Tag: CREJ

Diversifying the teacher workforce will benefit Kansas students

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on August 30, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, chaired the subcommittee on health care.

All Kansas kids deserve a high-quality education.

The Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice examined how we can ensure greater equity in educational opportunities to set families up for success. Our work found that a culturally competent and diverse teaching workforce is a critical component in addressing equity in education and providing a high-quality education.

We have a significant racial and ethnic disparity in teacher diversity. In Kansas, 90% of public school teachers are white and non-Hispanic. As of 2020, just 66% of Kansas children under 18 are white and non-Hispanic.

Over the past 20 years, the Kansas population has grown more diverse, and that trend is expected to continue. In 2016, non-Hispanic whites made up 77.5% of the state population, a more than 6 percentage point dip compared with 2000. In fact, all population growth in that time was among minority populations. In the next 40 years, it’s predicted that Kansas will become a majority, minority state, meaning no group will make up more than 50% of the population.

As the demographics of Kansas change and become more diverse, it is more important than ever that our teacher diversity reflect the communities served, which is why the commission’s final report included recommendations for recruiting and retaining a diverse teacher workforce.

When students have teachers who look like them, it can increase their chances of succeeding academically. According to one longitudinal study, Black students who had at least one Black teacher in grades K-3 were 13% more likely to graduate from high school than their same-school, same-race peers.

Exposure to other backgrounds and cultures prepares students to live, work and serve in a culturally diverse society. Diversifying classrooms benefits students cognitively, emotionally, and socially.

According to a report by the United States Department of Education: “Diversity decreases at multiple points across the teacher pipeline in which teachers progress though postsecondary education, teacher preparation programs, and retention.” The report showed that nationally there’s less diversity among college graduates than high school graduates, most education majors are white, and degree completion is lower for Black and Hispanic students.

We need to change our approach to teacher education and retention if we want the benefits of a more diverse teacher workforce.

We can look to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for ideas on how to attract education majors of color; although HBCUs comprise 3% of four-year colleges, their graduates include half of Black public school teachers.

Teachers of color often join the workforce through nontraditional routes. However, traditional student teaching programs require candidates to teach full days in schools for months without pay, which creates an economic hardship when a student also works while student teaching or has caregiving responsibilities.

To improve recruitment, we should increase flexibility in student teaching programs for nontraditional students who must work and student teach. This could include approaches such as updating student teaching models or providing work-study assistance to student teachers. We should ensure that policies at higher education institutions can be adapted for education students who have outside jobs, families or limited financial resources.

Kansas should encourage expansion of grow-your-own teacher programs that recruit and train school staff or community members to become educators. Recruitment from our own communities will ensure that local educators reflect their community’s diversity within schools, while also hiring individuals who have a deep understanding of local neighborhoods. School districts should incentivize teachers and staff to live in the district.

We should ensure that school districts that have greater needs receive equitable resources. Kansas should examine options to assist districts with large numbers of at-risk populations as measured by race, ethnicity and economics. Reducing class sizes, providing mentors to new teachers, fully funding special education and providing social-emotional staffing support to these districts could improve students’ classroom experience and teacher retention.

Every child deserves a learning environment where they feel welcome. School districts should create clear policies that address diversity, equity, and inclusion to support and protect diversity among students, teachers and staff.

To encourage greater diversity in our teacher workforce, we must be intentional. Let your school board, legislators and the Kansas Board of Regents know these issues are important to you and encourage them to act.

About this series

In June 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-48, forming the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The Commission studied issues of racial equity and justice across systems in Kansas, focusing first on policing and law enforcement and then on economic systems, education, and health care. The Commission developed recommendations for state agencies, the Legislature, and local governments. Through the end of 2022, commissioners will dig deeper into the recommendations in a monthly series.

Related resources

Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice reports
Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice webinar series
2022 opinion series on commission recommendations

Bridging the digital divide can reduce gaps between Kansas communities

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on June 23, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, chaired the subcommittee on healthcare.

Dependable internet access is not an amenity — it’s essential for accessing services today, including health care, work and school. In Kansas, a digital divide separates the “haves” from the “have nots” in terms of devices, digital literacy, and access to high-speed internet. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted digital gaps across our state, especially in internet access in rural and low-income communities and communities of color.

