The D.C. Workforce Investment Council's Role in Employment Services

By Anne Robinson

Last fall, Councilmember Grosso was appointed by the Chairman of the Council to serve on the D.C. Workforce Investment Council (WIC). As the staff member assigned to this issue, I began to research and understand the history of the D.C. WIC and I found it to be fascinating.  It has a tangled history, both on the national level and here at home.   The important theme throughout is how integral a role it plays in steering our residents down the employment path.  I hope you will join me on my journey down the path to better understanding how employment services operate in the District. 

The functions of the D.C. WIC are largely defined by requirements in the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The mission of WIC is to oversee the creation and improvement of services and programs that address the workforce development needs of the region's employers and the District's residents.  Members are authorized to advise the Mayor and District government on all functions designated to the WIC.   The Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) has administrative oversight of the WIC on behalf of the Mayor.  So, where did WIA come from? 

In the 1930s, unemployment insurance programs were created to combat the impacts the Great Depression had on employment.  Throughout the proceeding decades, the federal government developed new plans and policies that expanded unemployment insurance benefits to also address displaced workers and job training.  As time went on, responsibility for the unemployment insurance programs slowly shifted from federal control to being administered more on the state and local level.  In 1998, the Workforce Investment Act was implemented with the goal of further authorizing states to provide employment and training services through federally-funded workforce development programs and One-Stop Job Centers (now referred to as American Jobs Centers).   The Job Centers provide career counseling and planning, resume and interview assistance, direct job placement, classroom and on-the-job training, access to a jobs bank, information about labor markets, and unemployment compensation.

WIA mandated that all states create Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) to implement policies at the state and local levels for the workforce programs.  The D.C. Workforce Investment Council (WIC) was created in accordance to WIA that same year. 

By statute, the Board must be comprised of members of the business community, directors from agencies receiving federal workforce dollars, and two members of the D.C. Council.  The legislative intent of WIA is for the WIB/WICs to approve the spending and business plans for One-Stop operators and report compliance metrics to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).   Unfortunately, the intent was not fully realized under both the Williams and Fenty Administrations.  Since their inception, the D.C. One-Stops have been solely operated and managed by the Department of Employment Services (DOES).   DOES was supposed to report to the WIC who is the responsible body reporting to DOL under federal law.  This did not happen. DOES has not been in full compliance with DOL standards for operating the One-Stops since 1998 and the authority granted to the WIC was largely ignored.   

In 2012, Mayor Gray began to implement the WIA required DC Workforce Development Strategic Plan 2012-2016.  To date, the strategic plan has been a necessary cornerstone to move workforce development in the right direction.  The plan includes reinvigorating the WIC, getting DOES in compliance with DOL, and getting more residents back to work.  Over the past 2 years, the WIC Board has worked diligently to bring DOES management of the D.C. American Jobs Center to a higher compliance standard. This is being done through a newly adopted business plan and strong oversight of DOES by the WIC.  

As we continue to learn and track the employment system we intend to continue sharing with you what we discover.    DOES will have their annual oversight hearing before the Committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs on Wednesday, February 26 at 10:00 am in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building.  We urge you to engage by watching, testifying, or sending us your questions so we can ask them for you. 

*This post is part of an ongoing series of posts by Councilmember Grosso’s staff to support professional development. All posts are approved and endorsed by Councilmember Grosso.

Now is the Time to Take a Stand for D.C. Workers and Home Rule

For Immediate Release

September 25, 2013

Today, Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) called on Mayor Gray and Chairman Mendelson to refuse to shut down the D.C. government in the face of the impending federal shutdown.   A D.C. government shutdown will have a seriously difficult impact on D.C. workers and the local economy.

“A shutdown, imposed by the federal government, with no pay for D.C. workers, will make it impossible for many D.C. employees to pay their bills and feed their families. It is offensive that the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is telling the D.C. government how to spend the money we raised through taxing D.C. residents and businesses.  D.C. is the only local jurisdiction impacted in this manner and one thing is true, if D.C. were San Antonio, there would be a battle at the Alamo over this,” said Grosso.

“Chairman Mendelson and the Mayor should not send a plan to OMB, but instead should declare that all D.C. employees are essential,” stated Grosso.  “The citizens of the District of Columbia passed a budget autonomy referendum last year and it goes into effect on Jan. 1.  That referendum frees D.C.’s budget from the burdensome annual Congressional approval.  We should immediately take our budget into our own hands and refuse OMB’s requests for shutdown plans.”

