Findings and Purpose. | |
Definitions. | |
Data Collection and Training. | |
Confidentiality and Privacy. | |
Contracts and Grants. | |
Waivers and Exclusions. | |
Rules and Regulations. | |
Monitoring and Reporting. | |
Undertaking for the General Welfare. | |
The City and County of San Francisco is committed to using data to identify the needs of San Franciscans and to evaluate whether the City is effectively and equitably meeting those needs.
However, many City departments and contractors that provide critical public services, such as housing, health care, and public assistance benefits, do not collect information on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the clients they serve. As a result, it is difficult to quantify the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population, to identify programs in which they are underrepresented or underserved, and to track improvement in access to services over time.
Even in the absence of widespread data collection, research suggests that LGBT communities face disproportionately high rates of poverty, suicide, homelessness, isolation, food insecurity, substance abuse, and violence. For example, according to a 2011 report issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the homeless youth population includes a disproportionate number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth.
The IOM report also found that: rates of smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance abuse may be higher among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and adults than heterosexual youth and adults; LGBT youth report experiencing elevated levels of violence, victimization, and harassment; and, lesbians and bisexual women may use preventive health services less frequently than heterosexual women.
Notwithstanding these preliminary findings, there are significant gaps in research relating to LGBT health and well-being. As a result of these gaps, the 2011 IOM Report concluded that "[m]ore demographic data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across the life course are needed, as are data on LGBT subpopulations."
Collecting demographic data on sexual orientation and gender identity is a necessary first step to understand the extent to which LGBT people are experiencing disparities in health and well-being and whether San Francisco's programs and services are reaching LGBT people in need of care and assistance.
The purpose of this Chapter 104 is to accelerate the collection and analysis of sexual orientation and gender identity data in order to evaluate how City agencies can better serve the needs of LGBT San Franciscans.
(Added by Ord. 159-16, File No. 160362, App. 8/4/2016, Eff. 9/3/2016)
For purposes of this Chapter 104:
"City" means the City and County of San Francisco.
"Client" means an individual who seeks or receives Direct Services from a Covered Department, Contractor, or Grantee.
"Contract" means any agreement between a Covered Department and a Person to provide Direct Services on behalf of the City for a price to be paid out of monies deposited in the City Treasury or out of trust monies under the control of or collected by the City, but excluding agreements for a cumulative amount of $50,000 or less per vendor in each fiscal year.
"Contractor" means a Person who enters into a Contract with a Covered Department.
“Covered Department” means the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Disability and Aging Services, the Department of Children, Youth and their Families, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.
"Demographic Information" means information about an individual's gender, race, or ethnicity.
"Direct Services" means services intended to assist Clients to access health care, temporary shelter, transitional housing, supportive housing, permanent housing, employment, vocational training, public assistance, or counseling. "Direct Services" does not include licensing, permitting, or other administrative or business functions undertaken by Covered Departments, Contractors, or Grantees.
"Gender Identity" has the meaning set forth in Section 3304.1(c) of the Police Code.
"Grant" means any agreement between a Covered Department and a nonprofit entity to provide Direct Services to the public or a portion of the public, whether the agreement is funded by the City or by Federal or State grant funds, but excluding grants where the award amount is less than $50,000 per vendor in each fiscal year.
"Grantee" means a Person who receives a Grant from a Covered Department.
"LGBT" means lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
"Person" means any natural person, corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, association, joint venture, limited liability company, or other legal entity.
“Sexual orientation” has the meaning set forth in Section (c) of the Labor and Employment Code.
(a) Starting July 1, 2017, when, in the course of providing Direct Services, a Covered Department collects and records Demographic Information from Clients, the Covered Department shall seek to collect and record information about Clients' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, in accordance with subsection (c).
(b) Starting July 1, 2017, when, in the course of providing Direct Services, a Contractor or Grantee is required by the terms of the Contract or Grant to collect and record Demographic Information from Clients, the Contractor or Grantee shall seek to collect and record information about Clients' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, in accordance with subsection (c), and shall report such data to the Covered Department that is party to the Contract or Grant, in the manner and frequency as determined by that Covered Department.
(c) In seeking to collect information about Clients' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Covered Departments, Contractors, and Grantees shall:
(1) communicate to Clients that the provision of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity information is voluntary, and no Direct Services shall be denied to Clients who decline to provide that information;
(2) solicit Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation data using questions and approaches consistent with the Department of Public Health's Policies and Procedures entitled "Sexual Orientation Guidelines: Principles for Collecting, Coding, and Reporting Identity Data," reissued on September 2, 2014, and "Sex and Gender Guidelines: Principles for Collecting, Coding, and Reporting Identity Data," reissued on September 2, 2014, or any successor Policies and Procedures; and
(3) advise Clients that they will protect personally identifiable information regarding Clients' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity from unauthorized disclosure, to the extent permitted by law.
(d) Each Covered Department shall instruct its staff, Contractors, and Grantees who provide Direct Services in the requirements of this Chapter 104 and in the strategies for data collection, coding, and reporting set forth in the Department of Public Health's Policies and Procedures referenced in subsection (c)(2), above.
Covered Departments, Contractors, and Grantees shall protect personally identifiable information regarding Clients' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity from unauthorized disclosure, to the extent permitted by law and as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the California Medical Information Act, Article 1 of the California Constitution, the California Health and Safety Code and regulations promulgated thereunder, the California Welfare and Institutions Code and regulations promulgated thereunder, and any other applicable provision of federal or state law.
(Added by Ord. 159-16, File No. 160362, App. 8/4/2016, Eff. 9/3/2016)
(a) Covered Departments shall include in all Contracts and Grants that impose an obligation within the scope of services to collect Demographic Information, a provision requiring compliance with this Chapter 104.
(b) This Chapter 104 is intended to have prospective effect only, and shall not be interpreted to impair the obligations of any Contract or Grant existing on the effective date of this Chapter.
(c) Any violation of this Chapter 104 shall be deemed a material breach of the Contract or Grant, and the City may pursue all rights or remedies available to the City under the Contract or Grant, including but not limited to the right to terminate the Contract or Grant.
(Added by Ord. 159-16, File No. 160362, App. 8/4/2016, Eff. 9/3/2016)
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