race/ethnicity information (Check all that
apply):

White 52

Hispanic or Latino 11

Black or African American 41

Native American or American Indian 2

Asian/Pacific Islander 13

Other 2
 205

17. What is your gender?

Male 29

Female 68

Prefer not to say 4

Other 1
 206

18. What is your age?

Under 18 2

18-24 8

25-34 27

35-44 20

45-54 23

55-64 16

64 years old and older 6

 207

19. Please enter your zip code

14450 2

14472 1

14520 1

14526 1

14534 5

14546 1

14580 4

14605 1

14606 2
 208

14607 8

14608 5

14609 15

14610 3

14611 4

14612 2

14615 3

14616 3

14617 1

14518 4

14619 7

14620 14

14621 1

14622 1

14623 2

14624 2
 209

14625 2

14626 3

14642 1

No response 3

Please enter
your zipcode.

14626
14620
14608
14609
14619
14611
Prefer not to say
14472
14624
14610
14625
14618
14607
ai 14534
"0 14612
0<)
14450
a. N 14580
14546
14616
14642
14623
14613
14615
14606
14622
14526
14520
14605
14621
05 10
15

Written Responses Analysis

Survey respondents were asked to share details of their experiences with the behavioral
health system. Of those who felt comfortable disclosing, many felt discouraged by the wait
time to receive services, especially after engaging in CPEP. Other participants felt that the
services they were receiving were beneficial but could not continue to utilize the services
due to the cost of lack of insurance available. When asked to describe how the patient got
involved with the services, a medical provider or self-referral was the most popular
response. The most popular service providers were private therapists/practices and
URMC/Strong, including University of Rochester University Health Services, BHP, and
CPEP. Other agencies participants have utilized include South Ave, Villa of Hope, MHA,
NAMI, and East House.
Respondents notated that they wished providers were aware of certain things regarding
race, religion, ethnic background, or culture, etc. Communication, relatability, and cultural
 210

competency are amongst the most crucial elements that respondents highlight that
providers need to be aware of. Many wished that providers were mindful of their
culture/religion, spoke the same language, had a trauma-centered approach, or were aware
of LGBTQIA+ culture and experiences.

Survey participants were asked the question, "What do you think would improve the
experience(s) of those seeking mental health services?" While participants' answers did
vary, themes were apparent among responses. The central theme prevalent in response to
this question was centered on the affordability and accessibility of behavioral health
services, as depicted by the three most popular answers. About 63% of respondents felt that
"getting an appointment more quickly so I do not have to wait a long time to see a provider"
could improve the experience of those receiving behavioral health services. Additionally,
"getting help that will not lead to an expensive bill" was a popular response, with around
62% of respondents indicating that this would improve experiences. The third most popular
response echoes the ongoing concerns, with about 56% of respondents feeling that "Having
someone help me find a therapist, psychiatrist, substance use counselor, or other
behavioral health professionals" would improve experiences as well. Other
recommendations were provided by survey respondents, with many indicating that either
getting help from somebody who is of the same (or at the very least is sensitive of) race,
ethnicity, culture, etc., would improve experiences.

Lastly, survey respondents were asked to picture an “ideal behavioral health system” and
encouraged to think big with no limitations. The responses we received showed solutions
that would remove the community’s most common barriers: affordability, accessibility, and
culturally responsive services. Multiple answers encouraged affordable services to allow
more individuals to receive quality behavioral health care. Additional suggestions included
community-based services/involvement, diversity of providers, shorter wait-times to
receive services, and the minimization of police involvement within the behavioral health
system.
 211

Policing
Summary of Group’s Process
Resources Consulted
∞ The Police working group began by establishing subgroups with specific focus areas that
we felt were critically important to understanding policing in the Monroe County / City
of Rochester area. The established subgroups included Training and Education, Policy,
Operational Practices, Hiring, The Final Report on the President’s Task Force on 21st
Century Policing (two subgroups were established for this category), Collective
Bargaining, Community Engagement, and Legislative.
∞ Our research consisted of an examination of departmental and office policies of the
Rochester Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. These policies
included General Orders, Training Bulletins, Rules and Regulations and operational
policies and practices. Additionally, we examined the 21st Century Policing report for
the action items and recommendations contained therein to determine their relevance
for our community. We examined state (both New York and other state) and federal
legislation for areas of intersection that contribute to racial inequity and deficiency in
policing. We reviewed the collective bargaining agreements of the Rochester Police
Department and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. We reviewed the hiring process of
police candidates in this area, and we reviewed, as best as we could, the training
curriculum for the Basic Police Officer course as sanctioned by the NYS Division of
Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the training officers and deputies receive post
academy.
∞ Our working group also reviewed publically available data related to calls for service,
race and ethnicity of police officers, size of the local law enforcement agencies, crime
rates, and trends related to criminal activity.

Community Engagement
∞ Our community engagement consisted of numerous teleconferences with police officers
of the Rochester Police Department, numerous teleconferences with the administration
of the Public Safety Training Facility, teleconferences with United Christian Leadership
Ministry(UCLM), teleconferences with youth from Mosaics Group-Odyssey Academy,
Urban Suburban Program-Sutherland and Teen Empowerment, and a survey
distributed to the Rochester Police Department’s Police Citizen Interaction Committee
(PCIC) 183. It also included requests to meet with the Rochester Police Locust Club and
Free the People Roc which, to date, have not been accepted.

183
The PCIC consists of Community members from various neighborhood groups within the city
 212

Prioritization of Issues
∞ Our prioritization of issues was accomplished through dialogue within our working
group, with our commission advisor Mayor William Johnson and CGR. As expected, we
discovered some overlap in our subgroup focus areas, and our priorities evolved into
four specific areas of interest. Those areas are Hiring, Training, Community
Engagement, and Operational Practices. Our recommendations are contained within
each of the four focuses. Working Group Leaders and CGR staff also communicated with
the other working groups to identify potential overlaps

Key Issues & Recommendations

Key Issue #1 - Hiring
∞ As it relates to Hiring in the Rochester Police Department, we are recommending
the City of Rochester’s Law Department petition Judge Geraci’s court to
alter the federal consent decree the city has been under since 1975. The
purpose of the decree, as written, is to increase the minority representation within the
Rochester Police Department to 25%. This was reflective of the minority population of
Rochester when it was written, however the minority population of Rochester currently
stands at approximately 56%. Clearly, the current language of the decree will not result
in a demographically reflective police department. We recommend changing the
language in the order so that it requires the police department to accurately
reflect the various racial demographic populations of Rochester, and to
maintain this status through aggressive hiring of minorities.
∞ We are recommending the City of Rochester enhance the Career Pathways
to Public Safety program offered by the Rochester City School District, and
the PREP program offered by Monroe Community College to firmly
establish a direct pipeline for the youth of Monroe County to enter the
ranks of local law enforcement. As described on the Career Pathways to Public
Safety website, “The program prepares youth with the knowledge, skills, and abilities
needed to meet the high demand for diverse and local residency candidates in the Public
Safety sector of Police, Security, and Corrections. This course will cover Criminal Justice
topics that relate to the 21st Century approach to Multicultural Law Enforcement;
Criminal Justice System, Problems and Solutions in Modern Policing, Criminal Court,
and the quest for justice, Corrections- the levels of rehabilitation.” The four-year results
of this program do not reflect any individual entering policing. According to the City of
Rochester website, “The mission of PREP is to prepare students for a successful law
enforcement career with the RPD. PREP is a two-year program and is open to first-year
Criminal Justice students enrolled at Monroe Community College. PREP gives "Cadets"
a first-hand practical training experience with the RPD, including participation in a
mentorship program, part-time employment, and job shadowing. PREP participants
are also exposed to a number of law enforcement activities, such as role-play training
 213

exercises, riding along with police officers, and engaging in community outreach
events.” Enhancing these programs would establish a “pipeline” into the ranks of the
area police agencies and would significantly improve minority representation.
∞ We are recommending local law enforcement agencies work to remove the
subjectivity present in the hiring process. Specifically, we recommend that
the subjectivity present in the opinions rendered by the psychologists that
administer the psychological test on police recruits be removed, and that
the polygraph examinations be administered by an independent entity.
∞ Finally, as it relates to the hiring process, and as a direct recommendation from the
United Christen Leadership Ministry, we recommend the final interview for
police candidates include representatives from the community as
interviewers, including interviewers from diverse racial and ethnic
backgrounds for all local law enforcement officers.

Key Issue #2 – Training

∞ The Police Working Group focused extensively on the training of individuals becoming
police officers in this area. It should be noted that our research included direct
conversations with the leadership and staff of the Public Safety Training Facility, direct
conversations with the leadership of the Rochester Police Department and Monroe
County Sheriff’s Office, a review of their training policies and bulletins, as well as a
request for the specific curriculum used in the NYS Basic Police Officer course that
provides the certification to serve as a police officer. Regrettably, we were not able to
acquire the specific curriculum due to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
requiring a FOIL request before it release. The Police working group strongly
recommends the Basic Police Officer course curriculum be designated
public information. For that which we have been able to access, the following
recommendations have been developed.
∞ The NYS basic Course for Police Officer requires only 5 hours diversity for certification.
Our working group recommends significantly increasing this requirement
to include cultural competency training, implicit and explicit bias training,
Procedural Justice training and historical aspects of policing training. A
recent study entitled Procedural Justice Training Reduces Police Use of Force and
Complaints against Officers 184 shows that procedural justice training reduced police
use of force and complaints against officers in the Chicago Police Department from this
(8 hour) training. Recently, DCJS has developed a 32-hour program titled Principled
Policing which focuses on Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias instruction, but the
program is intended as an in-service training. It does not include the other focus areas
previously mentioned.

