New resource presents the rationale and a checklist for advancing health equity and racial justice through public investments.

Last month, Governor Newsom unveiled his state budget proposal. For a second year in a row, Californians stand to benefit from an historic budget surplus—at least $47 billion. On top of this surplus, an additional $43 billion in flexible pandemic recovery funds via the American Rescue Plan Act, plus an estimated $45 billion in federal infrastructure dollars will follow closely behind—Governor Newsom proposes a slate of “significant investments to support greater opportunity”.  

Indeed, these landmark investments present a critical opportunity to accelerate toward an equitable recovery from the pandemic and apply lessons from our nation’s reckoning with racial justice. In a new report, Investing in Equity: Designing and Implementing Public Funding Programs for a Just Recovery in California, Prevention Institute offers a framework, a set of strategies, and a checklist to center equity in each phase of public funding programs, from design to implementation to oversight.

“Now is the time for governmental leaders to 'bake in' health equity and racial justice to public funding programs at every stage, strengthening governmental policies and procedures in the process so that resources and power are more fairly distributed, and investments improve material conditions in historically marginalized communities.”  —Report Co-Author Juliet Sims

Experience shows us that equitable public investing doesn’t happen without intentionality. It requires proactive steps to address processes and expenditures to ensure that in the end our public investments close gaps between racial and ethnic groups, and wealthy and lower-wealth communities. Policy makers, governmental administrators, and community stakeholders can put these recommendations to immediate use when developing funding programs, building a measure from the ground up, or influencing established funding programs as they move through planning, implementation, or evaluation.  

The present moment offers an unprecedented opportunity to direct state and federal resources to the communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic and to the community-rooted organizations that have proven their capacity to improve community conditions, build inclusive networks, and address community priorities.