The New School -- Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy | Budget Equity Project logo

CaliforniaKern County

See how Kern County performed on our equity assessment of its ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Fund investment strategy.

Total Equity Focused ARPA Funds

$73,149,954$73,149,954

Overall Score

Middle

ARPA Equity Assessment of Kern County, CA

Overall Equity Focus

middleMiddle

Was racial and economic equity an explicit focus of the jurisdiction's ARPA investment strategy?

Equity Conscious
checkmark icon95% of locations met this criterion.
Race Conscious
checkmark icon81% of locations met this criterion.
Equity as a Priority
x icon86% of locations met this criterion.

Equity Decision Making Tools and Resources

middleMiddle

Are equity tools, frameworks, and structures in place to support equitable investment project identification, design, and implementation?

Equity Principles
x icon38% of locations met this criterion.
Equity Policies
x icon24% of locations met this criterion.
Equity Framework
x icon31% of locations met this criterion.
Equity Staffing
x icon51% of locations met this criterion.
Equity Tools
x icon31% of locations met this criterion.
Data Disaggregation
checkmark icon48% of locations met this criterion.
Geographic Targeting via QCTs
checkmark icon72% of locations met this criterion.
Neighborhood Risk/Vulnerability Mapping
checkmark icon38% of locations met this criterion.

Community Engagement

middleMiddle

Did 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?

Broad Community Engagement
checkmark icon94% of locations met this criterion.
Targeted Outreach
checkmark icon64% of locations met this criterion.
Inclusive Engagement
x icon54% of locations met this criterion.

Equitable Labor Practices

lowLow

Does 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?

Targeted or Local Hiring
x icon36% of locations met this criterion.
Living Wage
x icon16% of locations met this criterion.
Prevailing Wage
checkmark icon70% of locations met this criterion.
Project Labor Agreement
x icon29% of locations met this criterion.
Community Benefits Agreements
x icon11% of locations met this criterion.

Equity Investments

middleMiddle

Did the jurisdiction make investments that have the potential to advance equity by targeting the communities most harmed by the pandemic and addressing systemic inequities?

Good Jobs
checkmark icon62% of locations met this criterion.
Income and Wealth
checkmark icon71% of locations met this criterion.
Inclusive Business Development
x icon64% of locations met this criterion.
Housing Security
checkmark icon82% of locations met this criterion.
Food Security
x icon63% of locations met this criterion.
Health Equity
checkmark icon81% of locations met this criterion.
Digital Equity
x icon45% of locations met this criterion.
Early Childhood
x icon33% of locations met this criterion.
Quality Child Care
x icon32% of locations met this criterion.
Youth & School-Aged Children
x icon64% of locations met this criterion.
Community Infrastructure
checkmark icon64% of locations met this criterion.
Equity Infrastructure
x icon31% of locations met this criterion.
Community Based Organizations
x icon67% of locations met this criterion.
Community Safety & Justice
x icon56% of locations met this criterion.
Policing (Negative Points)
x icon50% of locations met this criterion.
Extent of Investment (% of Spending)
97%46% is the average across all locations.
Extent of Investment (% of Projects)
93%58% is the average across all locations.

Transparency & Accountability

highHigh

Does 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?

Equity Outcomes
checkmark icon55% of locations met this criterion.
Public Data
checkmark icon70% of locations met this criterion.
ARPA Website
checkmark icon64% of locations met this criterion.
Performance Measures
checkmark icon75% of locations met this criterion.

The Equity Focus of Kern's ARPA Investments

Primary Policy Area
Amount
Percentage
Community infrastructure
$25,000,000
33.1%
Income and wealth
$22,429,954
29.7%
Health equity
$19,850,000
26.3%
Housing security
$5,150,000
6.8%
Good jobs
$720,000
0.9%
Not equity focused or unknown
$2,450,000
3.2%

$73,149,954

  of $75,599,954 funds budgeted as of July 2023 (96.8%) were equity focused
View Detailed Investments