California’s diverse geography and natural resources – from
valuable minerals to world-class recreation to technological hubs
– offer countless opportunities for cultivating local economies.
More than 50 county supervisors, county staff, and CSAC Corporate
Partners joined CSAC for our Spring Regional Meeting in Imperial
and Riverside Counties March 13-14 to explore sustainable
economic development at the local level.
The critical importance of maintaining a strong county employee
workforce to carry out county services and ensure the needs of
our residents are being met necessitates urgent action. This
participatory meeting will help county leaders understand
both the labor and supply demands impacting the local government
workforce.
Through the many challenges over the past year, CSAC and
California’s Counties have been partners in securing funding and
resources to address critical issues facing our communities. A
major issue that has touched every corner of our Golden State is
homelessness. The FY 2021-22 State Budget includes unprecedented
investments to combat homelessness across several state programs
and counties are in a critical and opportune moment.
CSAC’s Fall Regional Meeting included presentations
and discussions focusing on local emergency
preparedness, public engagement, and recovery and response.
Issues covered during the interactive meeting included:
What counties are doing doing to increase resiliency in their
community?
Identifying risk and increased collective statewide
resiliency
Disaster mitigation and resiliency funding strategies.
CSAC’s Summer Regional Meeting focused on multiple factors to
drive economic development within the eight counties and 62
cities of the San Joaquin valley in California.
Issues covered during the interactive meeting included:
Opportunity Zones in the Central Valley
Insights and Best Practices for Local Government
Opportunities for Economic Development
CSAC’s regional meeting on behavioral health focused on the
largest policy challenges facing California’s counties today.
From combating homelessness, recovering from disasters, bending
the recidivism curve and cultivating a resilient workforce, each
of these efforts hinge on the critical role Counties play in
providing mental health and substance use disorder services. The
intersection of these urgent policy efforts is complicated as
expectations around behavioral health collaboration and
integration evolve – while requirements and funding streams
become more fragmented.
Watch our regional meeting videos to learn how counties can adapt
to the evolving behavioral health services landscape and navigate
the fiscal and technical challenges to best meet the unique needs
of each community.
CSAC held a regional meeting in Santa Barbara County in June to
focus on the vital issue of resiliency and disaster recovery. Our
panel of experts spoke to California’s new normal of year-round
natural disasters and best practices through lessons learned on
how to work with local, state, and federal partners in order for
communities to heal and rebuild.
On March 29, 2018, CSAC held a regional meeting in the Inland
Empire on the critical issue of homelessness. Our panel of
experts spoke to short and long-term issues of homelessness,
emergency management, public health, public safety, and
performance-based funding strategies.
On November 9th, 2017, CSAC held a regional meeting on economic
development for Southern California counties. The meeting
included a regional economic forecast, tools and ideas for
economic stimulus and public/private partnerships such as
bio-science, and the role of affordable housing.
CSAC held a Regional Meeting June 29 on Cannabis Policies in
Humboldt County specifically focused on the regulation of
cannabis cultivation at the local level, working with industry
partners, and how Northern California counties are responding to
legalization by crafting their own measures to regulate and tax
cannabis at the local level. This forum included representation
from CSAC Officers, CSAC Advocacy Team members and staff, other
County Officials and policy experts.
