It’s one thing to believe in equity and reckoning with the impact

of historical injustices on our communities, and another thing to

meaningfully work to address inequity in our systems, policies,

and practices.

The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana

(CISC) developed a Guide for Equity Consideration designed to

help policymakers, agency officials, and advocates create more

equitable communities in which all children and young people

can thrive.

The Guide contains a set of seven questions for decisionmakers

to ask themselves before enacting a new policy, or when

reviewing an existing one.

Toolkit: Using the Guide for Equity Consideration in Your Work

The Guide for Equity

Consideration

is designed to assist

decision-makers in

examining how

proposed actions will

affect different groups

of people.

It can be used to

identify and help

address the

unintended

consequences of

policies, practices,

and decisions on

disparate populations.

This framework is also

a tool to incorporate

the voices of those

most impacted by

decisions being made

on behalf of children

and young people.

WHO SHOULD USE THIS GUIDE:

Anybody! This Guide is relevant to staff at all levels,

from senior leaders and decision-makers to those

who manage processes that directly affect youth and

families, and to community members advocating for

improvements.

This is because the Guide's seven questions matter

for everything from major policy decisions (for

example: designing a system to support young

people experiencing homelessness) to day-to-day

processes (for example: procedures to set up

parent/guardian meetings with teachers and school

officials).

WHY USE THE GUIDE:

The seven questions in the Guide provide important

accountability for decision-makers to think carefully

and specifically about how decisions will affect

different groups of youth and families directly, why

those affects are expected, and—most importantly—

the degree to which the people most affected have

been involved.

"The number one thing we can do for equity in policymaking is get people at

the table with life experience in the areas in which decisions are being made."

- Julie Whitman, Executive Director, CISC
Gathering data to inform the decision. Are you responsible for or involved in

collecting information that others will use to support a decision? Gather all the types

of data and input described in the guide. In particular, that means at minimum

ensuring that all data is disaggregated by race, gender, geography and any other

relevant variables in the data set. Without this, it is not possible to understand

different conditions that will require different solutions across the state.

Crafting policy or process recommendations. Are you responsible for creating options

that others will consider? Answers to the questions should help shape the options and

trade-offs involved—or provide insight on whether a matter is ready for decision.

Presenting policy or process recommendations. Look at the processes you manage.

Are you responsible for crafting, reviewing, or presenting recommendations? You can

explicitly address answers to the Guide’s questions in presentations, decisional

memos, or support documents created to show how equity received consideration,

make sure that equity is an active part of decision-making and any public discussion,

and promote accountability for equity.

Making the final decision. Are you responsible for making or weighing in on the final

decision? Make sure you have clear and satisfactory answers to all of the Guide’s

questions before moving ahead.

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Decision-Maker Toolkit: Guide for Equity Consideration 2

WHEN, WHERE & HOW TO USE THE EQUITY GUIDE:

The Guide can be useful at many points in time for decision-making, including:

The Equity Guide in Action

What does it look like to use the Guide for Equity

Consideration in your work?

In this short video clip, Julie Whitman,

Executive Director of the Commission on

Improving the Status of Children in Indiana,

walks through a real-world education example:

reviewing the school district policy for

retaining a child at grade level.
Historical inequities cannot be corrected by ignoring them.

For statewide solutions to be effective, marginalized voices

must be included, data must be disaggregated (by race,

geography, gender and other relevant variables) and policies

and programs must be responsive to the particular needs and

strengths of each community and group of children in Indiana.

GET STARTED

Decision-Maker Toolkit: Guide for Equity Consideration 3

Use the Indiana Commission's 2-page Guide for

Equity Consideration.

Find other resources on equity in the CISC

Tools & Resources section, including a glossary

of key terms related to equity, inclusion, and

cultural competence: Equity Definitions.

Image: CISC Annual Report, 2020 

The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana (CISC) functions

as a children's cabinet, or a collaborative body that brings together the heads of

state/local agencies that have programs serving children and youth, to promote

coordination and improve the well-being of children and families. Indiana's CISC

includes all three branches of government. Learn more: www.in.gov/children/

- CISC Annual Report, 2020