184
Wood, G., Tyler, T.R., & Papachristos, A.V.184 (2020), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
117(18), pp. 9815-9821., https://www.pnas.org/content/117/18/9815.
 214

∞ Although we were informed that De-escalation training is provided in numerous aspects

of police recruit training, we were not able to examine what that entailed. As such, we
are recommending that de-escalation training be outlined and expanded
for all uniformed police in this region with a focus on humanity and sanctity
of life consideration.
∞ Our working group recognizes how trauma impacts all in a community. We are
recommending that uniformed personnel be provided training on the
consequences of trauma for themselves and the community and have more
resources available for officer wellness.
∞ Our research has shown that numerous states have explored a recertification process
that requires a police officer to be recertified every two or three years to remain working.
This process is similar to the board recertification that physicians are required to go
through. A recertification process would ensure our uniformed police officers are adept
in the skills necessary to serve our communities. It would also afford our community
the opportunity to determine what skills are felt to be critically important for our officer
to possess. We recommend that local law enforcement require a regional
certification for law enforcement officers and require periodic
recertification until a state process is adopted. Some of the states currently
exploring recertification include California, Illinois, and Virginia.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/legislative-responses-for-
policing.aspx. Along with recertification, a process for decertification will be required.
The specific recommendation for decertification will be discussed in the Operational
Practices portion of this summary.

Key Issue #3 – Operational Practices

∞ Our working group examined the operational practices of policing in this area. Our
recommendations reflect areas we feel will significantly improve policing in this area
and the relationship between our departments and community members.
∞ We recommend local law enforcement agencies be mandated to collect and
regularly report on a quarterly basis, demographic information of all
individuals they interact with in arrests, traffic investigations, street stops,
and uses of force. Furthermore, we recommend the demographic
information be collected and regularly reported for personnel complaints,
also on a quarterly basis. We further recommend this data be included in
their annual reports and, relative to the Rochester Police Department, be
included on their Open Data Portal, entered into their TRACS system, and
sent to the Rochester Police Accountability Board. If other local police
agencies develop a similar civilian oversight process, we recommend this
data be sent to their board for review.
∞ We recommend the Rochester Police Department begin to use their IAPRO
early warning software to its fullest capacity to ensure any personnel
 215

concerns are identified as quickly as possible and addressed. The corrective

measures should then be forwarded to the Deputy Mayor for consistency and shared
with the Police Accountability Board for follow up. While we have not identified whether
other local police agencies have early warning programs, this recommendation applies
to them as well.
∞ As mentioned earlier, decertification of police personnel found to have engaged in
certain forms of misconduct is a strategy being considered by some states. 185 We
recommend the City of Rochester and County of Monroe adopt a policy of
decertification for police personnel that have been proven to not conform
to established rules and regulations.
∞ Qualified immunity is a legal concept that protects government officials, such as police
officers from being held personally liable for constitutional violations like excessive
force, for money damages under federal law so long as the individual did not violate
“clearly established” law. Indemnification sections in contracts allocate risk and
expense in the event of a breach, default, or misconduct by one of the parties in an
executed contract/agreement. They are clauses used in contracts to shift potential costs
from one party to another. We are recommending changes to the
indemnification/qualified immunity language in local law enforcement
agency’s collective bargaining agreements so that police officers, not their
employers, may be held responsible for the financial costs that result from
criminal or civil proceedings that arise from a conviction based on
misconduct that constitutes intentional/aggravated felony criminal
behavior. Moreover, we recommend rescinding indemnification be
included in the disciplinary matrixes for all local police agencies as a
consequence of termination.

Key Issue #4 – Community Engagement

∞ In 2015, President Barak Obama convened a commission of criminal justice
professionals to examine policing in the 21st century. The commission identified six
specific areas of focus, Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology
and Social Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Training and Education,
and Officer Wellness. The final report of the commission contains over one hundred
fifty action items and recommendations for governments, police agencies, and
communities. The City of Rochester commissioned a similar report in 2016 following
two incidents involving the Rochester Police Department that occurred here and
negatively impacted the community. One event was an arrest that resulted from an
open-air drug market investigation, while the other event involved the department’s
response to a Black Lives Matter demonstration. Our recommendations stem from
specific areas and strategies contained within each report.

185
https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/legislative-responses-for-policing.aspx
 216

∞ We are recommending local police agencies adopt the recommendation

and action items outlined in the Final Report of the President’s Task Force
on 21st Century Policing 186 as it pertains to community engagement, a
guardian mindset, procedural justice, and officer wellness. Additionally, we
recommend the Rochester Police Department review and adopt the
community engagement strategies outlined in the City of Rochester’s
Blueprint for Engagement 187.

Parking Lot
The issues presented in the parking lot are potential recommendations that have not
received adequate research or discussion as part of the RASE process, but are considered
to be other opportunities to reduce structural racism in policing.
∞ As a Parking Lot item, we recommend a candidate’s history not automatically disqualify
them if they have shown improvement from youthful behavior such as marijuana use.
This recommendation is consistent with the hiring practices of such notable law
enforcement agencies as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
∞ Add language to local law enforcement agency’s collective bargaining agreements that
obligates police officers to carry professional liability insurance. A bill in the New York
State Senate (S8668B) proposed the requirement for police officers in the state to carry
liability insurance. Colorado requires police officers to be personally liable for up to
$25,000 in damages associated with misconduct charges. The State of Connecticut is
going to require police officers to carry liability insurance in the near future and is
currently looking into details on how to make it happen.
∞ Recommendation requirements in becoming a Law Enforcement officer will change
from a candidate having a HS diploma or GED to a minimum of a two-year degree in
Criminal Justice or related field. The change in requirements will provide candidates a
global knowledge within the field. The intent is to teach specific skills and knowledge
that can be used in the workplace as well as to help students grow and develop
personally and intellectually.
∞ A complementary policy would be raising the minimum age of appointment from 20 to
25. This suggestion is based on research that indicates that older officers are less likely
to have problems with discipline.

186
https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf

∞ 187
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/DeputyChiefCommunityAffairsBureau/
 217

Part 4: Appendices
The section contains supplemental material that contributed to the Commission’s work,
including the local law scan and a report on communities with local MWBE certification
processes prepared by CGR as well as the report of the Human Services Working Group’s
Older Adults Subcommittee.
 218

Local Law Scan

The City of Rochester and Monroe County Racial and Structural Equity Commission
requested that CGR conduct a scan of local ordinances to identify those that may pose
barriers to equity in our community. CGR viewed City and County ordinances online at:

City of Rochester: https://ecode360.com/RO0104

Monroe County: https://www.ecode360.com/MO0860

Below, we list laws that have relevance or connection to the Commission’s goal of increasing
equity or to any of the 9 Commission working groups:

∞ Education
∞ Health
∞ Housing
∞ Human Services
∞ Mental Health and Addiction Services
∞ Business Development and Job Creation
∞ Criminal Justice and Policing
Note that we grouped the last 4 groups into 2 buckets for the purposes of this summary.

We also identify connections to the RASE Commission’s work in opening comments and
questions at the start of each section.

Note that this overview does not include federal law, state law or federal, state or local
regulations or policies. Also, though we make a few references to the City Charter, we did
not review the entire Charter.

Ordinances of General Interest

Connections to RASE Commission work:

∞ The City has a human rights ordinance banning discrimination that includes a fair
employment screening law prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about
criminal convictions during the application process
∞ Could Monroe County adopt similar ordinances?
∞ Could the City’s fair employment screening law be strengthened?

∞ Both the County and City have comprehensive planning processes. The City has a plan
in place, Rochester 2034, which is being incorporated into its zoning ordinance, and the
 219

County intends to launch a planning process in 2021 that will produce the first County
Comprehensive Plan in many years.
∞ What opportunities exist in these plans/planning processes to increase racial and
structural equity, for example, through broadening the availability of affordable
housing throughout the County?

City of Rochester Ordinances

Human Rights - Chapter 63, Article I, prohibits discrimination in places of public
accommodation, resort or amusement; employment; housing and commercial space;
financing; and City services. This prohibition covers discrimination on the basis of
real/perceived age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity/expression,
sexual orientation, disability, and marital status or source of income. The ordinance states
that a person aggrieved by alleged discrimination shall have a cause of action in any
appropriate court, and does not specify any other penalty.

Article II, Fair Employment Screening, prohibits the City, its vendors, and all employers
located in City limits from asking about criminal convictions during the job application
process. However, consideration of a prior conviction can take place after an application is
submitted and an initial interview is conducted.

