Rebooting Prince George's
Task Force Identifies ‘Quick Wins’ As The First Stage Of Recovery Begins. Next Meeting Presentation Set For August 19
By Raoul Dennis
COVID-19 may have provided something that most didn’t expect: opportunities.
The Prince George’s Forward Task Force was formed by the Alsobrooks Administration to lead the county in recovery from the problems caused by COVID – and make some things better than they were before the pandemic hit.
“This is a dynamic group that can respond to challenges in real-time and provides high-quality recommendations based on cutting-edge data,” Alsobrooks said when she announced the task force May 28.
The high-profile group met August 5 to announce initial “quick wins,” or low hanging fruit, in the comprehensive effort to identify accessible, efficient ideas and mechanisms to get Prince George’s back on track in the world beyond the first impact of Coronavirus.
Areas of discovery and action include economic development, education, health, human services and government operations. See full video “Public Meetings” below.
The group is co-chaired by Dr. Charlene Dukes, formerly president of Prince George’s Community College and William von Hoene, Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Exelon. The meeting was managed and co-chaired by David Velazquez (stepping in for Von Hoene).
In human services, efforts will be made to create greater equity among communities, gather on the ground data and develop partnerships that will identify needs and focus resources.
Addressing evictions and food resources are of specific interest. Senior citizen communities are a central priority as those residents are most vulnerable to the virus.
A few of the health findings included expanding the county’s use of SMS cell phone texting for mass communication with residents, creating a user-friendly hotline call center and a cost-reimbursement agreement for the department of health.
Infectious disease training for county workers and staff and increased use of telehealth technology and strategies were included in the remarks by Dr. Joseph Wright.
Wright also suggested anti-racist training for all employees be part of the social health solution throughout all government agencies.
Economic development opportunities included a digital green book listing that will serve in support of small businesses in the county regarding procurement. Leaders are also considering crafting an app that would list county retailers and restaurants as well.
Led by Tom Graham, the committee is also pursuing a technical assistance program for county businesses seeking restart support, expertise, and capital in the wake of the effects of the pandemic.
Tara Jackson called for additional use of remote and flexible work options, digitization of documents and procedures, and modernization of customer services.
Jackson represented the government operations committee of the task force.
“We want to be sure that customers don’t have to come into the building in order to get good service,” she said.
Dr. Darryll Pines, the newly appointed president of the University of Maryland, serves the task force’s education committee.
One of the unique priorities targeted by Dr. Pines included gap analysis of educational disparities in the county and reallocation of educational resources. He also called for expansion of educational programming pathways to higher education, tutorial options from across the county’s various educational centers, and teacher prep partnerships.
Citing available education funds still available, Pines called for more aggressive efforts in acquiring monies for county schools, more partnerships with COMCAST and Verizon for greater internet access and bandwidth as well as additional computer hardware – especially as many homes have more than one school-age resident.
For more detail on all the presentations, click “Public Meetings” video above.