###

The Ones Who Put Their Shoulders to the Wheel

By Jonetta Rose Barras, Washington Post, February 5, 2014

Copyright Washington Post

Asked to speak last week at a luncheon sponsored by the D.C. Federation of Citizens Associations, I was supposed to offer insight about the city government and the current political landscape. But the lesson that day was all mine. I was reminded, sotto voce, of the critical role played by seemingly ordinary citizens in creating an ethical government, growing a vibrant city and refurbishing our democracy.

A couple of decades ago, the District barely had two nickels to rub together. Wall Street rated its bonds as junk, exacerbating the city’s downward trajectory. Unsurprisingly, some residents escaped to the suburbs and parts unknown. Others — Anne Renshaw, Marie Drissel, the Rev. Lionel Edmonds, Robert Brannum, Dorothy Brizill, Gary Imhoff, Terry Lynch, Greg Rhett, Sam Bost, David Mallof, Ellie Anderson, Ron Drake, Helen Haggerty, Paul and Barbara Savage, for example — never gave up on the city.

They demanded better management of D.C. finances, construction of more downtown housing, enhanced neighborhood commercial corridors and improved delivery of government services for the poor and working class. They helped fire residents’ imaginations, inspire new leadership and create an exciting vision of the city’s future. The District blossoming before our eyes today owes much to the work of ordinary citizens, some of whom sat last week in the ornate and elegant upper room of the DACOR Bacon House in Northwest.

It’s easy, sometimes, to be swirled by the pontificating and gesticulating of politicians in an election season. Sometimes it’s difficult not to be caught in their self-aggrandizing delusions, assertions of being once and future architects of all things good in the District, which get amplified by their insistence that people spend their days counting construction cranes in the sky.

An element of municipal growth, undoubtedly, can be tracked by brick and mortar. But a city’s true greatness is its people: their diversity; their shared values; their spirit; their willingness to work on behalf of the collective, setting aside superficial differences often manufactured by ambitious, sometimes corrupt, politicians; their determination to shape their destinies.

Chatting with attendees at the federation’s luncheon and other residents around the city, I was struck by their keen awareness of the moment in which the District finds itself. They were anxious about the mayoral race, understanding that a wrong choice could have devastating consequences, but not necessarily on those cranes or other physical components of the city. Rather they were worried about possible injury to the people: their psyches, their belief in government and politics.

Leadership matters.

It was refreshing last week to realize that at least one of the District’s elected officials understands that. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) endorsed Brianne Nadeau, who is vying for the Ward 1 seat held by Jim Graham. Graham was lambasted last year by the city’s ethics board and reprimanded by the council for behavior in 2008 connecting the city lottery contract with a Metro land development deal.

Grosso went against a tradition: D.C. Council members do not publicly endorse a colleague’s opponent. I have not always supported his public policies. I am against his push to legalize marijuana in the District. I am not convinced of the need for public financing of local political campaigns. But I have admired his determination to help create a new politics in the city.

Integrity is not a sometime thing, practiced in one venue but not another. The common aphorism warns that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” In other words, we are, indeed, our brother’s and sister’s keeper.

The gray hairs have multiplied on more than a few of the heads I saw at last week’s affair. The strides of some — once energetic — have begun to slow. No worries. A new generation of citizen-leaders has been forming across the city; people like Eboni-Rose Thompson, Josh Lopez and Daniel del Pielago, for example, have moved in, advocating around various critical issues. Equally important, federation members also have reached out to some of those young professionals who have been arriving in droves, claiming the District as home. They hope to persuade them that seeing something and tweeting something is simply not enough.

Citizenship has never been a spectator sport. Engagement and sweat equity are demanded.

Gender Disparities on Board and Commissions

While preparing for a December hearing to consider nominations to various Boards and Commissions, Councilmember Grosso noticed something— there were far more men than women under consideration for appointment. We found ourselves wondering if this was a coincidence specific to that day and those specific Boards, or if there was a broader trend of gender imbalance. We reviewed the memberships of all the Boards before the Committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs (BCRA) and then the 150 plus Boards and Commissions citywide. Our question was answered—there are significant and often egregious gender disparities. 

During our research, another problem presented itself.   Much of the information we were searching for, we could not find.   If information is not publicly available then how can residents know who is on Boards and Commissions and what they are doing?

