title: Integrating racial/ethnic equity into policy assessments to improve child health.
abstract: The US child population is rapidly becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, yet there are persistent racial/ethnic gaps in child health. Improving and expanding policies to reduce these gaps is increasingly a mandate of government agencies. Identifying effective policies requires a rigorous approach, yet there is a lack of information about which policies improve equity. This article introduces the Policy Equity Assessment, a framework that combines policy assessment and rigorous equity methods to both synthesize existing research and identify and conduct new analyses of policies' ability to reduce racial/ethnic inequities. We applied the Policy Equity Assessment to three policies: Head Start, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and a federal housing assistance program known as Section 8. Our results show racial/ethnic inequities in access to benefits and substantial data and evidence gaps regarding the impact of policies in improving racial/ethnic equity. These results should motivate policy makers to strengthen equity analysis.
authors.affiliation: Pamela K. Joshi is a senior research scientist at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Pamela K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Kimberly Geronimo is a research associate at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Geronimo
authors.affiliation: Bethany Romano is a senior department coordinator at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Alison Earle is a senior research scientist at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Earle
authors.affiliation: Lindsay Rosenfeld is a research scientist at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosenfeld
authors.affiliation: Erin F. Hardy is a fellow at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Erin F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: Dolores Acevedo-Garcia (dacevedo@brandeis.edu) is the Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and director of the Institute for Child, Youth, and Family Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acevedo-Garcia
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational / Q000458:organization & administration; D005006:Ethnicity; D006291:Health Policy; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D044469:Racial Groups; D014481:United States
keywords: Children’s Health; Determinants Of Health; Disparities