Promoting Equity for Vulnerable Members of the Community

In the interest of upholding and promoting equitable outcomes, the County intends to develop evidence-based accountability measures for tracking the County’s progress on delivering equitable benefits using strategic financing funding. To do so, the County has completed a literature review of the tools and approaches being used in a variety of agencies and municipalities which includes the Center for Disease Control, Los Angeles County, and Harris County. These three agencies were chosen due to their credibility as agencies in practicing evidence-based decision-making and the technical prowess with which this information has been subsequently communicated to the public. The County seeks to emulate in the development of its own tool to serve local government policymakers and inform constituencies of ongoing efforts to support underserved communities.

Social Vulnerability Index

The County is working on developing a social vulnerability index (SVI) to understand how ARPA-funded projects, as well as other major capital initiatives, help address some of the sociodemographic and institutional barriers faced by disproportionally impacted communities. The County SVI is largely guided by a similar methodology developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Social Vulnerability Index (CDC/ATSDR SVI). The use of this strategic planning tool will remain a critical component of future public investments made by the County, to include federal, state and locally funded initiatives. The County intends to finalize the use of this index to successfully identify project location and community impact by census tract, to ultimately identify opportunities and outcomes with each project investment in further detail.

Vulnerability Explorer Tool & Project Maps

The County will publish an online web-based map for use by the public to track the location of projects and understand the vulnerability, as defined by the County, to understand how County investments work to improve outcomes for the community. This should be published by the beginning of 2023.