Gender Disparities

Looking at the broader list of the Boards and Commissions with information available online (more on that below), almost a third of the memberships are dominated by men, including several powerful entities:

•         Alcohol and Beverage Control Board– 6 men, 1 woman
•         Business Regulatory Reform Task Force – 11 men, 6 women
•         Commission on African American Affairs – 11 men, 4 women
•         Housing Production Trust Fund, Board of Directors – 6 men, 3 woman
•         Interfaith Council – 23 men,2 women
•         Streetcar Financing Task Force – 13 men, 1 woman

Disappointingly, Boards and Commissions covering topics that are historically associated with gender stereotypes are especially prone to such imbalances: 

•          Advisory Panel on Special Education – 4 men, 15 women
•          Board of Industrial Trades – 7 men, 1 woman
•          Board of Nursing – 0 men, 7 women
•          Board of Social Work – 0 men, 5 women
•          Constructing Codes Coordinating Board – 11 men, 0 women

There are, of course, male nurses and female construction workers, but according to these numbers, their perspectives are marginalized.  D.C. prides itself on being forward thinking, but the reflection of sexism in these leadership positions contrasts starkly with our vision of a city that stands for equality.  And this discussion does not begin to consider other measures of diversity. 

Public Access and Information Sharing

What was equally disturbing and frustrating was the amount of information that we simply could not find online.  We were looking for details about the membership of these entities.  We hoped to find a list of names.  Maybe some biographical information.   Figure out when the next Board meeting would be and when the last one was held.  Who attended?  Did anyone take notes?  Did anything happen? 

The District’s Office of Boards and Commissions (DOBC) has a list of the Boards and Commissions, but it does not provide enough information about what they do and who sits on them.   Sometimes, the Board or Commission is housed under a local agency and that agency is responsible for listing the information.  However, it did not matter if we were looking for information at DOBC or the agency’s website because the information often was not there. 

While most of the Boards and Commissions could be found online, at least 30 percent are unavailable. Those that are online provide inconsistent levels of information, some of it woefully outdated.   Some examples of entities that have little or no information online include the following:

•          Advisory Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
•          Board of Behavioral Health
•          Board of Consumer Claims Arbitration
•          Board of Dentistry
•          Commission on HIV/AIDS
•          Commission on Latino Community Development
•          District of Columbia Statehood Commission
•          Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board
•          Washington Convention Center Advisory Committee

As Councilmember Grosso noted in comments before the BCRA Committee, this represents a failure of government transparency and accountability.   Additionally, the lack of information can be construed as a violation of D.C.’s Open Meetings Act (OMA).  OMA mandates that these government affiliated bodies publicly advertise their meeting times and locations, as well as provide meeting minutes.   

So…now what?

These public bodies in D.C. have an important role to play—they are making decisions about the granting of licenses to local business, setting policies and procedures, or giving a voice to our city’s diverse community.  This is why it is vital that their information is open to the public.  Unfortunately, some of the city’s current set of Boards and Commissions do not serve any good purpose or have remained dormant for years.  Mayor Gray called in December 2012 to reform the problem by abolishing 30 of the least functioning of them.   A bill is currently before the Council, but has not yet been brought up for a vote.  Passing such legislation would be a step in the right direction, but it will not solve problems of transparency or gender imbalance.

Reviewing other jurisdictions around the country shows that publicizing information about these public bodies is not hard to do.   Baltimore, San Francisco, Nashville, and Denver—cities of similar size to D.C. but diverse in location and reputation—all have easy to find, centralized lists of Boards and Commissions accompanied by basic information such as membership and meeting times.  What’s more, they include information about how to apply to join these public bodies—encouraging residents to engage with local government is critical to a vibrant and functioning city.  Greater community engagement improves government accountability, and vice versa.  So, what should D.C. do?

In December, Councilmember Grosso called on the Mayor’s Office to make the membership and other key information about Boards and Commissions available and published online by the end of January.  This would require that the DOBC collect this information with the help from individual agencies and then have the Office of the Chief Technology Officer aggregate the information in one centralized location on the DOBC website.  If the Executive branch cannot accomplish this task, Councilmember Grosso is prepared to introduce legislation to make the government operate in a more open and accessible manner.  It would be similar to San Francisco’s law that requires the government to make this information easily accessible online.   These bodies make vital decisions and recommendations, and residents of D.C. should know how to voice their support or air their grievances.   The Boards that grant professional licenses or have a direct say in how government works should be balanced, open, and available to the public. 

