Equity in the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
Since 2008, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has strategically focused its efforts on establishing Equity as a foundational value for its work. Key to this effort was to define what Equity means to the department and its staff. The overarching goal was to promote sustainable culture change and perspective transformation throughout the department. The “Culture of Equity” framework advances a holistic approach in the design and development of policy, practice, and resources.
At the core of this strategic transformation, the Director charged staff to continue to examine our business model, and to adopt an accelerated transformation agenda: Service Integration, Equity, Technology Modernization, and to develop a capable and competent workforce with strong partnerships. This is the story of a Department willing to turn the lens inward and engage in courageous conversations to champion and engage organizational change efforts to embrace the value of equity.
DHHS Equity Journey
The Equity Journey documents the focus of this Department to understand how systemic and environmental challenges were impacting the health and well-being of the community, and how we determined ways to transform practices so that they are streamlined, appropriate, accessible and equitable.
To find out more about establishing a Culture of Equity in the department, see our Equity Journey.
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What is Equity?
Equity is providing all people with fair opportunities to attain their full potential. Inequities are differences in well-being between and within communities that are systematic, patterned, unfair, or can be changed.
Equity is a value of fairness that guides the way that DHHS works with customers, staff, and community to promote health, safety, well-being and self-sufficiency. Together we build a culture of inclusion: a Department that tailors its approaches to achieve the best possible outcomes for the communities and customers we serve.
Learn more about the HHS Equity Principles & Equity Workgroup Members
Resources in the County
Montgomery County Office of Racial Equity & Social Justice
The Office of Racial Equity & Social Justice mission is to reduce and eliminate racial disparities and inequities in Montgomery County. Click on the title above to learn more.
Racial Equity Resources (NEW)
Click on the title above for resources and information on racial disparities and inequities in the U.S.
African American Health Program
The African American Health Program (AAHP) was created and funded in 1999 by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The mission of the AAHP is to eliminate health disparities and improve the number and quality of years of life for African American people and people of African descent in Montgomery County. The program focuses on health and wellness while targeting six major health areas--infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, oral health, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Asian American Health Initiative
The Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) was established in 2005 to specifically addressed and improve the unique and often neglected needs of Asian American residents in Montgomery County. The mission of AAHI is to improve the health and wellness of Asian American communites in Montgomery County by applying equity, community engagement, and data-driven approaches. AAHI's work is focused on four core areas-community engagement (conduct outreach to engage), community empowerment (provide technical assistance to empower) capacity building (create models and tools to demonstrate promising practices), and change catalyst (influence changes to improve systems). AAHI offers services for both individual county residents as well as community-based an faith-based organizations.
Latino Health Initiative
The Latino health Initiative's (LHI) mission is to improve the health and quality of life of Latinos living in Montgomery County. LHI develops and implements programs and systems addressing social determinants of health immpacting the Latino community. LHI's integrated culturally and linguistically proficient programs and services reflect the values of Latino families in our community. LHI accomplishes its mission by working with community stakeholders to: enhance coordination of existing health programs and services targeting Latinos; develop models of programs and services for Latinos; provide technical ssistance to programs and services serving Latinos; and, advocate for policies and practices that effectively reach Montgomery County's Latino Communities.
Montgomery County Community Action Agency
The mission of the Montgomery County Community Action Agency (CAA) is to advance social and economic mobility among communities and neighbors through services, partnerships, and advocacy using an equity lens. The agency oversees the County's Head Start grant, Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program, Navigation Program, and monitors nonprofit organization contracts and gran agreements assigned to the agency. The Community Action Board, the agency's governing body, advocates for issues impacting lower-income County residents and administers the Community Advocacy Institute. The CAA, the County’s federally-designated anti-poverty agency, is part of Montgomery’s County Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Affairs, and a member of the National Community Action Partnership and the Maryland Community Action Partnership.
InfoMontgomery
infoMONTGOMERY.org is a collaborative effort of public and private agencies to provide detailed information about health, education and human service resources throughout Montgomery County, MD.
Learning Opportunities
Prevention Institute: Health Equity and Prevention Primer
An online learning tool for practitioners. The modules are equity focused and intended to assist practitioners in incorporating health equity into their work.
Roots of Health Inequity
An online course to increase the knowledge of public health practitioners so that they can tackle the root causes of health inequities. Funded by NIH and created by NACCHO.
Unnatural Causes
An acclaimed documentary series broadcast by PBS and now used by thousands of organizations around the country to tackle the root causes of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health.
