Policy Creation for Racial Equity in State Government: Case Study of Vermont

Abstract

Public organizations have faced longstanding challenges in addressing social equity issues. Public administrators and policy leaders continue to be called to focus on social equity when delivering public goods (Soni, 2000). Because of the demands from the public and the technical skills needed to answer issues about social equity in public policy contexts, state governments have moved to hire executive-level positions to mitigate their challenges. This presentation explores this topic by answering the question: What are the criteria and reasons for a state government to form a racial equity-focused administrator position? Using Vermont as a case study, this research investigates the reasons behind a racial equity-focused administrator role in Vermont. The state was selected because Vermont has employed a unique strategy that created an administrator position at their governor\u27s cabinet level through a bill passed by the state\u27s legislative branch. A qualitative case study was conducted using secondary data, including media reports, legislative records, official press releases, and passed legislation bills, to uncover the narrative and reasons behind the creation of the position. Findings suggest that shared outcomes of the legislators are crucial to informing the formulation of policy that created a race-conscious role. This research provides an in-depth examination of the use of a race-conscious administrative process to answer the call for social equity in public policy and administration