Digital equity is more than a quality-of-life issue; it plays a role in health care. A Federal Communications Commission task force is studying whether broadband connectivity should be considered a social determinant of health. Social determinants of health are the conditions where people live, work, and play that affect their health, such as transportation, neighborhood crime and education. Social determinants account for as much as 80% of a person’s health status. Digital equity may even be a “super” determinant because it affects other determinants — people search online for housing, transportation, and employment.

The Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice examined digital equity, seeking to understand how to address systemic issues that affect health outcomes, community vitality, and access to information and human services. Broadband recommendations to address racial equity were included in the commission’s final report. As we consider broadband policies and investments, we should treat broadband connectivity as a social determinant of health.

In 2020, the state established the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. This department focuses on connecting Kansans, with several investment programs focused on unserved and under-served areas. Multiple programs have been made possible through federal dollars. The commission recommended the state should maximize federal dollars to support broadband development and to increase access for hard-to-reach and vulnerable communities.

Kansas should support and invest in broadband access for all Kansans, but access is not enough. As state and local governments invest in broadband, they should also ensure their work is focused on digital equity.

To bridge the digital divide, Kansans need affordable broadband and appropriate devices, outreach to learn about available programs and digital literacy skills built with the help of culturally competent navigators.

Funds should be used to support digital navigators who help Kansans use online services and set up devices and home internet. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance provides a digital navigator toolkit designed with libraries, health care and other social service agencies in mind.

A major shift during the pandemic has been the increase in accessing health care online.

Many Kansans travel to receive care, must take off work for appointments, or have caregiving duties that make it difficult to visit the doctor. During the pandemic, telehealth services were expanded. Kansans were able to see their providers and specialists remotely, and providers were reimbursed for telehealth visits similarly to in-person visits.

In a statewide voter poll conducted for the REACH Healthcare Foundation and the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, most Kansans (86%) said they support expanding or maintaining telehealth options after the pandemic ends. The poll oversampled Black and Hispanic voters. The study found that when it comes to accessing care, 71% of Kansans of color would prefer to see a doctor or health care professional who comes from their community, speaks their language and looks like them. Telehealth can help bridge that gap.

In a related consumer focus group survey, some patients shared that telehealth allows them to receive care they otherwise would not be able to access, including patients in rural areas who live hours away from specialists. However, others found internet connectivity to be a barrier.

“What frustrated me was the internet connection. While I’m at my parents’ I can FaceTime my son in Saudi Arabia, but I can’t talk to a local doctor 30 miles away. … So that is very frustrating to me to be talking to someone on the other side of the world and I’m not able to contact my local doctor,” said one focus group participant.

Community health workers or other care coordinators can serve as culturally competent digital navigators, helping patients set up their internet and teaching them how to use their personal devices to access telehealth appointments.

Interviews and a survey of Kansas health care providers and administrators found that for telehealth to remain viable, future financial support is needed for system upkeep and visit reimbursement. As a health equity strategy, Kansas should expand telehealth access and codify the regulations that expanded telehealth services.

As a state, we must continue removing barriers to ensure we’re reducing the digital divide, so that more Kansans can access information, health and human services, civic engagement, and educational and employment opportunities.

About this series

In June 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-48, forming the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The Commission studied issues of racial equity and justice across systems in Kansas, focusing first on policing and law enforcement and then on economic systems, education, and health care. The Commission developed recommendations for state agencies, the Legislature, and local governments. Through the end of 2022, commissioners will dig deeper into the recommendations in a monthly series.

Related resources

Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice reports
Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice webinar series
2022 opinion series on commission recommendations

Strengthening behavioral health access will help Kansans and address disparities

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on June 2, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, chaired the subcommittee on healthcare.

The Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice repeatedly heard from community members, stakeholders, and those working in criminal justice about unmet behavioral health needs and how the lack of access to behavioral health care — both mental health services and substance use treatment — results in law enforcement encounters.

People with behavioral health conditions are three to six times more likely to be represented in the criminal justice system.

Additionally, data show racial disparities in the impacts of behavioral health systems on communities of color. For example, drug use rates are similar across racial and ethnic groups, but Black and Brown communities experience greater problems associated with substance use, such as legal issues, justice system involvement, and social consequences.

The commission examined behavioral health, seeking to understand how to address systemic issues that affect health outcomes, community vitality, crisis response and health care access. Behavioral health recommendations to address racial equity were included in the commission’s final report.

