Olmsted County Joint Study on Race and Racism as a Public Health Issue

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

What happens when Minnesota's Olmsted County Board of Commissioners asks two advisory groups to study race and racism as a public health issue and report findings and recommendations? Olmsted County tackles it head-on. One of only two Minnesota counties to pass a resolution directing work on this issue, nine community volunteers supported by two county employees worked tirelessly, during a pandemic, to review and identify opportunities within the scope of Olmsted County operations. This project spanned two years and included collaboration with staff, community partners, and residents. This led to a final report, with 42 action-oriented recommendations accepted by the board of commissioners in October 2022. The board further directed staff to evaluate each recommendation, including an inventory of existing or planned work, and bring specific actions forward for approval and implementation. To ensure continued progress, the county has identified a management analyst to lead this work and liaison to responsible departments and board committees with governance oversight. The analyst will also work with residents to continue engagement through a new community council as part of our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative known as One Olmsted.