Making this information public and easily accessible will also, we hope, encourage more District residents to apply for openings on Boards or Commissions that fit their skill sets, areas of expertise, or interests.  Asking residents to participate in government is how we make the city function through heightened participation.   We want all residents to know what any given Board or Commission does, when it meets, and, most critically, what impact it has on the District.    

*This post is part of an ongoing series of posts by Councilmember Grosso’s staff to support professional development. All posts are approved and endorsed by Councilmember Grosso.

“What’s clear is that under the current system, the wealthy and connected are almost entirely shielded from the consequences of marijuana being illegal, while the poor and non-white face catastrophe for engaging in the same behavior.”

— http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/marijuana-legalization-elites

D.C. Legislator Wants To Expand Access To Medical Marijuana

In his letter, Grosso asks Garcia to expand the list of qualifying conditions to include post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, dystonia, and endometriosis, as some states with medical marijuana programs do. By doing so, he wrote, the department could “prevent further needless pain and suffering for District residents.”

Winter Weather Alert

The weather forecast calls for a dusting of up to two inches, with the accumulation chances greater as you head towards Baltimore. But the real threat here is the temperature drop. The National Weather Service says “unseasonably cold weather will settle into the region Friday and Friday night. Wind chill values may approach zero friday morning.”

So bundle up D.C. and remember: If you see a person in need of shelter, call either 1-800-535-7252 or 202-399-7093 to connect with D.C.’s shelter hotline.

D.C. Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) sends Season’s Greetings and well wishes for the New Year and provides a snapshot of his year-end legislative victories in the areas of health, criminal justice, education and ethics reform. Grosso also informs residents of some of his legislative priorities for the upcoming year and encourages them to reach out to his office on issues of importance to them.  Be on the lookout for Grosso’s year-end newsletter also.

Lawmakers Debate Whether To Seal Records For Marijauna Possession

"Often people don’t realize that even something as minor as a marijuana possession charge can keep residents from obtaining employment, housing or even scholarship money for higher education," Councilmember Grosso said.

Not everyone is born to lead a country and create change but #NelsonMandela committed his entire life so that the people from South Africa would be free from apartheid.

D.C. Honors the Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela

The world mourns the loss of a courageous leader, Nelson Mandela, a man who sacrificed his life to end apartheid in South Africa in his fight for peace and equality.  Not everyone is born to lead a country and create change, but Nelson Mandela committed his entire life so that the people of South Africa would be free from apartheid. The road to freedom is a long one – Mandela spent 27 years in prison but never lost hope or direction. He was confident that he “could lead his people in the right direction.” He never lost sight of “a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.”

We will remember Nelson Mandela as one who inspired and united the people of South Africa and led them to freedom through peaceful acts. His vision became a reality – four years after being released from prison – Mandela in 1994 voted with his people for the first time in his life and shortly thereafter became the first Black President of South Africa.

Nelson Mandela’s legacy will live on forever in the hearts and minds of D.C. residents who marveled his life. His actions and leadership has significant meaning to our city. The legacy he created will live on through future generations as we continue to break down barriers and strive for equality among all people. We will cherish and honor his memory and the contributions that he has made to his country and to the world.

D.C. Legislator Wants Green Card Holders To Be Allowed To Vote In Local Elections

D.C. Legislator Wants Green Card Holders To Be Allowed To Vote In Local Elections

By:

Martin Austermuhle

December 3, 2013 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcivey/480629716/

Much like in the rest of the country, voting in local D.C. elections is limited to U.S. citizens.

Voting and jury duty are two hallmarks of U.S. citizenship, but one D.C. legislator wants to extend at least one of those to non-citizens.

Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) today introduced a bill that would allow legal residents who are not U.S. citizens to vote in municipal elections, provided they’ve lived in D.C. for 30 days prior to the election.

During the Council’s legislative session, Grosso said that the measure would allow the city’s growing population of non-citizens to weigh in on local issues that affect them.

"Pot holes, community centers, playgrounds, minimum wage, taxes, Supercans, snow removal, alley closings, alcohol license moratoriums, red light cameras— these are all important issues that voters in the District of Columbia entrust their leaders with. And unfortunately, not all of our residents have say in choosing the individuals who make these decisions. In my opinion, that is unjust," he said.

According to the U.S. Census, in 2012 some 54,000 D.C. residents — roughly eight percent of the city’s population — were foreign born but not yet naturalized U.S. citizens. Ninety percent of those were over the legal voting age of 18.

