HARTFORD, CT — Although the Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health won’t release its final strategic plan for another few weeks, improving outreach to young people is among its top priorities, members said at the group’s post-legislative session meeting Thursday.
The commission, co-chaired by Ayesha Clarke, executive director of Health Equity Solutions and Pareesa Charmchi Goodwin, executive director of the commission, discussed how the upcoming strategic plan was reflected in action taken by the General Assembly during the last session.
“I think the one constituency that we can really think about moving forward, reaching that we did not reach as much would be the youth population,” said Valen Diaz, research associate and project manager at the Health Disparities Institute at the UConn Health Center. “The team was predominantly adults, and so there’s probably some adultism built into the plan as a result of that, but that’s something we can think about in the dissemination phase about how we can involve young people who are impacted as well.”
The commission’s draft strategic plan identifies four key areas to address racism, which include health and well being; housing, environment and communities; education and economic security; and criminal justice.
Diaz said the commission arrived at the four key areas after conducting 88 interviews and receiving almost 500 surveys from people in communities affected by racial bias.
The co-chairs then highlighted some of the bills that came out of the legislative session which further their strategic plan, starting with
Public Act 25-27
, which allows for any member of the General Assembly to call for a racial and ethnic impact statement to be attached to certain bills and amendments. The commission was also pleased with the passage of
Public Act 25-93
, which establishes an endowment to make early childhood education cost-free for families making up to $100,000, and Public Act 25-82, specifically the sections which implement a prospective payment system for the Care 4 Kids program.
Other areas were less successful, members said.
Public Act 25-94
, which deals with health insurance, had several provisions removed that the commission supported. For example, sections that would have regulated the stop-loss insurance market were removed, along with a measure that would have shifted the burden of proof for prior authorization from the healthcare provider to insurers. The ability for regulators to consider affordability in rate review hearings was also removed.
Goodwin also lamented the failure of
Senate Bill 7
, which was the public health omnibus bill. Several elements of the bill made it into the budget implementer, but one provision which would have created safe consumption sites for residents to consume substances under the watch of someone to prevent overdoses, did not make it.
The commission also urged Gov. Ned Lamont to sign
House Bill 5002
, the housing bill which has become the subject of fierce debate between supporters and opponents since it passed the General Assembly nearly two weeks ago. Carline Charmelus, a policy analyst for the Partnership for Strong Communities, said concerns about housing costs were one of the most consistent themes that her subcommittee heard while conducting research for the strategic plan
“It represents a critical step forward in Connecticut’s efforts to create a more affordable, equitable and stable housing future for all residents,” she said. “This comprehensive housing and zoning reform bill expands rental assistance, it supports middle housing and transit oriented development, helps to limit exclusionary local practices and invests in fair housing enforcement and infrastructure.”
The commission is scheduled to meet again in early September.
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