Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Equity Human Rights topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Office of Equity and Human Rights outlines outreach, language‑access and training priorities in FY2026 briefing
Summary
Chief Gisela Akinciado told the council April 3 the Office of Equity and Human Rights will continue intercultural competency training, roll out a language‑access plan and expand community outreach; the office reported about 105 public contacts (calls, emails, walk‑ins) tracked since it began formal intake recording.
Gisela Akinciado, chief of Equity and Human Rights, presented the office’s FY2026 work and priorities to the City Council on April 3, emphasizing training, language access and community intake services.
"Our mission is to advance social justice, racial equity, and human rights in city services and civic engagement through education, analysis, outreach, and community partners," Akinciado said at the start of her presentation.
Akinciado described the office’s current staffing model (chief and one primary staff member, with shared administrative support) and recent outreach and training efforts, including monthly "Cultural Creator" sessions for city employees and a redesigned intercultural competency curriculum for new hires that now runs as a 10.5‑hour module over multiple days.
The office reported it has drafted a language‑access plan for city services to expand interpretation and translation capacity, including use of a commercial language‑line service and Relay Iowa for the hard‑of‑hearing community; Akinciado said the plan will be coordinated with the city manager’s office and rolled out with training.
Akinciado also said the office had tracked 105 incoming public contacts in the budget year so far (phone calls, emails, walk‑ins) and that discrimination intake activity most often involved employment complaints and alleged discrimination based on race, disability, retaliation, and sexual orientation. She described examples of complaint resolution that included mediation and voluntary remedies.
Other community activities and partnerships cited included presentations and community tables for immigrant‑and‑refugee support events, partnering with Crescent Community Health Center on outreach, and awarding two $5,000 community grants in the current cycle (to AfriWellHub and Visiting Nurses Association projects targeting immigrant communities).
Akinciado listed future initiatives including a formal DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging) action plan for the city organization, department‑level coaching on DEIB implementation, and expanded community education about rights and complaint processes. She said the office will continue coordinating with the police department and other city agencies on access, mediation and equity work.
Council members commented in support of the office’s work and asked about the department’s outreach materials and the planned DEIB action plan; Akinciado said the office will continue to build its public materials and training offerings while monitoring any applicable state or legal constraints.
