6 research outputs found
The first two community ID programs in the Midwest : organizing, evaluation, and community health in Johnson County, IA and Washtenaw County, mi
The post-9/11 sociopolitical climate has led to an increase in anti-immigrant policies and practices, including the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, which established standards requiring proof of "legal presence" for state identification cards (IDs) and driver's licenses to be used for federal purposes such as air travel. This has led several states to revise their ID eligibility requirements, and undocumented immigrants cannot access state IDs or driver's licenses in any Midwestern state except Illinois (Mathema, 2015; Park, 2015). Lack of photo ID limits access to important resources including bank and check-cashing services, pharmacies, libraries, housing, and police services (Lagunes, Levin, and Ditlmann, 2012). Undocumented parents face additional challenges as IDs may be required to volunteer at children's schools or pick them up from childcare (de Graauw, 2014). In 2015 two Midwestern counties (Washtenaw County, Michigan and Johnson County, Iowa) became the eighth and ninth U.S. localities to issue ID cards regardless of immigration status. These grassroots initiatives, the first local government-issued ID programs in the Midwest, were spearheaded by local activists and advocates who had witnessed -- or experienced firsthand -- the challenges of living without locally accepted IDs. The Washtenaw ID Project and the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa each worked with community members, county officials, and law enforcement with the goal of developing IDs that were accessible, secure from fraud, and widely accepted by area businesses, service providers, and law enforcement. These programs are well suited to the 2016 Cambio de Colores theme, "Building Bridges." Local IDs were designed to serve not only undocumented immigrants but also others that face challenges in accessing ID: the elderly, transgender individuals, individuals with chronic mental illness, residentially unstable individuals, and those displaced by natural disaster or domestic violence. This panel included several perspectives on these innovative programs. Representatives from the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa and the Washtenaw ID Project shared lessons from years of organizing, advocacy, and policy development. They discussed each county's process of identifying the need for local IDs, organizing to promote local ID policies, and implement the ID policies. Both groups worked to promote local IDs widely, including to those with state-issued IDs, so that local IDs were not stigmatized as substandard forms of identification. Researchers from University of Michigan School of Public Health and Social Work and University of Iowa College of Public Health shared findings from a multi-site, mixed-methods longitudinal evaluation of these programs. The objective was to evaluate whether community IDs increased access to community resources. Researchers partnered with the community agencies above to develop and administer surveys to ID applicants on the day they applied for ID (n=407). In Washtenaw County, qualitative interviews on the day of ID application (n=18) provided richer data about applicants' day-to-day experiences prior to accessing ID. Researchers presented preliminary findings about changes in participants' day-to-day experiences and access to resources since being issued ID. The panelists concluded with recommendations for designing local ID policies in other communities, including eligibility criteria, administration process and community engagement
Restrictive ID policies: implications for health equity
We wish to thank Synod Community Services for their critical work to develop, support, and implement a local government-issued ID in Washtenaw County, MI. We also thank Yousef Rabhi of the Michigan House of Representatives and Janelle Fa'aola of the Washtenaw ID Task Force, Lawrence Kestenbaum of the Washtenaw County Clerk's Office, Sherriff Jerry Clayton of the Washtenaw County Sherriff's Office, and the Washtenaw ID Task Force for their tireless commitment to developing and supporting the successful implementation of the Washtenaw ID. Additionally, we thank Vicenta Vargas and Skye Hillier for their contributions to the Washtenaw ID evaluation. We thank the Curtis Center for Research and Evaluation at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan, and the University of California-Irvine Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and Program in Public Health for their support of the Washtenaw ID community-academic research partnership. Finally, we thank the reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. (Curtis Center for Research and Evaluation at the University of Michigan School of Social Work; National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan; University of California-Irvine Department of Chicano/Latino Studies; Program in Public Health)https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10903-017-0579-3.pdfPublished versio
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It Works, But For Whom? Examining Racial Bias in Carding Experiences and Acceptance of a County Identification Card
Purpose: Policies that restrict access to U.S. government-issued photo identification (ID) cards adversely affect multiple marginalized communities. This context impedes access to health-promoting resources that increasingly require government-issued IDs and exacerbates health inequities. In 2015, Washtenaw County, Michigan, implemented the Washtenaw ID to improve access to resources contingent upon having an ID. We employed an audit study to examine whether Washtenaw ID users experienced racially biased treatment in carding experiences and acceptance of the Washtenaw ID. Methods: Seven 25- to 32-year-old mystery shoppers (two Latina, three black, and two white women) attempted to purchase a standardized basket of goods, including an age-restricted item in Washtenaw County stores (n=130 shopping experiences). We examined whether experiences of being asked for ID and acceptance of the Washtenaw ID varied by race/ethnicity. Results: Each shopper visited 9-22 stores. Shoppers were asked for ID in 63.1% of shopping experiences. Of these, the Washtenaw ID was accepted 91.5% of the time. Among those who were asked for ID, a higher percentage of Latina (16.0%) shoppers had their Washtenaw IDs rejected than black (6.3%) and white (4.0%) shoppers, although differences were not statistically significant (p=0.27). Latina shoppers had 2.9 times the odds of receiving a comment about their Washtenaw ID relative to white shoppers (OR=2.92, p=0.08), comments that were nonpositive. Conclusion: Local IDs may improve access to resources contingent upon having an ID. However, racialization processes, including anti-immigrant sentiments, may inhibit the mitigating goal of local IDs. Continued attention to the health equity impacts of equity-driven interventions is warranted
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The Washtenaw ID Project: A Government-Issued ID Coalition Working Toward Social, Economic, and Racial Justice and Health Equity
Introduction. The policing of identities through policies that restrict access to IDs issued by U.S. governmental entities disparately affects communities of color; communities who identify as low-income, immigrant, older, and/or transgender; and community members who experience chronic mental illness, housing instability, or incarceration. Yet government-issued IDs are increasingly needed to access health-promoting resources such as housing, banking, social services, and health care, and in interactions with law enforcement. Methods. Since 2012, the Washtenaw ID Project's coalition-building process has involved communities affected by restrictive ID policies, advocates, and institutional stakeholders to enact community and systems change regarding inequities in government-issued IDs. We discuss the coalition-building process that culminated in the implementation of a photo ID issued by Washtenaw County government as a policy change strategy. We also highlight the community-academic research partnership evaluating the effectiveness of the Washtenaw ID in order to ensure equity in Washtenaw ID access and acceptance. Results. In 2015, 77% of Washtenaw ID holders reported having no other locally accepted ID. At follow-up, Washtenaw ID holders reported favorable Washtenaw ID acceptance rates in several domains (e.g., health care, school), but not when accessing banking services and housing. Additionally, community discussions suggested racial inequities in carding and ID acceptance. We discuss next steps for policy improvement to ensure equitable impact of the ID. Conclusions. Without national policy reform instating access to government-issued IDs for all, the social movement to establish local IDs may improve access to health-related resources contingent on having an ID. Careful attention must be paid to community organizing processes, policy implementation, and evaluation to ensure equity