In 1992, residents of Takoma Park, Md. voted in a referendum to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. The proposal passed narrowly, 1,199 to 1,107, and allows even undocumented immigrants to vote, provided they have lived in the city for 21 days preceding an election.

Six other locations — three towns, three villages — in Montgomery County allow the same. In 2004, Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) introduced a bill to the same effect in D.C., but it was rejected. Last May, legislators in New York considered a bill of their own that would allow non-citizen legal residents to cast ballots.

Opponents of the idea — which in New York included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr. — say that voting is a sacred enough practice that it should be limited to U.S. citizens.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray recently signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to gain special driver’s licenses. D.C. has also limited its cooperation with federal immigration authorities, limiting the time it holds immigrants wanted for deportation proceedings.

Disclosure: This reporter is a Green Card holder and D.C. resident.

Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2013

This morning along with Councilmembers Graham, Bowser and Wells, I introduced the Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2013. This bill would grant DC residents who are not U.S. citizens but are legal permanent residents voting rights for local municipal elections.

“All politics is local” is a common phrase in the U.S. political system. And while plenty of ink is spilled in this town giving the play-by-play on the endless rounds of political tug-a-war on the federal level, what most District residents care are the tangible things that affect their day-to-day life.

Pot holes, community centers, playgrounds, minimum wage, taxes, supercans, snow removal, alley closings, alcohol license moratoriums, red light cameras…these are all important issues that voters in the District of Columbia entrust their leaders with. And unfortunately, not all of our residents have say in choosing the individuals who make these decisions. In my opinion, that is unjust.

Since 1970, the District of Columbia has had a steady increase in the number of foreign-born residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2012), approximately 53,975 residents in the District are foreign born, but not naturalized U.S. citizens.  Over 90% of that population is 18 years of age or older. These are law-abiding taxpayers who should have the opportunity to have their voices heard in local elections.

For most of American history, noncitizens were permitted to vote in 22 states and federal territories. It was not until the 1920s that, amidst anti-immigrant hysteria, lawmakers began to bar noncitizens from voting in local and statewide elections.

Currently, there are seven jurisdictions where noncitizens can vote in local elections in the U.S., six of which are in neighboring Maryland. None of these cities or towns has experienced incidents of voting fraud with regard to noncitizens voting in federal elections.

A similar bill was introduced in the Council in 2004 and unfortunately due to the political climate at the time regarding immigration reform, did not receive a full consideration by this Council. Almost ten years later, its time for us to reignite this conversation. After all, if we are in fact ‘One City’, how can we continue to deny every legal District resident of age their one vote?

Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2013

This morning along with Councilmembers Graham, Bowser and Wells, I introduced the Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2013. This bill would grant DC residents who are not U.S. citizens but are legal permanent residents voting rights for local municipal elections.

“All politics is local” is a common phrase in the U.S. political system. And while plenty of ink is spilled in this town giving the play-by-play on the endless rounds of political tug-a-war on the federal level, what most District residents care are the tangible things that affect their day-to-day life.

Pot holes, community centers, playgrounds, minimum wage, taxes, supercans, snow removal, alley closings, alcohol license moratoriums, red light cameras…these are all important issues that voters in the District of Columbia entrust their leaders with. And unfortunately, not all of our residents have say in choosing the individuals who make these decisions. In my opinion, that is unjust.

Since 1970, the District of Columbia has had a steady increase in the number of foreign-born residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2012), approximately 53,975 residents in the District are foreign born, but not naturalized U.S. citizens.  Over 90% of that population is 18 years of age or older. These are law-abiding taxpayers who should have the opportunity to have their voices heard in local elections.

For most of American history, noncitizens were permitted to vote in 22 states and federal territories. It was not until the 1920s that, amidst anti-immigrant hysteria, lawmakers began to bar noncitizens from voting in local and statewide elections.

Currently, there are seven jurisdictions where noncitizens can vote in local elections in the U.S., six of which are in neighboring Maryland. None of these cities or towns has experienced incidents of voting fraud with regard to noncitizens voting in federal elections.

A similar bill was introduced in the Council in 2004 and unfortunately due to the political climate at the time regarding immigration reform, did not receive a full consideration by this Council. Almost ten years later, its time for us to reignite this conversation. After all, if we are in fact ‘One City’, how can we continue to deny every legal District resident of age their one vote?