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – Establishes Rochester 2034 policy principles, healthy
living, equity, resilience, prosperity and partnership; placemaking principles, including
providing diverse housing outcomes; and goals in 20 areas, including public health and
safety, schools and community centers, housing, economic growth, workforce
development, transportation and climate change mitigation/adaptation. Note that goal
statements are broad, such as in Education: “Improve conditions for students to ensure a
healthy and nurturing environment for learning that is targeted at key success indicators.”

The Comprehensive Plan references the Housing Policy and Complete Streets Policy as
implementing policies and a variety of documents as implementing documents, including
the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, the Transit Supportive Corridor Study, the
Housing Market Study, the Brownfield Opportunity Area Plans, and many others.

Civil Service – Article XII of the City Charter establishes the Municipal Civil Service
Commission, appointed by the Mayor, with confirmation from the City Council, which
administers Civil Service Law, including establishing a merit system and holding
competitive examinations, in the City.

Monroe County Ordinances

Planning - Chapter A, Part 4 of the Administrative Code outlines qualifications and

responsibilities of the Director of Planning and Development and a variety of procedures
related to the County’s planning function, including the development of a Comprehensive
Plan and the role of studies and community participation. Note that one aim of the
 220

Comprehensive Plan is to serve as a guide for major development proposals by local

government and private interests.

Environmental Quality Review – Chapter 235 – lays out County policy for complying with
New York State Environmental Conservation Law requiring preparation of environmental
impact statements for any actions having a significant impact on the environment, such as
proposed development.

Person First Language – Chapter 380 – requires that County laws, policies and regulations
use respectful language in referring to people with disabilities as persons first.

Senior Citizens Tax Exemption – Article I of Chapter 357 allows property tax exemptions
of up to 50% for households headed by people 65 and older.

Parks – Chapter 323 – governs the use and regulations related to Monroe County parks,
including the Seneca Park Zoo.

Sales Tax – Chapter 565 – sets the level of sales tax that is administered by the County,
currently.

Ordinances by Working Group

Education

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ The group is working to narrow its focus to 3-5 issues from a list of more than a dozen
issues that pertain most directly to K-12 school districts and do not have a clear tie to
the two local ordinances listed below. As CGR outlined in our Education Authority
Overview presentation, City and County intersections with education include the City’s
mandated funding for the Rochester City School District, the County’s Early
Intervention program and the County’s role with Monroe Community College.

City of Rochester Ordinances

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – includes goals for schools and community centers,
including improving conditions for students, nurturing a culture of positivity and providing
educational facilities and programs of the highest quality (see Section 5).

Monroe County Ordinances

 221

Monroe Community College – Article 7 of the County Charter establishes the college and
its board of trustees in accordance with Article 126 of the Education Law of the State of New
York and grants the board the power to appoint the college President, subject to approval
of the State University of New York trustees, to set curricula and to prepare a budget for the
Monroe County Legislature.

Health

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ Rochester and Monroe County became national leaders in lead poisoning prevention
through collaborative efforts including adoption of the City’s inspection law. Are there
other environmental health hazards that the two governments could work
collaboratively to similarly address?
∞ Planning – do the City and County plans/planning process present opportunities for
stronger policies and actions to promote health and address the social determinants of
health (this is an interest area of the working group)? Examples: zoning/incentives
related to grocery stores to increase access to affordable healthy foods, open
space/parks.

City of Rochester Ordinances

Health and Sanitation – Chapter 59 – States that the Monroe County Health Director is
charged with enforcement of health laws since the City is part of the County health district.

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – Includes healthy living as a policy principle and goals
for public health and safety related to improving understanding of community health
conditions, needs, services and increasing access to healthy food (see Section 5).

Property – Chapter 90 – Article III establishes lead poisoning prevention requirements

including visual inspections for lead hazards be conducted in order to receive certificates of
occupancy and abatement of any lead violations detected on inspection.

Parks – Chapter 79 – Includes ordinances for park uses, fees, permits, and penalties for
offenses
Public Market – Chapter 91 – Includes ordinances for the market’s location and purpose,
vendors, methods of selling, and what can be sold.

Food Trucks and Vendor Trailers – Chapter 60 – outlines all regulations including
licensing, permitting, fees, and locations.

Monroe County Ordinances

 222

Lead Poisoning Prevention – Chapter 285 – allows the Department of Public Health to
conduct an elevated blood lead level investigation for any dwelling inhabited by a child up
to 3 years old whenever that child has two blood lead screenings with elevated levels in a
one-year period.

Parks – Chapter 323 -Monroe County Parks Department stewards 12,000 acres of green
and open space in Monroe County. Monroe County Parks located within the City of
Rochester include Highland Park, Seneca Park, Genesee Valley Park East, and Durand
Eastman Park south of Lakeshore Blvd. Chapter 323 lists ordinates related to park uses,
fees, permits and penalties for offenses.

Monroe Community Hospital - Article 6, section 17 of the County Charter establishes the
Hospital and outlines its administrative structure and responsibilities and admission and
maintenance of patients.

Housing

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ What opportunities exist in the City and County plans/planning processes to broaden
the availability of affordable housing throughout the County and address the legacies of
discriminatory policies such as redlining and steering?
∞ The City’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development has the authority
to develop and implement affordable housing programs. Is there the potential for the
County to play a similar role?
∞ Are there opportunities for the City to enforce codes more aggressively to improve the
quality of housing stock?

City of Rochester Ordinances

Affordable housing – Article X of the City Charter spells out the responsibilities and duties
of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, including the authority to
develop and implement affordable housing programs.

Building Code – Chapter 39 – Specifies when building permits are/are not needed and the
process; requires certificate of occupancy for all structures needing a building permit.

Care of Property – Chapter 89 – Regulates cutting/planting of trees on public property;

requires property owners to keep weeds out of vacant lots; prohibits fouling of rivers and
sewers, and similar provisions.

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – Includes providing diverse housing outcomes as a

placemaking principle and goals for housing including supporting innovative and equitable
housing and community development (see Section 5). References the Housing Policy and
Housing Market Study as implementing policies/documents.
 223

Property – Chapter 90 – Includes safety requirements for buildings related to electrical,

fire, heating, weatherization, etc.; also for abandoned vehicles and vacant properties/lots;
prohibits graffiti and requires certificates of occupancy.

Zoning - Chapter 120 – Specifies the City’s power to regulate land use, including density,
intensity, setback lines, height of buildings, etc. through zoning districts dividing the City
into different classes. Article II establishes the districts and zoning map. Subsequent
articles define and provide specific requirements for each type of district, including low,
medium and high density residential as well as types of commercial, industrial and special
districts. Article XXI establishes the administrative process for zoning, including City
Council’s role and the Planning Commission, Preservation Board and Zoning Board of
Appeals. Article XXIV addresses nonconforming uses, structures, lots and signs; one
paragraph addresses nonconforming buildings allocated low-income housing tax credits,
and specifies that they may be rebuilt if damaged or destroyed. Note that the City is in the
process of revising this code to align with the Comprehensive Plan Rochester 2034.

Municipal Code Violations Bureau – Chapter 13A – specifies fines and process for a variety
of violations, including of building code, noise ordinance, parks, secondhand dealers,
shooting ranges, etc.

Monroe County Ordinances

Planning - Chapter A, Part 4 of the Administrative Code outlines qualifications and

responsibilities of the Director of Planning and Development and a variety of procedures
related to the County’s planning function, including the development of a Comprehensive
Plan and the role of studies and community participation. Note that one aim of the
Comprehensive Plan is to serve as a guide for major development proposals by local
government and private interests.

Human Services

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ We did not find local laws pertaining to Human Services in either the City or County
codes. The provision of Human Services is largely governed by state and federal laws
and regulations, though the County has discretion in how it implements programs. This
working group has identified some initial areas of focus of disproportionality in the child
welfare system, sanctions and culturally responsive caseworker services – all of which
relate to implementation and practice.

Mental Health & Addiction Services

 224

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ The group is working to understand the behavioral health system and how various
pieces do or could fit together, as well as to play a productive role in the larger
conversation about crisis response, in light of Daniel Prude’s death. Existing local laws
do not relate to this work.

City of Rochester Ordinances

None found.

Monroe County Ordinances

Social Hosts – Chapter 378 – prohibits adults from serving alcohol to minors in their
homes, punishable by fines from $250-$1,000.

Synthetic Drugs and Similar Compounds – Chapter 383 – prohibits the sale, use and
possession of a variety of listed synthetic drugs.

Business Development/Job Creation

Connections to RASE Working Groups:

∞ Both groups have identified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise

certification as a potential issue. While the ordinances below do not relate specifically
to that, creating a local (City or County) certification process that is streamlined and
business-friendly is a legislative/policy option to consider.
∞ The City’s Nuisance Abatement Program, described below, has been both criticized and
praised. In the groups’ community engagement events, it would be worthwhile to
explore whether stakeholders feel there are any inequities in this program or its
enforcement. The groups could also request City data to illuminate this issue.
∞ What opportunities exist in the City and County plans/planning processes to
encourage/incentivize more equitable economic development? Examples include
development of businesses/job opportunities in historically disadvantaged
neighborhoods or parts of the City and in places where more residents use public
transportation.

