In 2017 County Administrator David Hough charged Hennepin County departments to prioritize disparity reduction through all lines of business. The charge: that all work begin from a commitment to reduce disparities among the residents we serve in the ways and places we have influence.
Since then, the county has taken many steps, including:
- Identifying seven disparity domain (education, employment, income, health, housing, transportation, justice) areas where county action can have the most impact
- Creating a legislative platform that seeks to reduce system disparities, such as reducing the number of families of color involved in the child protection system
- Addressing the conditions that drive involvement into the justice system and developing new strategies to assist ex-offenders as they integrate back home
- Targeting funding, policies and service delivery to disrupt racism in the response to people experiencing homelessness
- Using purchasing power to drive economic development in disadvantaged communities
- Training workers for tomorrow’s jobs while helping clients be more self-sufficient
- Adopting a Racial Equity Impact Tool to consider how different racial and ethnic groups will be affected by a proposed action or decision and provide a systematic way to engage the voices of those affected by decisions, surface unintended consequences of decisions before they are made, and reveal a wider range of options for policy choices
- Creating a Race Equity Advisory Council (ongoing in 2020) to advise the county board on the county’s vision and strategy on reducing racial disparities and advancing racial equity throughout Hennepin County