LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Office of Equity and Minority Health (OEMH) has announced new dates for online “community” conversations to get public feedback on proposed race and ethnicity data collection standards.

What is the issue with the data collection?
MDHHS is seeking public feedback on how MDHHS collects race and ethnicity data. The feedback will be used to help MDHHS create standards on collecting data on race and ethnicity that will align with federal reporting requirements and reflect the diversity in the state of Michigan.

Why is the input important?

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According to the MDHHS, there is currently no standard way for MDHHS to collect race and ethnicity data for residents receiving services. They say “We know that the current way race and ethnicity data are collected may leave out marginalized groups who may be ethnically and racially similar.”

Additionally, the MDHHS says, “We have no way of comparing the quality of MDHHS service delivery for different race and ethnicity groups between programs” and “we currently have no standard way to collect race and ethnicity data across MDHHS programs.”

The MDHHS adds that the public feedback from the virtual meetings and a multilingual public comment form will help create a standard process to compare the quality of service across MDHHS programs for people from different races and ethnicities. It will also assist in identifying and addressing health disparities across the state.

What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Currently, the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards require that race be collected separately from ethnicity. According to Washington University in St. Louis, “Race refers to the concept of dividing people into groups on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics and the process of ascribing social meaning to those groups. Ethnicity describes the culture of people in a given geographic region, including their language, heritage, religion and customs.

Meeting rescheduled

Some of the community conversation meetings that were originally scheduled by MDHHS in December have been moved to next week. However, although they have moved some of the meetings forward in time, their community conversations look more like they’re going back in time with meetings scheduled that are segregated by race.

Already held in October 2023 were meetings for African Americans and the Middle Eastern North African community. Scheduled for January 16-18 are separate meetings for Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, Hispanics or Latinos and also the “General Public.”

What kind of information is requested from participants in the meetings and survey?

It is at their racially segregated virtual meetings that the MDHHS is requesting public comment on how they should be collecting race and ethnicity information. In a press release from the department, they also said they are making a public comment form available to “enhance inclusivity and community engagement” and to “ensure a diverse range of community members can actively participate and share their insights and perspectives.”

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On the website for the online form, the Office of Equity and Minority Health (OEMH) within MDHHS, along with the Public Health Administration (PHA) and the Data Strategy Workgroup has proposed several race and ethnicity reporting standards that would align with federal reporting requirements. They say they are seeking feedback on these proposed standards to ensure they reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of Michigan.

The Choices

Along the way, the MDHHS shows various samples of proposed questions and answers that a person taking the survey would be able choose in the future, including the option not to choose one of their race or ethnicity options.

The MDHHS says that they currently have no way for people to respond that they are unable or unwilling to provide an answer on their race or ethnicity. In these cases, the race and ethnicity question may be left blank. To reduce the number of blank answers, MDHHS proposes adding options that allow an individual to indicate they do not want to answer the question or that the question categories did not fit their race or ethnicity.

In the sample of questions proposed, the MDHHS asks how the respondent would like the phrase “I prefer not to answer,” “Unknown,” “Other” or “Race not listed” changed so it’s more clear and understandable.

At the end of the survey, in order to ask for their input based on their own experiences of race, the MDHHS asks the race of the respondent using the criteria used in the photo accompanying this article.

What does the office of equity and minority health do?

MDHHS’ OEMH was created in 1988 and is the third oldest minority health office in the United States. Since its inception, OEMH has dedicated its efforts to assuring health equity and eliminating health disparities among Michigan’s racial and ethnic populations, including African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Arab and Chaldean Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Hispanics/Latinos.

How will multiracial choices be categorized?

On the proposed questions of race, the MDHHS instructs the respondents to “select one or more” or “all that apply” when choosing their race. However, it’s unclear how the department will categorize these choices. Will they just be filed under “multiracial” or will they be more specific like “Asian/White”?

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, more than 10% of the American population (33.8 million individuals), self-identify as multiracial.

According to the federal government, in 2020, the percentage of people who reported being of multiple races changed more than all of the race alone groups, increasing from 2.9% of the population (9 million people) in 2010 to 10.2% of the population (33.8 million people) in 2020.

That growth is illustrated by Census data showing that nearly a third who reported to be of two or more races were under the age of 18. At the time of the Census, the nation’s multiracial population was the youngest of any race group. Among those who reported to be of two or more races (multiracial), 32.5% were under age 18 in 2020.

Although MDHHS is offering multiracial options in their survey, they are not currently offering a special segregated virtual meeting for this category other than to offer a meeting for the “general public.”

Michigan News Source reached out to MDHHS about the reason for the segregated virtual meetings and received a response from MDHHS Public Information Officer Lynn Sutfin who said, “The meetings are open to everyone. The conversations are broken up by the race and ethnicity being discussed.”