Office of Equity, Diversity, Access, and Inclusion

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About OEDAI

Our Vision
We envision a DSHS where all feel welcomed and valued … Where equity, diversity,
access, inclusion and belonging are evident in all we do.
Our Mission
Operationalizing procedural and outcome fairness, embracing difference, removing
barriers to universal access and promoting participation and belonging.
Equity
Fairness, accountability and justice.
Diversity
Embracing differences with authenticity with ourselves and others.
Access
Eliminating barriers and expanding opportunities.
Inclusion
The responsibility to ensure participation, collaboration and belonging.

What We Do

OEDAI works to create an environment of mutual respect, equity, and acceptance of the persons we serve. Our work helps to build a better government that increases equity with the people and communities DSHS serves and supports.

Washington State Proactive Equity Antiracism (PEAR)

The Proactive Equity, Anti-Racism (PEAR) Consultant Team provides expert guidance and business structures that frame DSHS business operations around reducing disparities, eliminating barriers to access, supporting shared governance decision-making, and increasing a sense of belonging for clients and employees.
 
Together, the PEAR Consultant Team supports work in every DSHS Administration to create an experience for staff and clients that reflects agency values and contributes to an anti-racism ecosystem in a multicultural Washington state where everyone flourishes and achieves their full potential now and for future generations.

PEAR TeamDiagram

Pro-Equity Anti-Racism (PEAR)

Advancing Fair and Just Outcomes for All

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Community engagementtwo women and learning ninety are facilitated to support an engaged and purpose-driven workforce as we monitor and communicate performance results to agency clients, partners, and employees.
 
Organizational alignment creates unity between our Vision and the way leaders, colleagues, individual contributors, clients, patients, and community members work toward intentional results. This is accomplished by connecting individual, community and client goals with Agency objectives and by uniting the hearts of colleagues with the vision, purpose and values of why we exist.

 

OEDAI Administrators

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TScale imagehe OEDAI Administrator Team advises executive leadership on strategic decisions, improvements, capacity building, comprehensive plans and policies and procedures that deliver results, with an emphasis on aligning agency work to the 15
Determinants of Equity for maximum impact.
 
We perform equity impact assessments and reviews to ensure budget, legislation, policy, and performance metrics fully consider the effects to our clients and workforce.

Language Equity

Language is a necessary tool to understand the world. Language Equity helps us ensure fairness, recognition and appreciation of difference, participation and belonging. It communicates our Vision and the way leaders, colleagues, individual contributors, clients, patients, and community members work toward intentional results. The role of Language
Equity in DSHS is to eliminate barriers to services and full participation for colleagues and clients; to achieve Agency goals aligned with the department’s EDAI Maturation Model, and to directly address equity and access needs by embedding practices that increase community, client and colleague belonging and participation.
 
The Language Equity Team ensures the agency's capacity to deliver services and supports, regardless of English proficiency. The team oversees the policy, processes and procedures related to language access to ensure DSHS clients from diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds receive efficient and equitable services. Specific areas of our work include language access policy, language testing and certification, language access contract coordination, as well as other language access affairs. This team supports OEDAI’s responsibilities related to Federal and state anti-discrimination laws, DSHS inclusive excellence initiatives, and state executive orders related to language equity and access.

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External Resources

 

Contact Us