City of Rochester Ordinances

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – Includes prosperity as a policy principle and goals for
the economic growth and workforce development including attracting businesses to
downtown, supporting entrepreneurship, improving opportunities for historically
disadvantaged businesses, focusing workforce development efforts on vulnerable
 225

populations and providing support for individuals starting their own businesses (see
Section 5).

Nuisances – Article X of the City Charter spells out the responsibilities and duties of the
Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, including the Nuisance
Abatement Program allowing the City to assign nuisance points to businesses where
violations such as firearm possession/discharge, gambling, prostitution, etc. occur.

Property – Chapter 90 – Article II requires business permits, establishes fees and requires
businesses to maintain good order, including ensuring the premises do not become
disorderly, permit gambling, prostitution, etc.

Monroe County Ordinances

Empire Zone – Chapter 43 – outlines County’s ability to apply to the state to designate
Empire Zones, a program for economic development and tax incentives that is no longer
taking in new businesses.

Urban Tax Exemption – Article XXI of Chapter 357 on Taxation – allows exemption from
property tax for properties in the Center City Zoning District of Rochester being converted
at a cost of more than $250,000 to mixed-use commercial-residential, with at least 25% of
the floor space going to residential use.

Criminal Justice/Policing

Connections to RASE Working Group:

∞ The extent to which some of the local ordinances below might contribute to what is
known as the “criminalization of poverty” could be explored, particularly by the
Criminal Justice working group. The criminalization of poverty refers to low-income
individuals suffering as fines, fees and various charges, especially for low-level offenses,
pile up and compound. The charges listed below that the County levies for probation
and electronic home confinement could be examples of these, though the ordinances
allow fee waivers for inability to pay. In addition, some of the City ordinances regarding
bicycles, noise and other issues could be enforced in inequitable ways.

City of Rochester Ordinances

Bicycles – Chapter 34-6 – requires children 12 and under to ride on sidewalks, trails; adults
to ride in bike lanes or near right hand curb or edge of roadway; cyclists to yield to
pedestrians, etc., and violations are handled under Municipal Code Violations section. Note
that the requirement that bikes have a bell is actually in state Vehicle and Traffic Law.
 226

Comprehensive Plan – Chapter 130 – Includes goals for public health and safety including
increasing the capabilities of RPD through collaboration, data analysis, technology,
new/improved resources (see Section 5).

Enforcement – Chapter 52 – spells out enforcement procedures for violations of City code,
including refuse and sanitation, streets, property conservation, building/plumbing/fire
prevention, zoning codes, health ordinances and anti-litter codes.

Municipal Code Violations Bureau – Chapter 13A – specifies fines and process for a variety
of violations, including of building code, noise ordinance, parks, secondhand dealers,
shooting ranges, etc.

Noise – Chapter 75 – prohibits and defines excessive noise.

Police Accountability Board – Article XVIII of the City Charter establishes the PAB to
conduct independent investigations of complaints of police misconduct.

Public Safety – Chapter 19 – spells out that police can enter into agreements for police
alarm systems at banks and other locations in need of special protection, along with
sections related to fire department aid outside the City, and other non-pertinent items.

Public Emergencies – Chapter 93 – Allows the Mayor to impose a curfew and designate
restricted areas during a declared state of emergency.

Dangerous Articles – Chapter 47 – establishes items that people cannot possess in City
public spaces, including firearms, knives, etc., and that firearms stored in City dwellings
must be in locked containers, along with related provisions.

Monroe County Ordinances

Corrections – Chapter 31 – specifies that the County obtain reimbursements from private
insurers for health and dental services provided to inmates of the jail.

Fees & Charges – Chapter 34 – specifies fees the County can charge, including $30 a month
to people on Probation, $50-500 for Probation investigations conducted regarding custody
and visitation for Family Court, $4.06 per day for people on electronic home confinement,
$20 for DWI victim impact panels and $50-200 for sex offender polygraphs. The law allows
waiver of fees where ability to pay in an issue.

Cyberbullying – Chapter 382 – prohibits cyberbullying of children under 18, punishable by

fines up to $1,000 and/or a year imprisonment.
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Local MWBE Certifications

One route for growing and developing the capacities of MWBE businesses is by including
them in a mandated share of local government purchasing and contracting. While an
increasing number of public and private contracts are specifying MWBE percentages, in
the Rochester/Monroe County area these must typically be met through state-certified
MWBE vendors. However, many community informants report the state certification
program poses a barrier, especially for young businesses, as it is a complex and
burdensome process requires a pre-existing and established financial history of several
years simply to complete the application. 188

As an alternative to the state certification, upstate governments such as the Cities of

Syracuse and Albany and a joint City of Buffalo/Erie County program have developed
their own local certification programs, which offer two principal benefits.
First, these create an easier and quicker route to securing local contracts and can also
work as bridging certification, allowing businesses to win contracts and build their
financial history as they move towards state certification.

Second, each municipality with local certification offers a directory of locally certified
businesses. The City of Rochester has developed a list of state-certified MWBE businesses
located in Monroe and surrounding counties that can be downloaded in spreadsheet
format from its website, but the County does not appear to have a similar list available on
its website.

City of Syracuse
CGR spoke with the head of Syracuse’s Department of Minority Affairs, Lamont Mitchell,
who runs a one-person certification and compliance office for public construction
projects. Local certifications are issues by the City of Syracuse. Onondaga County accepts
Syracuse and NYS certifications and does not issue its own. Currently, around 260
business are certified and Mr. Mitchell estimates that he certified about 30 businesses in
2019.

Percentage requirements in government contracting

City public construction projects require 20% MWBE participation, with goals of 12%
minority-owned businesses and 8% women-owned businesses. Businesses owned by
minority women may not be double-counted to fulfilling both requirements, but must be
applied to only one of the two categories.

Certification process

188
There are legitimate reasons for the intensity of this process, as some businesses have been accused
of fraudulently representing their eligibility for MWBE work, including in the Rochester area.
 228

Enactment
Syracuse’s MWBE certification 189 was established in 1994 by city ordinance. 190

Location
MWBE business must be located in Onondaga County to be locally certified. Part of the
rationale for this limitation is to ensure that the certification and compliance workload is
manageable.

Cost
There are no fees or processing costs associated with the application.

Processing time
The certification process is targeted not to exceed 90 days. The head of the program states
that applications can be certified within a week in some cases. There is a hearing process
available for companies which are denied certification and wish to contest the decision,
although Mr. Mitchell reports it has not been used during his tenure.

Recertification
Businesses must be recertified by resubmitting the application every three years.

Compliance checks
The office mostly performs its own compliance checks, but also hires independent
contractors for large projects, like public schools projects. Compliance checks involve site
visits to see who is actually performing the work and reviewing payroll information to verify
that contractors are being paid as specified. There are also city residency requirements for
some workers.

Staffing
Syracuse has a one-person office with a budget of about $80,000, covering the salary cost
of the staff member, who is responsible for all compliance, certification and administrative
work. He reports relying heaving on community partners to help support small business
and estimates that a Rochester office, serving a proportionately larger population, would
require two to three people.

General notes
Mr. Mitchell noted that certification does not, in itself, close the equity gap. More work and
support has to be given to MWBE businesses to make them competitive – for instance, they

189
http://www.syracuse.ny.us/supplier_diversity_faq.aspx
190
http://www.syracuse.ny.us/pdfs/supplierDiversity/MWBEParticipationProgramOrdinance.pdf
 229

must learn how to bid effectively for available jobs and build complete teams of workers
who are ready to handle all required tasks.

City of Albany
CGR spoke with Albany’s Compliance Coordinator, Aindrea Richard, who handles MWBE
certification matters for the city. Albany’s certification program covers public construction
projects. The list of locally certified MWBEs is a resource for prime contractors who are
looking for MWBE firms to fulfill percentage requirements. There are currently 98 total
Albany-certified MWBEs. The office certified 10 in 2019. Unlike Syracuse, Albany’s
program is not accepted by Albany County.

Percentage requirements in government contracting

By law, city-funded construction contracts in Albany are required to have 7.5% of the
contract paid to MWBEs, and 17.8% of the labor be performed by minorities and/or
women. 191 The government is currently considering increasing the contract percentage to
15%.

Certification process
Albany requires two years of tax returns for certification, although in some cases it
accepts personal tax returns from someone who is just starting their business. There is no
limit on profitability for companies to secure certification.
Ms. Richards states that Albany’s application process is less complex than the state’s
certification process, but is similar in scope of questions and documentation requests and
still requires a fair amount of work to complete. Businesses that are struggling with the
application are directed to Albany-area organizations that will assist them with
completing it.

Enactment
MWBE labor utilization was established by ordinance in 1984. 192 The current compliance
office and certification effort has been operating since approximately 2006.

Location
There are no geographic restrictions on who may be certified, and likewise, no priority or
exclusivity granted to local MWBEs in the bidding process.
Ms. Richard indicated that she will sometimes reach out to local businesses that are state-
certified but not locally certified to get them to apply for local certification, so they may be
added to the list of local vendor available to prime contractors looking to fulfill their
percentage requirements.

191

https://www.albanyny.gov/Government/Departments/HumanResources/MinorityWomenOwnedBusines
sEnterprises.aspx
192
https://ecode360.com/7680274
 230

Cost
There is no cost for City of Albany MWBE certification.