Law enforcement officers end up acting as de facto behavioral health providers. Investments should be made to increase the use of behavioral health trainings for officers to better prepare them to safely de-escalate and resolve emergency mental health situations.

Collaboration between local governments, law enforcement agencies and behavioral health providers can strengthen how law enforcement responds to behavioral health incidents. One successful model is the co-responder program, in which mental health professionals work alongside law enforcement to respond to mental health calls. Virtual models also show promise. This model contributes to positive outcomes and promoting treatment over incarceration for individuals experiencing mental health crises.

To address systemic behavioral health issues, we must invest in early interventions. Behavioral health services should be lifelong and more accessible to all.

Mental health services should target pregnant and new mothers so they can benefit from earlier diagnosis and treatment. We need to screen for and treat prenatal and perinatal depression to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Kansas should utilize the DC: 0-5 diagnostic manual, which classifies mental health and developmental disorders for children ages 0 to 5 to enhance mental health professionals’ ability to accurately diagnose and treat mental health disorders and facilitate Medicaid reimbursement for appropriate treatments.

Children should be insured so that they can access behavioral health services. Kansas has a growing number of uninsured children. Between 2016 and 2019, the uninsurance rate for kids increased from 4.9% to 5.8%. In 2019, children who were racial and ethnic minorities were 3.6 times more likely to be uninsured than non-Hispanic white children. Implementing continuous coverage for children 0-5 would reduce the number of children who churn off Medicaid for administrative reasons.

Additionally, Medicaid should reimburse for evidence-based interventions such as home-visiting and early literacy programs that build safe, secure, nurturing relationships that improve health, educational and economic opportunities.

We need to ensure children are getting behavioral health services in early learning settings rather than being disciplined, which can have lifelong consequences. According to a Yale University study, preschool students are expelled more than three times as often as K-12 students. Expulsion rates were lower in settings where the preschool teachers had access to classroom-based behavioral consultants. The commission recommends increasing the availability of infant/early childhood mental health consultation services in the state to ensure children receive age-appropriate behavioral health support.

It’s important to improve behavioral health care access across educational settings. Possible initiatives include coordinating with local governments to ensure school-based services are available to the broader community, expanding hours of school behavioral health clinics, ensuring schools become Medicaid providers so they can directly bill and offering services in multiple languages.

Patients of all ages will benefit if behavioral health services are better integrated into our existing health care system and if the state supports the use of technology, such as telehealth or app-based providers, to make behavioral health services accessible

The current Medicaid eligibility limits are too low. Kansas should expand Medicaid, which would increase access to health care services and reduce uncompensated care — lowering costs for everyone. Hospitals and behavioral health treatment centers should automatically help eligible patients enroll in Medicaid upon discharge, increasing Kansans’ access to behavioral health services after release from treatment.

All levels of government can improve data tracking and coordination between systems within behavioral health, such as the criminal justice system. This should include maintaining race and ethnicity data on behavioral health incidents involving parents and young children to inform necessary interventions.

All Kansans would benefit from improved behavioral health services and access. To make these recommendations reality, we must urge our local and state representatives to support these changes that will improve the health of Kansans and address long-standing disparities.

About this series

In June 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-48, forming the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The Commission studied issues of racial equity and justice across systems in Kansas, focusing first on policing and law enforcement and then on economic systems, education, and health care. The Commission developed recommendations for state agencies, the Legislature, and local governments. Through the end of 2022, commissioners will dig deeper into the recommendations in a monthly series.

Related resources

Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice reports
Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice webinar series
2022 opinion series on commission recommendations

Policy changes could address disparities for Kansas mothers and children

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on May 9, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, chaired the subcommittee on healthcare.

Investing in the earliest years of a child’s life — through supporting mothers and children — is an evidence-based approach to improving education, economic, health and social outcomes for a person’s entire life.

The Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice examined maternal and child health, early childhood development and child care to understand how to address systemic issues that affect education attainment, economic opportunity and health across Kansas. To address opportunity gaps, the commission’s final report made recommendations in the areas of early education and care and maternal and child health care.

Maternal and child health are early indicators of future public health challenges, which is why it’s critical for mothers and children to have the healthiest start to life. In Kansas, mothers and children of color and from low-income households are more likely to be left behind, making it important to address inequities prenatally.