Tools
| Title of Tool/Resource | Link(s) | Description |
| But Why Technique | But Why Technique video | The “But Why technique”, was originally developed by Sakichi Toyoda and made popular by the Toyota Production system. The technique was used to drill down to the cause of a problem, that may otherwise be masked by the symptoms of the root problem. |
| Head Start 5 Why’s | ||
| Microaggressions | Interrupting Microaggressions | Resources and techniques to respond to microaggressions and other indignities. These tools will help people navigate how to repair relationships and maintain trusted connections with colleagues and friends after a microaggression is enacted. |
| The CALM Microaggression Tool | *Microaggressions are the everyday slights, insults, putdowns, invalidations, and offensive behaviors that people experience in daily interactions with generally well-intentioned individuals who may be unaware that they have engaged in demeaning ways. (Adapted from Sue et al., 2007) | |
| Microaggressions, Macroaggressions, Microinequity and Microinsults | ||
| Government Alliance on Race & Equity’s (GARE) Tools and Resources Webpage | GARE’s Tools and Resources | This Tools and Resources page includes: materials from GARE’s events, including national and regional convenings and webinars Issue papers that describe topics and approaches that have impact, as well as examples from cities and counties that provide the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others. Tools for racial equity, including a Racial Equity Tool from the Alliance that captures an overall approach to integrating racial equity into routine decision making, as well as examples from our cohort of jurisdictions at the forefront of racial equity videos that tell the stories of our work |
| Recruitment Tool | Recruitment Tool | If you are involved in the hiring process, part of an interview panel, or a new staff member, these tips are intended to help look for candidates who have the skills, knowledge, and interest to address inequities. Each section provides suggested strategies for consideration. The resource section contains valuable ‘usable resources’ to help managers who want more detailed information about creating and maintaining a workforce that is inclusive, culturally competent, and reflects the community it serves. |
| Embedding HHS Equity Principles in Recovery Planning | Embedding HHS Equity Principles in Recovery Planning | This is a tool that was used by HHS to apply equity principles in recovery planning. Provide a set of guiding questions to help you review your decision-making process and determine if the decisions you make bring us closer to or further away from greater racial equity and social justice. |
| How to execute a Lunch and Learn Activity | How to Execute a Lunch and Learn Activity | This guide is intended to offer easy to follow guide as to how to implement a 30 minute to 1 hour lunch and learn activity. |
| Guide on How to Recruit Peer-Facilitators | Guide on How to Recruit Peer-Facilitators | This is a quick guide to help other to departments within the county or other organizations who are thinking of using a peer-led model, like the one DHHS has established, to conduct workshops on Racial Equity and Social Justice. To streamline the process and to prevent bias in decision making. This tool contains the steps on how to recruit peer-facilitators, a sample flyer, FAQ sheet, and a sample application form that can be used by other entities. |
| Self Sufficiency Standard Tool | Self Sufficiency Standard Tool | An interactive tool that defines the earnings needed to establish economic stability in the State of Maryland for its residents. This tool was created by Montgomery County, Maryland’s Community Action Agency, and its Community Action Board to help program managers to evaluate program effectiveness and to help legislatures seeking to create programs and pathways that lead to self-sufficiency for working families. |
| *Self Sufficiency Standard defines the amount of income necessary to meet basic needs of families, differentiated by family type and geographical location. | ||
| Racial Equity Toolkit | Racial Equity Toolkit | Created by the Greenlining Institute, this toolkit is a guide for applying a racial equity lens to policy issues. |
| Local Health Department Organizational Self-Assessment for Addressing Health Disparities | Local Health Department Organizational Self-Assessment for Addressing Health Disparities | The Organizational Self-Assessment (Self-Assessment) for Addressing Health Inequities Toolkit (Toolkit) provides public health leaders with tools and guidelines that help identify the skills, organizational practices and infrastructure needed to address health equity and provide insights into steps LHDs can take to ensure their organization can have an impact on this growing problem. |
| Urban Institute Research | Urban Institute Research | Explore the issues and expand your research knowledge with the resources available on the Urban Institute Website. |
Equity Work in Other Jurisdictions
MCPS Equity Initiatives Unit
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
King County, WA
Boston, MA
Multnomah County, OR
Alameda County, CA
Montgomery County Data
Healthy Montgomery
Compare Montgomery County's health with other Maryland communities, the nation, and national targets on almost 100 indicators.
2023 Montgomery County Self-Sufficiency Standard
The Self-Sufficiency Standard measures how much income a family of a certain composition in a given place must earn to meet their basic needs.
Equity Focus Areas Analysis (EFA) & Story Map What are equity focus areas? Montgomery Planning developed a data-driven tool to identify and map these areas in the county to assess potential racial and social inequities. These include access to resources and opportunities for employment, transportation, education, health, and government services that support a good quality of life.
Statewide & National Data
Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the Maryland Department of Health
Learn more about equity data in the state of Maryland.
County Health Rankings & Road Maps The 2024 County Health rankings National Findings Report examines the issues and opportunities to ensure economic security and health for all through a living wage, fair pay for women, affordable and accessible childcare, and well-resourced, equitably funded schools.
National Equity Atlas
A comprehensive data resource to track, measure, and make the case for inclusive growth.
Contact Us
If you would like to request a special workshop for your group or organization, or if you have other questions/inquiries about the Equity work, please contact:
Betty Lam, Chief, Office of Community Affairs
240-777-1629
[email protected]
Karen Gutierrez, Planning Specialist, Office of Community Affairs
240-777-1849
[email protected]
Rebecca F. Smith, Program Specialist, Office of Community Affairs
240-529-9523
For more information on scheduled workshops, please see below information. Read more about our Implicit Bias, A Journey Inward & Creating a Culture of Equity.
Fall 2024 Workshops:
History Matters, a Glimpse of Lasting Impact of Events & Policies- Three-part Series (Online)
- September 9, 2024: 12:00-1:00pm Racial Disparities: Historical Perspective in the African American Community
- September 11, 2024: 12:00-1:00pm Immigration Policies and the Consequences on Latino Health and Wellbeing
- September 18, 2024: 12:00-1:00pm Asian American History of Inequities
Creating a Culture of Equity (In-Person Workshop):
- September 26, 2024: 9:00am-3:15pm, Location at EOB/HR Building (The Auditorium)
Implicit Bias, A Journey Inward (In-Person Workshop):
- October 24, 2024: 9:00am-12:30pm, Location at 1401 Rockville Pike (Lobby/Training Rooms)
- December 5, 2024: 9:00am-12:30pm, Location at 1401 Rockville Pike (Lobby/Training Rooms)
Enrollment:
Class enrollement ends 7 days prior to the start date
- MCG Employees and Contractors Click here: Access MCG ePortal
- DHHS Partners, Click here: Access Extranet Portal
- Enrollment Instructions, Click here and select the appropiate link: Guides and Resources