Agency Faulted for Few Minority Bosses

The county’s Affirmative Action Commission criticized the Corrections Services Agency for having no minority managers and few minority supervising probation officers in a report released this week.

There is good minority representation among the lower ranks of probation officers in the agency, the commission said in a report that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

But that representation falls sharply among supervisors and managers. Maria Carmen Flores is the only minority employee who supervises probation officers, and there are no minorities in the managing ranks, according to the report.

The commission’s findings are not surprising, said Calvin Remington, deputy director of the corrections agency. Several minorities have been hired as probation officers in recent years, but they don’t have the experience or seniority yet to advance to upper management, Remington said.

Turnover in the agency is very low, so the opportunities for promotions have been minimal, he said. In the next two years, several upper-level managers are expected to retire, opening spaces for minority recruits, Remington said.

Maria Diaz, the county’s affirmative action officer, also noted that several recent hires in the agency have been minorities. “It’s going to take a little bit of time for them to reach upper management, but I think the corrections agency is headed in the right direction,” she said.