housing policies and procedures. Over time, the County should consider
expanding the training requirement to quarterly training sessions. Staff from
County agencies and offices whose work involves housing should be encouraged
to participate in the fair housing trainings. Organizations and municipalities that
submit applications to the County for funding should be required to send a staff
person to the annual training session as well. Requiring participation from
municipalities will help to develop local champions for fair housing.
Although the County should advertise and coordinate the annual fair housing
training, the content of the sessions should be developed by local housing
organizations such as PSLS, as these organizations regularly conduct such
training sessions. An additional benefit would be that more local municipalities
could begin to develop relationships with local fair housing organizations and
view the organizations as a resource for their community members.
Coordinate outreach activities with PSLS and other housing organizations.
PSLS and similar organizations regularly hold training sessions and outreach
events throughout Lake County. County representatives should attend these
events to provide information on the County’s expectations regarding fair
housing. Attendance by Community Development staff will also facilitate the
development of a consistent message regarding the County’s expectations for
affirmatively furthering fair housing.
Further, the County should encourage local fair housing organizations to attend
County events to provide information on fair housing, including best practices. To
encourage funding recipients to attend the events, the County could apply
additional points to funding applications for the organizations that attend fair
housing events.
Host regional housing discussions. The County could coordinate regular
meetings with municipal representatives to discuss housing issues. As p 'B