TexasAustin
See how Austin performed on our equity assessment of its ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Fund investment strategy.
Total Equity Focused ARPA Funds
$160,909,703$160,909,703
Overall Score
High
Featured Case Studies
Austin, Texas dedicated $2.9 million of its ARPA recovery funds to expand the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps, creating green career pathways for workers disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and systemic inequities.
Austin, Texas dedicated $3 million to pilot six Resilience Hubs in East Austin, delivering essential services and resources to low-income residents and communities of color before, during, and after climate-related emergencies.
ARPA Equity Assessment of Austin, TX
Overall Equity Focus
HighWas racial and economic equity an explicit focus of the jurisdiction's ARPA investment strategy?
95% of locations met this criterion.81% of locations met this criterion.86% of locations met this criterion.Equity Decision Making Tools and Resources
HighAre equity tools, frameworks, and structures in place to support equitable investment project identification, design, and implementation?
38% of locations met this criterion.Austin’s strategic plan, Strategic Direction 23, is underpinned by the values of equity, affordability, innovation, sustainability and resiliency, proactive prevention, and community trust and relationships.
24% of locations met this criterion.Austin City Council passed a resolution in 2015 directing the City Manager to evaluate the impact of city policies and practices on racial equity and develop an equity assessment tool that all city departments can use during the budget process. In 2018, the Council adopted Strategic Direction 23 (SD23), which includes equity as a key value.
31% of locations met this criterion.Strategic Direction 23 included equity as a cross-cutting value and set forth six outcomes (economic opportunity and affordability, mobility, safety, health and environment, culture and lifelong learning, and government that works for all), action strategies for making progress toward them, and metrics for tracking progress.
51% of locations met this criterion.Austin established an Equity Office in 2016 to advance equity throughout all aspects of the City’s operations. The office provides training on racial equity and holds Austin programs and services accountable for tracking the metrics described in SD23. The office is supported by an Equity Action Team comprising community and government representatives.
31% of locations met this criterion.Since 2017, Austin has been piloting the use of an Equity Assessment Tool within city departments: 18 of 40 departments used the tool in 2023. The City also developed a tool for housing programs focused on equity across the dimensions of race, LGBTQIA status, and disability, which was adopted by the Homeless Response Leadership Council in 2021.
48% of locations met this criterion.72% of locations met this criterion.38% of locations met this criterion.Community Engagement
HighDid the jurisdiction engage community members in decision making about the ARPA funds, conduct targeted outreach to historically excluded communities, and implement strategies to reach underserved communities?
94% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.54% of locations met this criterion.Equitable Labor Practices
HighDoes the jurisdiction use best practices for ensuring public investments deliver family-supporting jobs to residents who have faced barriers to good jobs and economic prosperity?
27% of locations met this criterion.
12% of locations met this criterion.52% of locations met this criterion.22% of locations met this criterion.8% of locations met this criterion.Equity Investments
HighDid the jurisdiction make investments that have the potential to advance equity by targeting the communities most harmed by the pandemic and addressing systemic inequities?
56% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.58% of locations met this criterion.74% of locations met this criterion.57% of locations met this criterion.73% of locations met this criterion.41% of locations met this criterion.30% of locations met this criterion.29% of locations met this criterion.57% of locations met this criterion.57% of locations met this criterion.28% of locations met this criterion.60% of locations met this criterion.51% of locations met this criterion.45% of locations met this criterion.Transparency & Accountability
HighDoes the jurisdiction set performance goals, collect data to monitor progress toward equitable outcomes, and provide the public with information about how funds are being used?
55% of locations met this criterion.70% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.75% of locations met this criterion.