Abstract

On July 21, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board) unanimously adopted a motion to establish an Anti-Racism County Policy Agenda recognizing, affirming, and declaring that “racism is a matter of public health in the County of Los Angeles (County) and that racism against Black people has reached crisis proportions that result in large disparities in family stability, health and mental wellness, education, employment, economic development, public safety, criminal justice, and housing.” The Board issued several related directives, including the development of a strategic plan and underlying policy platform, and the establishment of an organizational unit—since created and called the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative—within the Chief Executive Office (CEO) dedicated to implementing the plan. The strategic plan articulates how LA County became inequitable, the historical factors (e.g., spatial and racial disparities and inequities) that helped produce racial disparities, and presents a vision for a new reality in the County. To help achieve this vision, this plan articulates a set of ten-year strategic goals, dozens of strategic initiatives, and an overview of activities that will move the County toward implementation.

Background

Los Angeles County engaged Forward Change to design and lead its 10-year racial equity strategic planning process and to develop its strategic plan document.  The strategic planning process lasted 8 months between July 2021 and May 2022 and included staff from 29 County departments participating in 25 planning workshops. The strategic plan goals and recommendations that emerged from this process were also reviewed by the ARDI Community Input Advisory Board (CIAB) and other community stakeholders.

The development of the strategic goals and metrics in this plan were guided by a planning framework known as “A Life Course Framework for Improving the Lives of Disadvantaged Populations,” or “The Life Course Framework” for short developed by Forward Change. Focusing on specific “life course outcomes,” the six-step planning process:

1. Identified key long-term population outcomes to influence, called “strategic goals,” as well as “Equity Principles” to guide the strategic planning effort
2. Identified how to measure those outcomes
3. Examined trends in those outcomes over time and set “goal targets” for changing those outcomes
4. Identified major “contributing outcomes” that helped put people “on-track” or “off-track” to achieving the desired outcomes in the long-run
5. Mapped the limits of county authority and the potential for collaborative partnerships
6. Identified “strategic initiatives”—ranging from programs to policies—to influence those contributing factors over the next decade.