Addressing disparities can begin earlier with implementation of programs for parents, community members, and providers that focus on birth equity, training providers to avoid implicit bias as part of the birthing process and empowering parents to seek culturally appropriate care. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment should partner with community-based groups like the Kansas Birth Equity Network to offer their evidence-based birth equity training to mothers and families.

The commission recognizes the important role culturally competent providers play in improving care before, during and after pregnancy and recommends Medicaid increase access to culturally competent care by prioritizing recognition and reimbursement of credentialed members of the health care team, such as community health workers, home visitors, doulas and lactation consultants.

One commission recommendation came to fruition thanks to the leadership of Gov. Laura Kelly and the Legislature. Postpartum Medicaid coverage has been extended from 60 days to 12 months, ensuring 9,000 mothers retain access to health care when the mother is still at risk for complications, including pregnancy-related death.

To ensure Medicaid coverage improves health outcomes, the commission recommended broadening Medicaid coverage to include comprehensive maternal benefits. These investments are central to the health of new mothers and babies and recognize that social drivers of health, such as food insecurity, can be addressed by linking Medicaid beneficiaries to nutrition assistance and breastfeeding supports through SNAP and WIC.

Evidence-backed interventions such as home-visiting, early literacy promotion, and robust care coordination would foster optimal child development and strengthen nurturing caregiver-child relationships.

To give a data starting point to track Kansas’ efforts to address disparities, the state should publicly report measures of maternal and child health disaggregated by race and ethnicity as well as service location.

Kansas is one of the states where the uninsured rate for kids is increasing, and it disproportionately affects children of color. The uninsurance rate for Kansas children rose from 4.6% in 2016 to 5.8% in 2019. Kansas could decrease the number of uninsured children by enabling continuous coverage for children ages 0 to 5 and streamlining the eligibility process. Consistent coverage would improve access to regular and timely check-ups.

Investing in early learning and development can have significant return on investment. According to the Heckman equation, investment in and access to high-quality early learning and child care will improve student success and career achievement, especially for our most vulnerable students. It will also reduce state spending on education, health and criminal justice.

The commission often heard that Kansas child care is in crisis. It’s expensive and in short supply.

Kansas could prioritize using American Rescue Plan funds to strengthen the child care system, focusing resources on communities of color and vulnerable communities. Kansas should maximize Child Care Development Funding from the federal government and explore how to increase participation of families and providers in the child care subsidy program. Increased federal funding and use of child care subsidies can strengthen the system and make high-quality child care more accessible.

Through the Kansas Child Day Care Assistance Credit, businesses provide child care or help employees locate it. To improve access to services, Kansas should expand the types of businesses  eligible for this credit and eliminate the reduction of benefits that occurs after the first year when covering the cost of on-site care.

The health and well-being of Kansas mothers and children is critical to the health of our state. By making policy changes to support expanded maternal care, and high-quality health care and child care for our youngest Kansans, we can reduce disparities for people of color in our state.

About the series

In June 2020, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-48, forming the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The Commission studied issues of racial equity and justice across systems in Kansas, focusing first on policing and law enforcement and then on economic systems, education, and health care. The Commission developed recommendations for state agencies, the Legislature, and local governments. Through the end of 2022, Commissioners will dig deeper into the Commission’s recommendations in a monthly series.

Related resources

Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice reports
Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice webinar series
2022 opinion series on commission recommendations

Kansas tax policy and federal funding recommendations

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

Fiscal policy changes can begin to make Kansas more racially equitable: examining recommendations from the governor’s commission

This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on March 30, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, chaired the subcommittee on healthcare.

How our state government taxes, spends, and accesses funding demonstrates our values and our commitment to addressing racial equity in Kansas.

The Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice examined federal funding and tax policy, seeking to understand how to address systemic issues that affect education attainment, economic opportunity and health across Kansas. Recommendations to address racial equity through tax policy and maximizing federal funding were included in the commission’s final report.

Kansas ranks 46th in terms of accessing federal funding to support the state budget. Having less federal funding affects our ability to support critical health and safety net services, disproportionately burdening state and local budgets when communities need access to services and restricting access to programs that support health and economic opportunity.

To improve racial equity, Kansas should maximize federal funding. 

State restrictions are a barrier to accessing federal funding. Policy changes during the Brownback administration greatly increased restrictions to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Today fewer than 10 out of every 100 Kansas families in poverty are receiving TANF benefits, compared with more than 30 in 100 in 2006. People of color are disproportionately impacted by hunger; SNAP helps low-income households afford groceries. TANF and SNAP benefits provide basic support to families in need. The benefits may be more than financial. 