Processing time
Ms. Richards reports that certifications are generally processed within three weeks, if the
documentation is in order. Unlike a larger certification organization with strict rules, she
has flexibility to assess the documents in a manner befitting the business’s circumstances,
e.g., adjusting contracting experience requirements for new businesses that have not yet
received a lot of work.

Staffing
The Compliance Coordinator position is a one-person office, with a budget just above
$50,000 for the salary cost of the staff member, who covers all MWBE work and other
types of contract monitoring, such as Albany’s living wage ordinance and apprenticeship
requirements. Ms. Richard tracks and enforces compliance, collects documentation from
contractors proving wages and payments, and submits a quarterly report to common
council.
Ms. Richards estimates that 80% of her job involves MWBE certification. She describes this
as a full-time job that is doable with one person, but would ideally have two, which would
enable things like outreach to business that may qualify for MWBE certification, something
not currently possible due to limited staff time.

General notes
Ms. Richards noted that non-construction projects in Albany do not have MWBE
requirements, just generic language encouraging MWBEs to apply. She stated that if all
services and purchasing had MWBE requirements and a local contractor list and
certification option, it would entail more work than a single employee could manage.

Erie County/Buffalo
CGR spoke with James Blackwell, Director of Equal Employment Opportunity for Erie
County. Erie County administers the local certification program that is also recognized by
the City of Buffalo.

Unlike Syracuse and Albany’s programs, Erie County’s certification is decided by a Joint
Certification Committee composed of four committee members, respectively representing
Buffalo’s Board of Education, Municipal Housing Authority, Sewer Authority, and City
Hall’s Chief Diversity Officer.

Erie County certifies about 60 businesses per year, roughly 5 per month, and expects the
number to increase as more outreach is being done to business eligible for professional
services contracts.
 231

Percentage requirements in government contracting

Every county department and agency must annually prepare and implement a plan to
award 15% of the value of all contracts to MBEs and 5% to WBEs. 193
MWBE requirements apply to construction contracting, as well as supplies, material,
equipment and insurance purchases over $15,000. They also apply to professional,
technical and consulting services related to law, finance, information technology,
accounting, and engineering outside of construction.

Certification process
Companies seeking certification must have been in business for at least a year and supply
the past two years of tax returns. As the certification program is aimed at supporting small
businesses, there is a cap of $15 million in net worth for the owner(s).
As well, applicants must give evidence of having performed at least three relevant contracts
or proof of work on three different projects to prove they can do the work they’re certified
for.

Enactment
MWBE utilization was established by a series of local Erie County laws dating back to 1978,
most recently updated in 2005. 194

Location
For County capital projects, vendors must come from the County-certified list of MWBEs.
Businesses do not need to be in Erie County to be certified on the list. However, staff state
they “encourage businesses to have a presence in some form in the county, like renting a
warehouse, etc., to make sure that money doesn’t just flow out of the county.”

Cost
There is no cost to apply for Erie County MWBE certification.

Processing time
As certification is voted on by the committee, processing time depends on how each
application falls with the committee’s monthly meeting schedule. Typically, it takes about
30 days for a business to be certified.
Applicants must appear in person before the Joint Certification Committee to present their
business and answer questions.

193
https://www2.erie.gov/eeo/sites/www2.erie.gov.eeo/files/uploads/pdfs/LocalLaw_09-2005.pdf
194
https://www2.erie.gov/eeo/sites/www2.erie.gov.eeo/files/uploads/pdfs/LocalLaw_09-2005.pdf
 232

State reciprocity agreement

Erie County has a fast-track agreement with New York State wherein vendors filing for state
certification may simultaneously submit an addendum applying to be certified by Erie
County/City of Buffalo. Likewise, for locally certified businesses seeking state certification,
Erie County will submit a letter indicating their local certification that expedites state
certification.

Staffing
The EEO office employs three full-time staff members. They estimate that roughly 50% of
their time is given to certification matters.

Aid with state certification

Buffalo’s Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center helps small business in Western New
York, with an emphasis on MWBE and Service-Disabled Veteran–Owned Businesses
(SDVOB). Among its assets is a clear MWBE certification training guide 195 and checklist 196
that can serve as models for Rochester-area MWBE certification support organizations to
similarly post.

Rochester/Monroe County
The City of Rochester and Monroe County rely on state certification to determine business
eligibility for MWBE contracting requirements.
While some municipalities may grant priority or exclusivity to locally certified MWBEs,
there is no reason Rochester and Monroe County need do so. Instead, local certification can
simply complement state certification, as a stop-gap procedure less burdensome for local
businesses as they navigate through the longer and more complex state certification
process.

MWBE Certification Recommendations

Recommendation #1 (Endorsed by the Business Development and
Job Creation working groups)
∞ Offer a local city/county MWBE certification option that is quicker and less burdensome
than the state certification.
A local MWBE certification program should be designed to complement, rather than
replace, state MWBE certification, and focus on helping young businesses get certified. This
can be done by requiring less intensive detail, such as just a year of business tax returns,
rather than the three years of business tax returns that state certification requires.

195
https://beverlygraycenter.com/app/uploads/2019/04/MWBE-Training-Guide.pdf
196
https://beverlygraycenter.com/app/uploads/2019/04/MWBE-Checklist_bevgray.pdf
 233

Recommendation #2 (Suggested by CGR)

∞ Make comprehensive MWBE certification information more accessible on City of
Rochester and Monroe County websites.
Both the city and county have webpages with some helpful MWBE information and links.
However, for both, this information is not as comprehensive or focused as should be. On
both the city and county websites, a search for “MWBE” should take the searcher to a
webpage that includes a section briefly explaining New York State MWBE certification, and
including links to the appropriate state website and to local organizations that can assist
with the application process.

Similarly, we recommend that the county’s business resources webpage include links to
MWBE information and the county’s Purchasing page or subpages clearly list MWBE
percentage requirements for county contracts.

As well, both city and county MWBE pages should include links and information to help
with overall business development. For example, while both the county and the city link to
some important resources for certification and support, neither include links to SUNY
Brockport’s Small Business Development Center – a public, taxpayer-funded state resource
that helps with all stages of business develop, including MWBE certification.
A comprehensive list of public and private support organizations that will help with
business development and mentorship and MWBE certification should be developed and
hosted on both city and county websites.
 234

Older Adults Subcommittee

Report and Recommendations

Subcommittee Charge

The subcommittee was charged with examining issues of racial equity among older
adults in our community. Specifically:

- Increasing poverty among older adults of color.

- Livable Communities Initiative.

- Location and operation of senior centers.

- Budget and priorities of the Monroe County Office for the Aging (MCOFA).

Summary of Findings 197

The older population of Rochester and Monroe County is increasing rapidly and the
rate of elder poverty is exploding, particularly within the City of Rochester. There are
significant racial disparities of income and wealth between older African Americans and
other people of color, and whites.

The Livable Communities for Older Adults Initiative, recently awarded a planning
grant from Monroe County, will address many of the service and systemic needs of the
elderly with a particular focus on older adults in need, a disproportionate number of which
are African Americans and other people of color.

There are vast disparities in resources, physical space, and programs between senior
centers located in the City and those in the suburban towns. There is a need to construct
better spaces for urban centers, as well as “reinvent” the very role and function of the
centers as inequities are corrected.

The primary purpose of the Monroe County Office on the Aging (MCOFA) is to fund
and oversee services provided by private, non-profit agencies. 85% of the county’s
expenditures and programs for older adults are subcontracted to these non-profit agencies.
A large portion of MCOFA’s budget is received from federal and state sources for specific
programs, especially those in furtherance of the federal Older Americans Act.

197
This “Report and Recommendations” is designed to be read along with the
Subcommittee’s document “Older Adults in Rochester and Monroe County, New York:
Basic Facts on Demographics and Racial Disparities.”
 235

Several themes about the administration of these services arose from interviewing
officials and front line workers. They include:

- The need for better communication and information on available

benefits and programs for front line workers.

- Language barriers to accessing services.

- A lack of independent issue advocacy on behalf of older adults, particularly for

African Americans and other people of color, outside of MCOFA and the service
providers.

Specific Needs

The subcommittee identified many areas of specific needs of older adults, most of
which contained considerable racial and ethnic inequities in their impact. They include but
are not limited to:

Access to health care

- Affordable prescription drugs.

- High out-of-pocket expenses.

- Health care worker shortages, especially in home care.

- Quality of long term care, especially in nursing homes.

- Lack of support for family caregivers.

Food and nutrition

- “Food deserts.”

- Appealing and culturally appropriate meals.

Transportation

- Expansion beyond medical transport and geographic limits.

- Support for mobility management services.

- Subsidies for ride hailing services.

Housing
 236

- High cost of utilities.

- Participation in STAR tax relief program.

- Home repair needs.

- Unenforced code violations by landlords.

Legal Services

- Expansion of available assistance.

“Digital divide”

- Computer and internet access.

- Skills training and support.

- In-person assistance in the absence of digital access.

Language barriers

- Primarily Spanish, but also other languages.

Many of these issues are to be addressed by the Livable Communities for Older
Adults Initiative planning grant awarded by the county to a group headed by the United
Way of Greater Rochester. Health care issues stand out as needing a separate strategy.

