This marks the eleventh year that San Bernardino County and our community partners have published this honest and unfiltered self-assessment of how our county is performing in key aspects of community life. But this report is remarkably different than those that have come before it in two key ways.
First, this edition of our annual Community Indicators Report takes a detailed look at the local impacts and possible long-term effects of the issue that defined 2020 and continues to consume our attention efforts to this day: The COVID-19 pandemic. A 12-page special feature examines how COVID-19 has touched not only our health but everything from employment and childcare to freight movement and traffic congestion.
The second way in which this report breaks new ground is in how it examines equity and measures it whenever and wherever possible. This will become a feature of all future Community Indicators Reports as a result of a commitment the Board of Supervisors made in June 2020 when it became the first county in California to declare racism as a public health crisis. In doing so, the Board acknowledged that equity is a community element that must be discussed and measured in the same way we look at and strive to improve our economy, our health, our schools, our environment, and everything else that comprises a community.
This report has always been central to our county’s efforts to achieve the Countywide Vision. Achieving this vision depends on working to strengthen each element of our community by understanding that all elements relate to and depend upon each other. By acknowledging that equity is a community element, we recognize that we cannot achieve our goals unless we ensure that no one is left behind.
The goal of this report, and the interactive digital version at http://indicators.sbcounty.gov, is to inspire government leaders, business people, community- and faith-based organizations, and others to come together and discuss strategies that are succeeding so we may work together to bring those efforts to scale to serve our entire county.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors appreciates your interest and involvement, and we encourage you to use the information contained in this report to help us achieve our shared Countywide Vision.
Sincerely,
Curt Hagman
Chairman, Board of Supervisors
San Bernardino County of San Bernardino