Advancing Racial Equity in Health and Social Policy: Evidence from Programs, Providers, and Policy Design

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel examines how social policy can be designed and implemented to promote social and racial equity across health and education systems. The 3 papers examine how programmatic interventions, provider structures, and policy design approaches shape outcomes for marginalized populations—particularly low-income women and communities of color. The first paper evaluates the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF), a federal grant program aimed at supporting pregnant and parenting teenagers. The second paper analyzes the effects of public insurance payment mandates on the utilization of non-physician providers (e.g., nurse practitioners and physician assistants). The third paper reviews race-conscious and race-neutral policy strategies in organizational contexts. Together, these papers contribute to growing evidence on how policy design can either reinforce or disrupt social and racial inequities, offering insights for more equitable public policy development and implementation.

Policy Area

• Social Equity and Race

Secondary Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Chair

• Paola Langer, Princeton University

Discussant

• Rachel Funk Fordham, University of California, Berkeley

Organizer

• Paola Langer, Princeton University

Individual Presentations

• Public Insurance Payment Mandates and Non-Physician Provider - Presenting Author: Yu-Ting Huang, Georgia State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Lauren Velasco, Georgia State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Olanrewaju Yusuff, Georgia State University

• Evaluating the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) Program: Educational Outcomes and Repeat Pregnancy Among Teenage Mothers - Presenting Author: Min Sun Park, Binghamton University (SUNY-Binghamton); Non-Presenting Co-Author: Solomon W Polachek, Binghamton University (SUNY-Binghamton)

• Balancing Racial Equity & Compliance: A Literature Review of Race-Conscious versus Race-Neutral Policy Approaches and Organizational Impacts - Presenting Author: Julio Jesus Mena Bernal, The University of Texas at Austin

• Giving Voice to Survivors: Cross-National Insights into Gender-Based Violence Recovery Using Natural Language Processing - Presenting Author: Ashley Khor, University of Pittsburgh