2023 Revised Code of Washington › Title 43 - State Government—Executive › Chapter 43.06D - Office of Equity. › 43.06D.040 - Duties—Reports.

RCW 43.06D.040
Duties—Reports.
(1) The office shall work to facilitate policy and systems change to promote equitable policies, practices, and outcomes through:
(a) Agency decision making. The office shall assist agencies in applying an equity lens in all aspects of agency decision making, including service delivery, program development, policy development, and budgeting. The office shall provide assistance by:
(i) Facilitating information sharing between agencies around diversity, equity, and inclusion issues;
(ii) Convening work groups as needed;
(iii) Developing and providing assessment tools for agencies to use in the development and evaluation of agency programs, services, policies, and budgets;
(iv) Training agency staff on how to effectively use the assessment tools developed under (a)(iii) of this subsection, including developing guidance for agencies on how to apply an equity lens to the agency's work when carrying out the agency's duties under this chapter;
(v) Developing a form that will serve as each agency's diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, required to be submitted by all agencies under *section 7 of this act, for each agency to report on its work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The office must develop the format and content of the plan and determine the frequency of reporting. The office must post each agency plan on the dashboard referenced in (d) of this subsection;
(vi) Maintaining an inventory of agency work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
(vii) Compiling and creating resources for agencies to use as guidance when carrying out the requirements under *section 7 of this act.
(b) Community outreach and engagement. The office shall staff the community advisory board created under *section 6 of this act and may contract with commissions or other entities with expertise in order to identify policy and system barriers, including language access, to meaningful engagement with communities in all aspects of agency decision making.
(c) Training on maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and culturally sensitive workforce. The office shall collaborate with the office of financial management and the department of enterprise services to develop policies and provide technical assistance and training to agencies on maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and culturally sensitive workforce that delivers culturally sensitive services.
(d) Data maintenance and establishing performance metrics. The office shall:
(i) Collaborate with the office of financial management and agencies to:
(A) Establish standards for the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated data as it pertains to tracking population level outcomes of communities, except as provided under (d)(i)(D) of this subsection;
(B) Create statewide and agency-specific process and outcome measures to show performance:
(I) Using outcome-based methodology to determine the effectiveness of agency programs and services on reducing disparities; and
(II) Taking into consideration community feedback from the **community advisory board on whether the performance measures established accurately measure the effectiveness of agency programs and services in the communities served;
(C) Create an online performance dashboard to publish state and agency performance measures and outcomes; and
(D) Identify additional subcategories in workforce data for disaggregation in order to track disparities in public employment; and
(ii) Coordinate with the office of privacy and data protection to address cybersecurity and data protection for all data collected by the office.
(e) Accountability. The office shall:
(i) Publish a report for each agency detailing whether the agency has met the performance measures established pursuant to (d)(i) of this subsection and the effectiveness of agency programs and services on reducing disparities. The report must include the agency's strengths and accomplishments, areas for continued improvement, and areas for corrective action. The office must post each report on the dashboard referenced in (d) of this subsection;
(ii) Establish a process for the office to report on agency performance in accordance with (e)(i) of this subsection and a process for agencies to respond to the report. The agency's response must include the agency's progress on performance, the agency's action plan to address areas for improvement and corrective action, and a timeline for the action plan; and
(iii) Establish procedures to hold agencies accountable, which may include conducting performance reviews related to agency compliance with office performance measures.
(2) By October 31, 2022, and every year thereafter, the office shall report to the governor and the legislature. The report must include a summary of the office's work, including strengths and accomplishments, an overview of agency compliance with office standards and performance measures, and an equity analysis of the makeup of the community advisory board established in *section 6 of this act to ensure that it accurately reflects historically and currently marginalized groups.
(3) The director and the office shall review the final recommendations submitted pursuant to section 221, chapter 415, Laws of 2019, by the task force established under section 221, chapter 415, Laws of 2019, and report back to the governor and the legislature with any additional recommendations necessary for the office to carry out the duties prescribed under this chapter.
[ 2020 c 332 § 5.]
NOTES:
Reviser's note: *(1) Sections 6 and 7 of this act were vetoed.
**(2) The community advisory board was created in 2020 c 332 § 6, which was vetoed.