Beyond negatively affecting Kansans, these restrictions increase interaction with the child welfare system, costing the state money. According to a University of Kansas national study, states that enacted similar restrictions as Kansas have seen higher rates of child abuse and foster care cases. 

These restrictions should be repealed.

As federal COVID-19 relief dollars come to Kansas, it’s vital that the government entities distributing these funds consider the perspectives of people of color and communities most impacted. Relief funds should be targeted to help those most in need due to the pandemic.

Health equity should be a primary consideration when distributing relief funds. A broad definition of health should be employed, based on the social determinants of health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the “conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health and quality-of life-risks and outcomes.” 

Kansas’ failure to expand Medicaid has left more than 150,000 Kansans without access to health care and resulted in more than $5.4 billion in lost federal funding. 

The effect of Kansas’ decision not to draw down federal dollars can be seen in our standing in America’s Health Rankings, which has fallen more than any other state in the nation since 1990. 

Kansas can maximize federal dollars to improve health outcomes through the state’s Medicaid program, KanCare. The social determinants of health should be a focus as Kansas begins the process of redesigning its Medicaid program during the upcoming contracting process. KanCare can begin addressing inequities by recognizing and paying for culturally competent care teams that include proven community-based providers such as community health workers and doulas. Improvements to patient-centered care teams and delivery models, and innovative models pioneered by other states that have improved health outcomes and reduced disparities should be a priority.

Kansas government entities must examine tax policy to improve racial equity and ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors don’t shoulder the burdens of an unfair tax system built on consumption taxes. 

A disproportionate number of low-income individuals are people of color. Some states tax low-income people at higher rates, which can worsen racial inequity. Kansas state and local taxing authorities should collect race and ethnicity data during both tax assessment and tax distribution. The data should be assessed and analyzed to determine the effect of the tax structure on all Kansans. 

Kansas is one of seven states that still fully taxes groceries. To reduce the burden on low-income Kansans, we should eliminate the food sales tax on groceries, which is the second highest in the nation. 

State and local governments, especially in the criminal justice system, should rely less on fines and fees to fund their work. Governments should seek more equitable funding streams, including drawing down federal funds. 

Taxes are rarely fun to talk about, but they are the foundation for how we fund government and services. We must ensure our taxing and budget structures reflect our values as Kansans and help create more equitable communities. The commission’s recommendations offer a path forward, but your time, leadership, and engagement are needed to realize change. 

Let’s get to work.

About the series

In June 2020, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-48, forming the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. The Commission studied issues of racial equity and justice across systems in Kansas, focusing first on policing and law enforcement and then on economic systems, education, and health care. The Commission developed recommendations for state agencies, the Legislature, and local governments. Through the end of 2022, Commissioners will dig deeper into the Commission’s recommendations in a monthly series.

Related resources

Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice reports
Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice webinar series
2022 opinion series on commission recommendations

Improving Racial Equity in Kansas

Posted on by Lindsey Fields

A Three-Part Series Examining the Commission on Racial Equity and Justice’s Final Recommendations

Following months of discussions with community members and stakeholders, the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice developed recommendations to address racial equity in Kansas by focusing on social determinants of health, particularly looking at factors that influence the economic, educational, and health outcomes of our citizens.

The Commission’s recommendations address items that may take place on the state/agency, legislative, and/or local level. Each webinar in this series explores recommendations applicable at a specific level of government.

Examining CREJ Legislative Recommendations

This webinar details the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice’s final recommendations for legislative changes that would influence the economic, educational, and health outcomes of our citizens.

View the slides from the legislative level webinar.

Examining CREJ Local Government Recommendations

This webinar details the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice’s final recommendations for local government changes that would influence the economic, educational, and health outcomes of our citizens.

View the slides from the local level webinar. This webinar was co-sponsored by the Kansas Association of Counties, League of Kansas Municipalities, and the KU School of Public Affairs and Administration.

Examining CREJ State and Agency Recommendations

This webinar details the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice’s final recommendations for state and agency changes that would influence the economic, educational, and health outcomes of our citizens.

View slides from the state and agency level webinar. This webinar was co-sponsored by the KU School of Public Affairs and Administration.

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