Equity in Action

Office for External Affairs’ Office of Regional Operations Equity Action Statements

The Office for External Affairs’ Office of Regional Operations (ORO) is committed to promoting equity through strategic communication and convening centered on advancing equitable policies, programs, practices, and service delivery within human service agencies. ORO consists of 10 Immediate Offices of the Regional Administrator (IORO). Each regional IORA aids in carrying out this commitment.

ORO developed a coordinated strategy to orient, educate, and promote ACF’s equity agenda to a broad array of external human services stakeholders. Specific actions led by ORO have included:

1. On April 23, 2021, Region 5 IORA, in partnership with Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago, co-hosted States Leading the Way: Advancing Equity in the Midwest, a convening of governor-appointed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officers representing each of Region 5’s six states.
2. On December 9, 2021, Region 1 IORA initiated a monthly Learning Community convening for human service leaders addressing state approaches to racial equity and emerging issues. 
3. On February 2, 2022, ACF released Equity in Action: Prioritizing and Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Information Memorandum (IM) which promotes racial equity as a critical factor to advance economic and social well-being of children, youth, families, individuals, and communities through the administration and delivery of human services.
4. On February 3, 2022, ACF hosted a National Call to Action on Racial Equity to provide the Administration’s actions on and significance of racial equity as well as actions the field can take to advance equity.
5. Equitable Economic Recovery convenings were held with state human service and workforce leaders throughout the nation.  
   • Region 1 IORA held three virtual events:
     • Whole Family Approach to Jobs: Addressing the Benefit Cliffs on April 13, 2022.
     • National Training on the Child Tax Credit: Outreach to Parents using the Simplified Form on June 21, 2022.
     • Whole Family Approach to Jobs: How States are Addressing the Worker Shortage on July 11, 2022.
   • Region 4 IORA held a virtual retreat on equity and primary prevention for the state human service commissioners/secretaries on September 16 and 17, 2021.
   • Regions 5 & 7 IORAs held four virtual convenings on:
     • Workforce and Human Services Partnerships: The Pathway to Employment on October 19, 2021. 
     • Equitable Economic Resiliency and COVID-19 Equity at Work…Beyond the Traditional Approach on October 26, 2021.
     • Benefits Cliffs: Keeping Working Families from Falling Off the Edge on November 2, 2021.
     • Improving Outcomes for the Whole Family: State Action Planning on November 9, 2021.
   • Regions 6 & 9 IORAs held a three-part webinar series on:
     •  Economic Equity: Creating a More Inclusive and Equitable Economy  on October 14, 2021.
     • The Unequitable Consequences of Disasters: Homelessness, Housing Inequality, and Substance Use Disorder  on October 28, 2021.
     • Bridging the Gap: Workforce Development and Child Care  on November 4, 2021.
   • Regions 8 & 10 IORAs held a virtual convening on:
     • Women in the Workforce: A conversation with Frontier States on April 14, 2021.

Moving forward, ORO will:

1. By December 2022, ORO will host five (5) regional equitable economic mobility convenings for human service and workforce leaders and stakeholders.

Update as of September 2023: Highlight of six (6) ORO hosted regional equitable economic mobility convenings for human service and workforce leaders and stakeholders.  For a complete compilation of ORO’s work promoting economic mobility across the country in 2022 see ORO Economic Mobility: Reducing Family and Intergenerational Poverty 2022 report (PDF) or visit ORO’s Family Economic Mobility page.

• June 29, 2022—Region 10- The Future of Work is Family Friendly: Strategies to Support Working Families
  • This event brought together leaders from the Washington (WA) Department of Child, Youth and Families and the WA Department of Commerce alongside business leaders and Human Resource directors from all business sizes across the state of Washington to discuss strategies to support working families.  There were presentations on the benefits of supporting the child care needs of working parents for employees, tangible strategies that employers can take, and action steps to get started. The focus was on cross-sector collaboration, innovation, workforce development, and knowledge-building.
• Nov. 15 — 16, 2022 — Region 5 & 7 — 5^th Annual Economic Mobility Summit (EMS): “Celebrating State Impact and Achievements Across the Midwest in Economic Mobility”
  • Lifted up each state’s innovative Economic Mobility Summit action plan accomplishments over the last five years within the Midwest.  The event featured collaborative actions taken by human services and workforce state agencies along with other partners to address the challenges of intergenerational poverty. States were able to share their success and challenges with peers in effort to expand access to family sustained waged careers to vulnerable populations.
• Nov. 15, 2022 — Region 6- Human Service Leaders’ Summit: Regional Convening on Intergenerational Economic Mobility
  • This in-person event increased awareness of successful programs and actions in other states as well as brainstorming ideas for solutions to potential problems that each state shares through peer-sharing with regional colleagues. States were able to share their best practices and give support to their peers in other states.
• Nov. 16, 2022 — Region 2 - Pascale Sykes Foundation Summit the Power of Research to Inform Economic Mobility Policy
  • This hybrid event provided an opportunity to demonstrate the impacts on how research, when used properly, can influence policy and practice.
• Nov. 17-18, 2022 — Region 1- Whole Family Approach to Jobs - Six State Annual Convening
  • This in-person convening aided in the planning and implementing of at least one innovative policy and/or practice recommendation on any of the following: benefit cliffs; parent engagement; race equity; cross-sector/whole family strategies for economic mobility; and operations improvements for state systems.
• December 1 -2, 2022 —Region 4- Human Services Leaders Economic Mobility Convening. 
  • This event, centered on youth homelessness, featured national leaders presenting on Family First Prevention Act, AmeriCorps, workforce shortage and the health care workforce to all human service leaders in Region 4.  Strategies and tools were provided in effort to develop solutions for youth aging out of foster care ability to gain valuable work experience and skills.

2. By April 2023, ORO will host a National Convening on Equity to enhance the capacity within human services to identify inequities and promote equitable social and economic mobility and well-being for all marginalized populations.

Update as of September 2023:  On March 28-29, 2023, ACF hosted the first-of-its-kind, National Convening on Building an Inclusive Human Services System (NCBIHSS) solely devoted to creating an inclusive human services delivery system and serve as the nation’s leading educational event for practitioners, advocates, and researchers within the field. The presentations and break-out sessions were devoted to leading Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility efforts for populations identified in President Biden’s Executive Order 13895, including, persons of color, LGBTQIA+, rural communities, persons with disabilities, and religious minorities. There were riveting and inspiring presentations from national experts from the White House on rural initiatives, former foster youth on the power of lived experience, ACL on serving those with disabilities and Children’s Defense Fund on collaborating to serve our most vulnerable populations. ACF recognizes that change needs to happen at all levels of government and that the voices of those with lived experience need to drive the change for the vulnerable children, youth, families and communities we serve. To view the NCBIHSS live streamed recordings https://www.acf.hhs.gov/equity/national-equity-convening-2023.

Please send any suggestions or comments on our plans to equity@acf.hhs.gov.

We will provide a semi-annual status update.

ACF is committed to making equity a central part of how we operate and deliver our mission. In 2021, every ACF office committed to equity by creating an Equity Action Plan. Please view the ACF Equity page to learn more.