Recommendation #1: Champion the Livable Communities for Older Adults

Initiative.

Monroe County should support and enhance the planning and implementation of
this program with a particular focus on those most in need, a disproportionate number of
whom are people of color. The Livable Communities for Older Adults is a set of criteria set
forth by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and endorsed by the
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) which specifies eight domains:

- Outdoor spaces and buildings.

- Transportation.

- Housing.

- Social participation.

- Respect and social inclusion.

 237

- Civic participation.

- Communication and information.

- Community support and health services.

Monroe County recently awarded a planning grant for Livable Communities to a

group led by the United Way of Greater Rochester. The grant calls for drafting a
comprehensive plan for implementing the Livable Community criteria in our community.
The plan is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The plan will focus the needs of poor elders, persons of color, and those with
disabilities; and address racial and economic disparities that exist in Rochester and Monroe
County. It is hoped that the Livable Communities approach will provide a broad and
coordinated platform for all those involved in services to older adults in which to
participate. More importantly, it will propose systemic changes in many areas of life for
the elderly.

Implementation of Livable Community proposals should include the establishment

of representative and diverse advisory boards with significant oversight responsibilities.

Recommendation #2: Establish a “Navigator” training program and broader

communication to front line workers.

The MCOFA should establish a “navigator” training program and create information
materials about available services and benefits for older adults. The navigator program
could be modeled on the Affordable Care Act navigator role where front line workers were
trained to assist consumers in accessing and choosing the best medical insurance plan to
meet their needs. It could also be modeled on the highly successful “one stop” Elder Source
program run by Lifespan and Catholic Family Services. The navigator program would train
and orient all front line county and non-profit staff who have direct contact with older
adults in their jobs, and provide the necessary resources for them to direct seniors to
appropriate assistance.

The MCOFA should also be funded to embark on a multi-media educational program

on available services and benefits, with particular focus on older adults of color.

The objective is to create and enable a more holistic approach by front line workers
serving older adults, backed up by an improved communication program.

Recommendation #3: Establish a health care for older adults task force.

County and City governments should form a joint task force to examine issues of
health care affecting older adults. The task force should seek input from health providers
and non-profit agencies but not include any person employed or formerly employed by
 238

those organizations because of clear conflict of interest in advancing any system changing
recommendations.

The health care task force would examine issues such as:

- Increasing participation in the EPIC prescription program.

- Researching the feasibility of a county sponsored pharmacy

management program.

- Increasing the number of seniors with primary care providers.

- Increasing affordable participation in Medicare Part B.

- Inadequate health insurance coverage, “surprise” medical bills, and the impact of
hospital observation unit billing and access to post hospital rehabilitation services.

- Health care worker shortages.

- Quality of care in skilled nursing facilities with a particular focus on the disparate
treatment of African Americans in local long term care facilities.

Recommendation #4: Enact contracting requirements that enhance racial

equity.

With over 85% of Monroe County services to older adults subcontracted to

community based agencies (CBO) and businesses, the MCOFA should advance racial equity
through its contracting and procurement policies and procedures. CBOs and businesses
providing older adult services form a significant employment base and community
leadership base in the community.

National studies demonstrate that an overwhelming majority of non-profit CBO

executive leadership and boards are not representative of the people they serve. Few even
have a board diversity recruitment policy in place. By observation, these factors apply to
Rochester area CBOs as well.

The MCOFA should survey all CBOs and businesses with which it contracts for older
adult programs to determine whether each has a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy in
place for both staff, executive leadership, and its board, as well as whether they comply with
the proposed new contract requirements listed below. The MCOFA should also require that
all CBOs and businesses with which it contracts shall submit its statistics on diversity for
its board, senior leadership, and staff; and require that this data be submitted annually as
a condition of the contract.

Monroe County should add to its contracting requirements:

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- A diversity, equity, and inclusion policy in place covering staff and executive
leadership.

- A diversity, equity, and inclusion policy in place covering board composition and
recruitment.

- A conflict of interest disclosure of board members and significant funders in at

least two categories: business interests and oversight responsibilities.
- Signing of the Employer Pledge of the Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative
(RMAPI).

- Paying wages at a self-sufficient level, providing affordable health insurance

coverage and an employer financed retirement plan.

- Absence of a union avoidance program and absence of union avoidance

consultant.

The MCOFA may provide model policy language for subcontractors to comply with
these new requirements.

Recommendation #5: Upgrade senior centers in neighborhoods of most need.

Huge disparities exist in funding, programs, and physical structures

between senior centers in the City of Rochester and their counterparts in wealthier suburbs.
One senior advocate likened the situation to the disparities in resources between school
districts in Monroe County. The largest source of funding for senior centers comes from
the volume of free meals served each year. The county subcontracts with towns (suburbs)
and non-profit organizations (city) to fund senior centers. Many of the towns supplement
this funding with their own tax revenues, resulting in significant disparities in physical
space, programs, and other key features of the centers.

There needs to be a realignment of funding for senior centers in Monroe County.

There also should be a “reinventing” of these centers to be more relevant to the needs
and views of the elder communities that they serve.

The county should embark on a strategy to rebuild the physical infrastructure of

centers whose buildings are lacking. This project could be analogous to the ambitious
program of the Rochester City School District in rebuilding its school buildings.

Transportation for older adults to and from senior centers should be a priority.

Senior center programs should be designed to be “in tune” with the cultures and
values of the local people that they serve.

Recommendation #6: “Match” funding.

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Many of Monroe County services for older adults that are subcontracted to CBOs
require the agency to match up to 25% of the program’s cost. For many CBOs, this
requirement is an unsustainable burden. It also places those organizations without access
to significant supplemental funding at a severe disadvantage in competing for contracts to
provide services. This requirement also poses the risk of not being able to draw down all
Federal and state dollars that are available for older adult services.

The county should develop a funding strategy, either public or private or combined,
to lift the match burden from its services for older adults subcontractors.

Recommendation #7: Address the “digital divide” for older adults.

Access to internet and computer services are a significant issue for older adults. So
is a lack of basic skills and support for their use. Current local efforts have prioritized
households with school age children. Programs have begun in conjunction with Action for
a Better Community (ABC) and the Rochester Pubic Library System, with support from the
Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), The Children’s Agenda, and the
Rochester City School District (RCSD). The MCOFA should be an active participant in
these and other community efforts to bridge the “digital divide.” It should formulate
strategies to supply computers and training. It may establish a volunteer or student
program to aid in training.

Recommendation #8: Specific procedures for MCOFA

- Put all MCOFA functions under “one roof.”

- Create and maintain a MCOFA Facebook page.
- Provide materials in multiple languages.
- Streamline paperwork application processes and provide more
assistance in their completion.
- Regularly seek stakeholder input on policy and procedures.

In addition, the county and city should develop new and innovative funding sources
such as the health systems, insurance companies, and foundations to shift priorities toward
preventive programs that address the underlying issues of health status, and racial
disparities.

Recommendation #9: Address the long-term condition of elder poverty by

joining community efforts to raise wages and address employment
discrimination.

The disproportionately high rates of poverty among older Black Americans and
other adults of color, and their greater need for services, is primarily caused by a lifetime of
higher rates of:
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- Employment in lower wage jobs.

- Employment in jobs without retirement benefits.

- Periods of unemployment.

- Periods of employment interrupted due to incarceration.

- Disability and lower health status.

- And lower rates of intergenerational wealth, due in part by redlining

and other issues of housing discrimination.

There are no quick fixes for the massive income and wealth disparities in our society
that are engineered into the fabric of structural racism and the exploitation of labor, and
that result in the desperate circumstances of so many of our older adults. But the only way
to reduce these inequities in the next generation is to correct the current compensation
structure of the workforce, while noting that many older adults are currently working in
low wage jobs at well beyond “normal” retirement age.

In a previous generation, many of the disparities that we face today were reduced by
the influence of an active union movement, but that movement has largely been destroyed
in the private sector, and has been unable to set adequate standards in the now dominant
service sector, and for the newer generation of older adults. For example, defined benefit
pension plans, once prevalent in industrial age America, are all but absent everywhere but
the public sector. So are retiree health benefits. Unions also played a measurable role in
reducing racial and gender disparities in the workplace.

Nothing short of “making work pay” will solve the moral injustice of increasing
poverty and disparities in the older adult population of Monroe County, a condition largely
attributable to declining wages and benefits.

Therefore, both county and city governments should join and lead in all efforts to
bring every job in Monroe County to a level of self-sufficient wages, comprehensive medical
benefits, and retirement savings paid by the employer. One such effort is RMAPI’s
employer pledge. Others include the “Fight for $15” and the drive for a voluntary living
wage paid by all employers.

Recommendation #10: Lobby on Federal and state legislation.

The MCOFA, or another appropriate office, should draft a list of state and federal
legislation of benefit to older adults in our community, particularly those in poverty, and
submit this list to Monroe County and the City of Rochester for inclusion in their lobbying
 242

agendas. The subcommittee has heard these following concerns regarding state and federal
issues impacting older adults:

- End delays, often of long duration, in New York State payments to service
providers. Only service providers with substantial cash reserves or outside funding can
survive in this environment.