“I’m thankful that we have so many young D.C. residents who are heavily engaged in the political process. Since I have been on the D.C. Council, I have tried to create a more transparent system where residents can offer input and engage on issues that are important to them whether it is education, the budget, increasing the minimum wage – you name it! Over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with students from Powell Elementary, Wilson High School, Center City Public Charter School, and Archbishop Carroll High School on some of these very issues. It’s easy for us to think of kids today as uninformed and uninterested, but I’ve had a very different experience. The young people who contact me to offer their input have been engaging, witty and incredibly honest about their frustrations and hopes for our city. These conversations keep me encouraged about the future, and for that I am thankful.”

—

Blog/Famous for DC

What about DC are you most thankful for this season?

We asked our friends around town what about DC they were thankful for this season. Here are their answers.

A Good Day for D.C.

I just came from a mark-up of education bills that increased our investment per student in areas of the city that need it the most. Now I am gladly supporting an increase in the minimum wage and sick leave for restaurant workers. These two items are not unrelated – and in fact, I am very pleased to support our students and increase wages for entry level positions. This is a two-front battle against generational poverty.

Increasing the minimum wage is a victory for workers. It is long overdue and I am very happy to see that we won’t have to have a jump like this again now that we have indexed the wage including cost-of-living increases. Businesses in the region can now have the certainty they are seeking and workers in the area have come close to realizing the entry level living wage that they deserve.

I introduced an amendment to the bill that will hopefully make the minimum wage reporting provision less burdensome on restaurants by requiring all minimum wage certifications to be available online. I will follow up with the appropriate agency to ensure this is a simple one-click certification if no wages had to be supplemented and a two-click process when wages do have to be supplemented. All enforcement and certification should fall on the agency, not on the business. Businesses just need to keep good records in case of an audit, as they should anyway. The desired outcome of this provision, and this amendment to it, is an increase of prosecution of bad actors and less burden on responsible business owners.

Voting today to support a focused effort to improve education where it is most needed and higher wages for those who most need it is why I ran for office. This is a good day for D.C. 

A Good Day for D.C.

I just came from a mark-up of education bills that increased our investment per student in areas of the city that need it the most. Now I am gladly supporting an increase in the minimum wage and sick leave for restaurant workers. These two items are not unrelated – and in fact, I am very pleased to support our students and increase wages for entry level positions. This is a two-front battle against generational poverty.

Increasing the minimum wage is a victory for workers. It is long overdue and I am very happy to see that we won’t have to have a jump like this again now that we have indexed the wage including cost-of-living increases. Businesses in the region can now have the certainty they are seeking and workers in the area have come close to realizing the entry level living wage that they deserve.

I introduced an amendment to the bill that will hopefully make the minimum wage reporting provision less burdensome on restaurants by requiring all minimum wage certifications to be available online. I will follow up with the appropriate agency to ensure this is a simple one-click certification if no wages had to be supplemented and a two-click process when wages do have to be supplemented. All enforcement and certification should fall on the agency, not on the business. Businesses just need to keep good records in case of an audit, as they should anyway. The desired outcome of this provision, and this amendment to it, is an increase of prosecution of bad actors and less burden on responsible business owners.

Voting today to support a focused effort to improve education where it is most needed and higher wages for those who most need it is why I ran for office. This is a good day for D.C. 

Washington City Paper: The People Issue: They Asked, I answered

Photo Credit: Darrow Montgomery/Washington City Paper

The People Issue

We asked, they answered—the 20 people who make D.C. what it is

Freshman At-Large Councilmember David Grosso won his seat in 2012 in an unlikely victory over incumbent Michael Brown. Fresh off successfully proposing to keep the District’s government open during the federal government shutdown last month, he’s on a crusade against the Washington Pigskins name and the criminalization of marijuana. —Will Sommer

It seems like over the past year there’s been a lot of people talking about the [Pigskins]name. What do you think is behind that?

David Grosso: The whole country has shifted in a way recently the last couple years on lots of important issues. The culture’s changing, the country’s becoming more aware of when your personal actions have an impact on people.

You’re coming off the shutdown, where you came up with the idea of not closing the city government. How do you think that turned out?

I think it was a big success. I think we got a lot of attention on the issue which we hadn’t gotten in a long time.

You have personal experience with a marijuana possession arrest. How did that play into your feelings on marijuana legalization?

