HomeMy WebLinkAboutToolkits 2018CITY OF IOWA CITY
MEMORANDUM
Date: July 5, 2018
To: Simon Andrew, Assistant to the City Manager
From: Stefanie Bowers, Equity Director & Human Rights Coordinator
Racial and Socioeconomic Equity Review Toolkit Re:
In August 2016 through August 2017, the following City Departments: Neighborhood and
Development Services, Police, Human Resources, Finance, and Human Rights evaluated a
current procedure, policy, program or service, and a new and/or potentially new procedure,
policy, program or service using a racial and socioeconomic equity review toolkit. Toolkits
provide a mechanism for institutionalizing the consideration of race/ethnicity, income, national
origin, ESL, sex, disability, youth, and many other indicators that may influence outcomes for
persons. These departments were intentionally selected because they have one or all of the
following: 1) the services provided are heavily relied upon by persons of color or immigrant
populations; 2) the community has expressed concern on how the services are delivered; or 3)
the services provided impact large groups or persons in the community.
With the goal of continuing to advance social justice and racial equity within City procedures,
policies, programs, and services, several City departments, including Parks and Recreation, the
Housing Authority, the Fire Department and the Library are currently using an equity review
toolkit.
These Departments are using a three-step process to gather information that will be used to
inform planning and decision making about public policies and programs. Each step is
enumerated below.
Step 1: What is the impact of the proposal on determinants of equity?
The aim of the first step is to determine whether the proposal will have an impact on equity or
not.
Step 2: Who is affected by the proposal?
This step identifies who is likely affected by the proposal.
Step 3: Opportunities for action?
The third step involves identifying the impacts of the proposal from an equity perspective. The
goal is to develop a list of likely impacts and actions to ensure that negative impacts are
mitigated and positive impacts are enhanced.
Proposals by Department:
Parks & Recreation
• Using recent Tree Inventory data, compare the tree canopy coverage of a variety of
neighborhoods and compare with data of income levels and race to prioritize future tree
planting projects to provide equity throughout the community.
• Map and evaluate home address locations of recreation summer camp participants to
determine if all neighborhoods are represented in the children we serve.
• Map and evaluate home address locations of Group Swim and Private Swim lessons.
Compare data with progression through the first four levels of swim lessons to determine
if all neighborhoods are represented and having similar success in learning to swim.
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• Map and evaluate home address locations of individuals who rent garden plots.
Fire
Compare with garden locations to determine future locations and outreach to expand
community gardens.
• Emergency Services Youth Summer Camp -look at participant addresses to determine
if all neighborhoods/schools are being represented. Consider transportation alternatives
to increase participation.
• Unattended Cooking Fires-take a deeper look at our data to evaluate factors tied to
incidences of fire. Target neighborhood groups/schools in areas determined to be at
higher risk.
• Ride Along Program-evaluate participant demographics to determine if all
neighborhoods/schools are being represented.
Housing Authority
• Survey current participants and new voucher holders to determine if our Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) mandated briefings are creating participation barriers to
working families.
• Review HUD mandated briefing materials to determine the impact of Limited English
Proficiency on Housing Choice Voucher program (HCVP) participants' understanding of
family obligations and reporting procedures.
• Review and analyze the impact of periods of ineligibility for families terminated or denied
housing assistance.
Library
• Determine if any populations are adversely affected and denied library services due to
fines and fees.
• Monitor conduct reports regarding teens to determine if racial minorities are
disproportionately affected. Identify ways to ensure fair and equal treatment.
• Study the ways that racially diverse groups obtain information about library services with
a goal to improve information delivery to identified populations.
After each Department has completed its toolkits, the results and findings will be shared with
Council and the community. In the near future, staff will report out on the progress of those
departments that participated in the first toolkit reviews to get an update from each of them and
learn more about recent outcomes.