- Join with community allies, like the RMAPI, in opposing cross the board cuts in
New York State funding for services to older adults and others in need.

- Enact tax credits and other supports for family caregivers.

- Reverse harmful SSA regulations that increase the likelihood that people will lose,
or be unable to obtain, Social Security Disability Insurance of Supplemental Security
Income benefits for which they are eligible.

- Protect and expand Social Security – increase benefits, especially for low-income
beneficiaries, and make the Social Security Trust Fund solvent.

- Modernize the Supplemental Security Income program, through the SSI

Restoration Act or other proposals, so that it more effectively helps those who are unable
to earn enough to meet their basic needs.

- Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to older

adults.

(The subcommittee is awaiting a list of additional relevant state legislation from the
chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Aging’s staff.)

Recommendation #11: Address issues laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.

African Americans and Latinx residents of Monroe County have died at over twice
the rate of whites from COVID-19. Their rates of hospitalization have been even higher.

A huge portion of COVID-19 deaths has occurred among the elderly, especially those
residing in local nursing homes. By some estimates, that number has reached 50%.

Although the issue of racial disparity in COVID-19 death rates includes many factors
(poverty, underlying conditions, health status, housing, types of jobs), there also appears
to be a higher proportion of African Americans who reside in more poorly rated nursing
homes than whites, a probable contributing factor to this inequity.

The correlation between high minority death rates and patterns of nursing home
composition and admission, including possible discrimination against Medicaid recipients,
deserves a closer look.
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County and state oversight of long-term care facilities proved inadequate to prevent
the large number of deaths.

Monroe County must launch a full and independent investigation into the response
and preparedness of local nursing homes to the pandemic. Such an investigation must
exclude industry representatives and non-profit service agencies from the body conducting
the investigation. County COVID-19 oversight of long-term care facilities contained very
significant conflicts of interest among those charged with those duties.

Monroe County should issue COVID-19 surveillance data (race, ethnicity, age, etc.)
on a more regular basis.

Monroe County must also draft a comprehensive preparedness plan for the
possibility of future pandemics, with a priority for those most at risk: older adults, people
of color, and the poor.
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Resources and people consulted by the subcommittee.

In addition to the considerable knowledge and experience that the subcommittee

volunteers brought to the table, these studies were consulted:

“Monroe County Transition Report” (Bello Transition Team, 2020)

“Disrupt Disparities 2.0 Solutions for New Yorkers Age 50+” (AARP, 2020)
“Disrupt Disparities 3.0 COVID-19 Wreaking Havoc on Communities of Color” (AARP,
2020)
“American Tragedy: COVID-19 and Nursing Homes” (AARP Bulletin, December, 2020)
“Age Wave - The changing demographic landscape of America and Greater Rochester”
(Lifespan, 2015)
“ALICE in New York: A Financial Hardship Study” (United Way of New York, 2020)
“America's Opportunity Gaps: By the Numbers, Systemic Barriers to Equality of
Opportunity for Black Americans and People of Color” (U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
2020)
“Hard Facts Update: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area”
(ACT Rochester, RACF, 2020)
“Profile of the Hispanic/Latino Community in Monroe County: A Demographic and
Socioeconomic Analysis of Trends (Ibero American Action League, and La Cumbre,
2018)
“Overloaded: The Heavy Toll of Poverty on Our Region's Health (Common Ground
Health, 2019)
“Health Equity in the Finger Lakes Region: A Chartbook (Common Ground Health)
“Digital Divide in Rochester & Monroe County (RMAPI, RACF, ROC The Future, 2020)
“Connecting, Supporting, Transforming - Together! (Connected Communities)
“What Older Adults Need from Congress” (Justice in Aging, 2020)
“RFP: Age Friendly Livable Community Initiative for Older Adults” (Monroe County,
2020)
“MCOFA 2020-024 Four Year Plan Abstract” (Monroe County Office for Aging, 2020)
“Building Stronger Families: 2018 Annual Report (Monroe County Department of
Human Services)

“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Across U.S. Nursing
Homes” (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2020)

Individual people interviewed were from:

Rochester, Monroe Aging Alliance

Lifespan

Monroe County Office for the Aging

Monroe County Federation of Social Workers

Former Director of the MCOFA

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Catholic Family Services

Jewish Family Services

NYS Assembly Committee on Aging

Legal Assistance of Western NY

Woods, Oviatt law firm.

Long Term Community Care Coalition

Members of the RASE Older Adults Subcommittee*

Bruce Popper, chair, Retired, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Tracy Collins, Monroe County Office for the Aging

Bill McDonald, The Aging Alliance

Diana Simpatico, LifeResults

Raquel Serrano, Ibero American Action League

Rodney Young, United Way of Greater Rochester

* Organizations are named for identification purposes only. All members of the

subcommittee acted as individuals. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect

the views of their respective organizations.

The chair wishes to thank the subcommittee members for the many hours they spent

and the important contributions they made to this work

 246

“Parking Lot”

Issues that arose that the subcommittee did not have adequate time to review
include or decided to set aside:

- Monroe County Adult Protective Services.

- Relation of the Governor’s “Health Across All Policies” executive order. Livable
Communities is likely to integrate this directive into its plan.

- Statistics on the use of hospital observation units and their impact on access to
rehabilitation services, and billing to seniors not covered by Medicare Part B or other
insurance.

- Establishing grandparent and caregiver support groups.

- Establishing a volunteer “buddy” system to look in on seniors living alone without

family support.

- The idea of establishing an office of Elder Advocate.

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Older Adults in Rochester and Monroe County, New York

Basic Facts on Demographics and Racial Disparities

Basic Facts about Older Adults in Our Community

The older population of Rochester and Monroe County is increasing rapidly and the
rate of elder poverty is exploding, particularly within the City of Rochester.

The population over age 60 in Monroe County has nearly doubled in the past 50
years from 97,000 to 184,000. The population over age 65 in Monroe County is projected
to reach 214,000 by 2030.

Older adults currently constitute over 24% of Monroe County’s population. By

2035, it is projected to grow to 27%.

21% of older adults have at least one disability.

The older adult population within the City of Rochester increased 36% over the past
decade, the highest rate of any major city in the state, despite a 2% decline in overall
population. Older adults now account for 12% of the city’s overall population, up from 9%
a decade ago.

Rochester’s older adults have the highest poverty rate of any city or county in the
state at 31%, rising at an alarming 38% rate over the last ten years.

(Thanks to Ann Marie Cook, Lifespan, for the above statistics).

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Monroe County Quick Facts 65+

81% of people 65 or older live in suburban towns. 19% live within the city limits.

Educational Attainment
• Suburb 81% • Less than high
• City 19% school 17%
• High School 33%
• Some college 23%
• Bachelors 27%

• Male 42% Employed

• Female 58% • 15%

Race/Ethnicity Disability Status

• White 89% • With any disability 31%
• African-
American/Black 8%
• Hispanic/Latino 3%
• Asian 2%

 Speak English less

than well 6%
Poverty Status
• Below 100% of poverty 7%
Marital Status • 100-149% of poverty 9%
• Married 52%
• Living alone 43%
• Widowed 29%
• Divorced 11%
• Never married 7%
Residence
• Own home 75%
• Rent 25%

Statistical Sources:
A Profile of Older Americans, 2014.
U.S. Administration on Aging
U.S. Census 2010
American FactFinder, U.S. Census, 2009-
2013 American Community Survey 5-Year
Estimates
New Realities of an Older America, Stanford
Center on Longevity, 2010.
 249

City of Rochester Quick Facts 65+

65+ = 20,400 (10% of the total city population

• Male 40% Employed

• Female 60% • 13%

Race/Ethnicity
• White 64%
Poverty Status
• African-American/Black 3%
• Hispanic/Latino 9% • Below 100% of poverty 15%
• Asian 1% • 100-149% of poverty 17%

 Speak English less than

well 11%

Marital Status • Own home60%

• Married 34% • Rent 40%
• Living alone33%
• Widowed 17%
• Divorced 13%
• Never married 13%

 Lives Alone 56%

Disability Status
• With any disability 40%
Educational Attainment
• Less than high school 32%
• High School 32%
• Some college 19%
• Bachelors 18% Statistical Sources:
A Profile of Older Americans, 2014.
U.S. Administration on Aging
U.S. Census 2010
American FactFinder, U.S. Census, 2009-
2013 American Community Survey 5-Year
Estimates
New Realities of an Older America,
Stanford Center on Longevity, 2010.
 250

From Lifespan, “Age Wave: The changing demographic landscape of America and
Greater Rochester,” (2015).

National Facts on Racial Disparities Among Older Adults

There are significant racial disparities of wealth in America:

- At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than
that of the average Black American family ($17,150).

- In addition, Black Americans are much more likely to experience poverty: 21% of
Black Americans and 8% of whites live below the poverty level.

- Wealth disparities are reflected in everything from retirement planning to

homeownership to net worth. While 60% of white families contribute to retirement
accounts, only about 33% of Black American families hold assets there. A recent report
showed that Black Americans had balances of $30,000 in their retirement accounts, while
white women and men had balances of $60,000 and $101,000, respectively. As a result,
Black Americans are at substantially greater risk of being poor in retirement.

