Supervisors hear SOGI reports; departments report progress and persistent gaps in serving LGBTQ residents

The Audit & Oversight Committee held a hearing on the city’s collection and analysis of sexual-orientation and gender-identity (SOGI) data for fiscal year 2018–19, hearing presentations from the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) and six departments. Supervisors, department staff and advocates stressed that better data is essential to identify disparities in who receives services and to target outreach and training.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann, who called the hearing, said SOGI reporting helps document service disparities and supports resource allocation. He cited California’s AB 959 and San Francisco’s 2016 SOGI ordinance (Chapter 104 of the Administrative Code), which require covered departments and contractors to seek, collect and report SOGI data annually.

Claire Farley of the Office of Transgender Initiatives outlined OTI’s role in coordinating guidance and training for covered departments and recommended a coordinated, citywide evaluation of SOGI collection and reporting. She said early results show programs explicitly designed to serve LGBTQ people record higher representation, while many general programs undercount or under-serve those populations.

Department of Public Health (DPH)…