I have two personal experiences actually with this situation that I think go hand in hand. Yeah, I was arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana in 1993 in Florida. It was a misdemeanor with possession case, and it’s been well discussed in D.C.

But I think more interesting is an experience I had when I was growing up in the city here. We moved into the city when I was 16 years old, to the corner of Georgia and New Hampshire Ave on Rock Creek Church Road—my mom still lives there. That was in 1987. In 1987, in that neighborhood, there was no Metro, it was very poor, and it was a hotspot for dealing drugs on all those corners. I used to work at Col. Brooks Tavern over in Northeast.

I would go to work and I would come home at two, three in the morning, and park my car usually on the corner because there was no spot there, and walk by the corner of Rock Creek Church Road and Warder Street, where there’d be a gang of guys hanging out dealing drugs, right?

Probably more than a dozen times I walked by there, when the police were there with them up against the wall, searching these folks. Not once in my years of doing that did the police ever look twice at me. They didn’t push me against the wall; they didn’t question me. They didn’t ask me what the heck I was doing there. Not even glanced at.

I’m white, all those kids were black. It tells you something, and it makes you a little nervous that we’re going down the wrong path.

It’s like it’s already decriminalized for wealthy white people in D.C.

I won’t tell you what I had in my pocket, usually. They could’ve arrested me, too, and that’s the point.

To see the full People Issue click here.

Grosso Statement at the AmeriHealth Behavioral Health/Physical Health Integration Summit

As you all know, one of the major challenges for effective health care delivery is the integration of services, particularly behavioral health and physical health programs. It is very rare that patients come to health clinics or providers with just one issue and if we can do our best to treat the whole person, it improves quality of care and outcomes for our residents.

I’ve brought this up in every meeting I’ve had with AmeriHealth staff and so it’s very exciting and impressive that AmeriHealth, who is new to the District, has called for this summit.

For a long time in the District, behavioral health programs were solely reliant on grant funding and therefore the services were not as expansive or as available as they should have been for all of our residents.

Many health plans did not offer coverage for behavioral health services. Providers were not accessible in all parts of the city – for example, a few years ago there was only one child psychiatrist that was east of the River. And there was little outreach to our African-American communities who were long reluctant to discuss mental health and illness even though many of those residents were dealing with incidents causing mental trauma on a daily basis.

As a result, there is a gap in the District of Columbia between our white and higher income residents and their minority and low-income counterparts when it comes to considering behavioral health and receiving proper care.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Services, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report having “serious psychological distress” than non-Hispanic Whites. Yet, young adult African Americans are less likely to seek mental health services than their White counterparts.  In fact, the depression rate among African American women is estimated to be almost 50 percent higher than that of Caucasian women.

We know that when individuals are facing mental illness or challenge, and essentially cope and suffer in silence, the problem doesn’t go away; it just tends to manifest in other physical health issues becoming more costly and problematic as time goes on. This is why I think integration of behavioral health and physical health programs are key and I’m excited that you all are here to identify integration projects and make firm commitments to implementing them in 2014-15.

We have certainly come a long way in the District in terms of behavioral health services. I sit on the Committee on Education at the Council and every time I visit a school they are not just talking about the guidance counselor anymore, we now have psychologists and family therapists along with nurses and dentists who are coming directly to the schools to provide services because we realize how important it is to take care of the health of the whole child.

This summer I visited 12 primary health clinics throughout the District. With the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and the increase demand for health care, I wanted to get an on-the-ground feel of what health access is really like in the District. What I found were successful, mission-driven health clinics that are going above and beyond to meet the whole needs of the patients they serve. While they all were borne out of a need to serve a particular community or treat a specific health issue, they’ve evolved to treat the whole person. Behavioral health services are now integrated into all of them.

We need more clinics and health providers who see this importance in the District. That is why a couple of weeks ago when I sent my budget priorities for FY15 to the Mayor, I included a request that he infuse $3 million into the health professionals recruitment fund to help our clinics and hospitals recruit more providers to work and setup practice in our neediest of neighborhoods. Treating the whole patient is the only way we are really going to move the needle in terms of improving health outcomes for patients and reducing overall costs for care.

I want to thank you all for taking time out of your schedules to have these conversations. They are imperative for District residents and the patients you all serve!

Discussion on Race and Gender Disparities in the D.C. Criminal Justice System

Will The Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Solve D.C.’s Race And Gender Disparity Problem?