From U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “America’s Opportunity Gaps: By the Numbers;

Systemic Barriers to Equality of Opportunity for Black Americans and People of Color,”
(2020).

Factors contributing to lower wealth and less retirement income for older Black
Americans and other people of color include lower lifetime earnings due to higher rates of:
- Employment in lower wage jobs.
- Employment in jobs without retirement benefits.
- Periods of unemployment.
- Periods of employment interrupted due to incarceration.
- Disability and lower health status.
- And lower rates of intergenerational wealth.

The Social Security Administration estimates that 21% of married couples and 44%
of single seniors rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.
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Racial Disparities in Our Nine County Region

Section 4: ECONOMIC WELL-BEING

A. Unemployment13

Disparate economic outcomes in our

region parallel the gaps seen in earlier
life. 10.8%
13.8%
African Americans are about 3 times 3.9%
more likely to be unemployed compared 4.4%
with Whites in our region, while the gap
for Latinos is about 21/2 times (Chart 5.5%
18).
Latino African American Asian White All
As shown in Charts 19 and 20,
unemployment experiences for African
Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey for 2014-18. Percent of those in the
Americans and Latinos in our region workforce experiencing unemployment during 12-month period (see endnote 11).
significantly exceed those of African
Americans and Latinos in both the U.S.
and NY State.

U.S. 10.6% U.S. 6.8%

New York 10% New York 7.8%

Rochester Region 13.8% Rochester Region 10.8%

Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey for 2014-18 Percent of Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey for 2014-18 Percent of those
those in the workforce experiencing unemployment during 12-month period in the workforce experiencing unemployment during 12-month period (see
(see endnote 11) endnote 11)
 252

B. Income Chart 21: Median Household Income by Race &

Ethnicity for the 9-county Region
The median income for local African
Americans amounts to less than 50%
that of Whites. For Latinos, the median
income is slightly higher than 50% that
of Whites (Chart 21).

Incomes of local African Americans are

equal to only 75% of Blacks nationwide.
For Latinos incomes are even lower
(66%) when compared with their
counterparts nationwide (Charts 22

Chart 22: Median Household Income

for African Americans Chart 23: Median Household Income
for Latinos

U.S. $40,155 U.S. $49,225

New York $46,178 New York $46,259

Rochester Region $30,182 Rochester Region $32,606

Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2014-18 Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2014-18
 253

B. Poverty

Chart 24 shows the dramatic - it would be fair to say extreme - disparity in poverty rates within the nine-
county region. Both African Americans and Latinos experience poverty at a rate that is more than 3 times that
of Whites. The data here is the percentage of all people in each racial and ethnic group with incomes below
the federal poverty line -- well below what is required to meet basic needs5.

Chart 24: Poverty Rate Rates by

Race & Ethnicity for the 9-County Region

32%
34%
17%
10%

14%

Latino African American Asian White All

Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2014-18

The poverty rate of African Americans in our region is 42% higher (10 percentage points) than experienced by
African Americans in the U.S. It is 55% higher than the NY State mark (Chart 25).

The poverty rate for Latinos in our region is 52% higher than for Latinos in the U.S. and 33% higher than NY
State (Chart 26).

Chart 25: Poverty Chart 26: Poverty

Rates for African Rates for Latinos

U.S 24% 21%

U.S

New York 22% New York 24%

Rochester Region 34% Rochester Region 32%

Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2014-18 Source: U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2014-18
 254

B. Observations and Analysis

Economic disparities within our region and in comparison to the nation and state are extraordinary. These
disparities - way out-of-line with the national and statewide experience - reflect a type of racism that must be
stopped if our region is to prosper.

Consider a recent Brookings Institution finding regarding Monroe County

income disparity within Monroe County, our region's core
county14. Of more than 3,100 counties in the nation, Monroe
recorded the fifth highest income disparity betweenWhites and
African Americans and Latinos.

This places Monroe near the pinnacle of inequality. Statistically,

this means that 99.840815% of all American counties have a
more equitable income distribution when itcomes to race.

Compared with the 2017 Hard Facts report, this data reflects
very minor improvements in economic disparity. This is The Ladder of INEQUALITY
Monroe County is the 5 highest of all U.S. counties (3100)
th
especially the case in the unemployment rate gap,which shrunk
by 2.6 percentage points for African
Americans and less than 1 percentage point for Latinos. African American incomes rose very slightly
compared with Whites, but Latino incomes declined very slightly compared with Whites. The poverty rate
gap between Whites and both African Americans and Latinos declined by 1 percentage point.

Unfortunately, gains by African Americans and Latinos nationwide and statewide outpaced those in our
region. While the changes are too small to be considered statistically significant, trends should be watchedto
see if they continue.

None of the economic indicators above reflect the impact of the COVID-19 virus. It has been widely reported
that these impacts have disproportionately hit African Americans and Latinos. Data from the Monroe County
Public Health Department shows that through mid-July of 2020, compared with Whites, African Americans
experienced 4 times as many COVID-19 cases, nearly 5 times the COVID-19 hospitalization rate, and 2.3
times the COVID-19 death rate. For Latinos, the case rate compared to Whites was 2 ! times higher, and the
hospitalization rate was 3.3 times higher. The Latino COVID-19 death rate was not reported as the data was not
considered to be stable given the small number of deaths 15.

The economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will almost certainly be felt more dramatically by Peopleof
Color. Current reports already indicate a disproportionate impact on unemployment16. The long-term impact
of the virus and the recovery should be monitored closely.

From ACT Rochester/The Community Foundation, “Hard Facts Update: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester
Area,”(August, 2020).
 255

42% of households in Monroe County do not have income sufficient to meet basic
needs (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, taxes, and
other).

From United Way, “ALICE in New York: A Financial Hardship Study,” (2020).

Poverty rates in Monroe County:

Black 35%, Latinx 33%, Asian 16%, White 10%

Median household income in Monroe County:

Black $30k, Latinx $31k, Asian $62k, White $65k

Participation in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)

Black 43%, Latinx 41%, Asian 12%, White 10%

From Center for Governmental Research, “Key Statistics on Disparities – Human

Services,” prepared for RASE Commission (2020).

Specific impacts of racial disparities and poverty on older adults in NYS

Prescription drug costs

Elderly who went without medication over a recent 12 month period:

Black 41%, Latinx 32%, Overall 23%

Elderly who did not fill an insulin prescription due to price increase:

Black 20%, Latinx 24%, White 14%

Caregiving

Percent of income spent by family caregivers:

Black 34%, Latinx 44%, White 14%

Utilities

Elderly difficulty paying utility bills:

Black 47%, Latinx 40%, Elderly Overall 34%, Overall 24%

 256

From AARP New York, “Disrupt Disparties 2.0: Solutions for New Yorkers Age
50+.”

The “Digital Divide”

Income - 38% of Roc and MC households with <$20 k income have no internet
subscription.

Age - 34% of Roc people >65 years of age have no internet access of any type. 24%
of Roc people >65 years of age have no computer nor smart phone.

Race – No internet of any type Roc: Black 20%, Latinx 18%, white 10%. No
computer nor smartphone Roc: Black 11%, Latinx 8%, white 6%.

Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults and People of Color = Disparities on Steroids

Racial Disparities Related to COVID-19 in Monroe County, New York

African Americans have died from COVID-19 at 2.6 times the rate of whites in
Monroe County. African Americans have been hospitalized from COVID-19 at 4.75 times
the rate of whites in Monroe County.

• See latest "Monroe County COVID-19 Surveillance," URMC Center for Community
Health (October 7, 2020) page 5.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a light on the many problems of nursing homes
in New York State including infection control, staffing levels, and accountability. Over
6600 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19 in New York State. Over 40% of
COVID-19 deaths in Monroe County have occurred among nursing home residents.
The number of COVID-19 fatalities of nursing home residents is considered to be lower
than the actual number as many residents were transferred to hospitals where they died
of COVID; these deaths are not counted as nursing home deaths.

• See "Nursing Home and ACF COVID Related Deaths Statewide," NYSDOH (October
18, 2020).

The quality of nursing homes in Monroe County vary from “much below average” (1
star) to “much above average” (5 star) based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services CMS) quality star ratings. SFF stands for "special focus facility," a status reserved
for the worst conditions and requiring extra scrutiny by the NYSDOH.

• Elder Justice Committee has developed a list of Monroe County nursing homes with
their star ratings.
 257

African Americans are more likely to reside in nursing homes with poorer quality
ratings which are primarily located in the city.

• See Elder Justice's analysis of racial data of nursing home residents in the city and
suburbs of Rochester and their respective quality ratings.

Conclusion: This data would lead one to conclude that there is a very substantial
racial inequity in nursing home care for African Americans in our community. Coupled
with the COVID-19 pandemic, this inequity has resulted in a huge disparity in the death
rates of African Americans compared to whites in Monroe County. The relationship of
nursing home quality of care and the deaths of African American needs the attention of
county health authorities, including intervention, and correction. It also suggests a need
to investigate discrimination in nursing home admissions based on payer status between
Medicaid recipients and private pay/insured applicants.

From the Elder Justice Committee of Metro Justice, submitted to the RASE
Commission (October 27, 2020).