Photo by

clarissa.stark

Councilmember Tommy Wells’ (D-Ward 6) marijuana decriminalization bill—which would reduce the penalty of the simple possession of marijuana (one ounce or less) to nothing more than a $100 fine—is currently undergoing a language rewrite following a hearing last month. So far, most of the D.C. Council and Mayor Vincent Gray are behind the bill, albeit with a few caveats, and a revised version of the bill will be sent to the full Council for a preliminary vote in December and a final vote in January.

In theory, the soul of this bill is to help to ease the racial disparities in the D.C. criminal justice system. Statistics show that a majority of D.C.’s marijuana-related arrests are of black males, despite the fact that the self-reported use of marijuana in D.C. is about equal between white and black residents. But the main question that remains with Wells’ bill—”The Simple Possession of Small Quantities Of Marijuana Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2013”—is will it actually help alleviate some of these statistics?

Last night, Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) held a forum at the David A. Clarke School of Law at UDC on race and gender disparities in the D.C. criminal justice system, and much of the conversation focused on this lingering question. Joined by a panel of legal experts—Niaz Kasravi, Director of the NAACP’s Criminal Justice Program, John Brittain, a UDC law professor, Josephine Ross, a Howard University law professor, Seema Sadanandan, Program Director for the ACLU of the Nation’s Capital, and Deborah Golden, Director of the D.C. Prisoners’ Rights Project and Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs—last night’s forum essentially turned into a critical symposium on the marijuana decriminalization bill and ways that the District can turn around some of the shocking statistics as it relates to race and the marijuana arrest rate.

Speaking to a packed room of over 100 citizens, law students, and activists, Grosso gave a brief introduction, explaining what led him to become so involved in this issue. “We’re here today because many people have done the hard work necessary to expose injustices in the way people are arrested, tried, arraigned, convicted, and sentenced,” Grosso said. “But the reason I’m here today is because of three independent events that happened over the past 12 months, which gave profound sense of responsibility to insert myself, as a leader in the District of Columbia, into the debate on race in the criminal justice system,” he said. Grosso cited the murder of Trayvon Martin (and subsequent trial of George Zimmerman), the book The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and comprehensive reports produced by the ACLU and Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs on racial disparity in arrests in D.C. as the three central reasons that led him to get so heavily involved on this issue.

Moderated by the Voice of Russia’s Kim Brown, each of the panelists laid out a variety of reasons why the U.S.’s failed War on Drugs has led to some disturbing trends in marijuana arrests and racial profiling, and how they’ve impact many black communities, specifically in D.C. Sadanandan of the ACLU said that, while working with young people in D.C., they would constantly tell her how they were “being stopped frequently by police under the pretext of marijuana,” and if cops thought they smelled like marijuana, they’d be searched. “The District, as compared to other jurisdictions in the United States,” Sadanandan said, “was one of the highest rates of marijuana enforcement anywhere, and we spent an enormous amount of money on marijuana arrests.” According to data compiled by the ACLU, 91 percent of all marijuana arrests in D.C. were of black people, and by and large, were of black men, despite the fact that the District is about 50 percent black and 50 percent white.

John Brittain, a UDC law professor mentioned that there is equal self-reported usage rate of marijuana in the District between white and black residents. He also talked about how the War on Drugs is a failed policy and that the country needs to not only be focusing on the legalization of marijuana, but to work on “[developing] uniform policies of cannabis and hemp to avoid corporate control,” he said. “Legal market of marijuana must be careful in not using taxes and other regulations to make marijuana so expensive that the criminal market continues,” Brittain also said.

Several other of the discussions panelists, including Kasravi and Golden, talked about how the current simple possession laws devastate the lives of those who are charged, making it increasingly difficult for them to reenter society because they have trouble finding work and housing with a record.

Toward the end of the discussion, the panelists opened up the forum to those in attendance, asking them what they think needs to be done to help solve the D.C. criminal justice system’s race and gender problem. One citizen gained many cheers and claps for calling out Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier. “You need to get rid of Cathy Lanier,” he said. “She puts road blocks in Trinidad, but she wouldn’t dare put those same road blocks in Georgetown.”

Perhaps the most cheers and claps of the evening came from another citizen who, while admitting that the marijuana decriminalization bill is a step in the right direction, the problem lives within the training of police officers and the lack of any sort of public oversight. “There needs to be a public oversight committee,” he said, “so that the police will actually have to listen and answer to the wishes of the public.”

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on Nov 15, 2013 12:18 PM