One DHS People, Access and Culture · Learning path · I'm changing a form, notice, or policy

Policy, form, or notice change

You are preparing a policy, form, notice, or letter and want to make sure it is clear, accessible, and workable for the people who will use it.

Outcome: By the end, you will have a clear record of the change, its effect on people, access needs, sources, follow-up responsibilities, and a review date. You can usually complete routine changes with these resources and ask the policy owner or your Equity Director about high-stakes questions or conflicting Official sources.

Situations that may fit this path

Six steps to work through in order

  1. Consider access and impact — Use Ask to work through plain-language, access, and process questions. If you need a statute or rule, the answer will be clear about whether an official source is available. · Ask a question — program page /ask?path=gp-2
  2. Consider community context (If relevant) — If the change may affect particular Minnesota communities more heavily, read the relevant brief for language, naming, and access considerations. · Explore Minnesota Communities — program page /minnesota-communities
  3. Choose practical resources — Use the change-planning guide, plain-language checklist, language access checklist, and equity impact questions as needed. · Form, notice, or letter change guide — program page /library/ja-form-notice-change · Plain language and accessible documents — program page /library/ja-plain-language · Language access checklist — program page /library/ja-language-access-checklist
  4. Draft your change and access notes — Record who will be affected, access needs, the effort the process asks of people, source labels, follow-up responsibilities, and a review date. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.
  5. Review your work — Confirm that every source is clearly labeled, access needs and process barriers are specific, and the next steps have responsible people and dates.
  6. Talk it through with a consultant (optional) — A consultation can help when the stakes are high or Official sources conflict. Most day-to-day access questions can be worked through with these resources. · Request a consultation — program page /support/request?path=gp-2

What a useful result looks like

Still needs work

Ready to use

Change impact notes and access checklist

Form, notice, or policy name (required)
What is changing.
Who receives this and what they will need to do (required)
Consider who may not be able to complete the steps and what happens then.
Language and access notes (required)
Is this a vital document? Which languages are needed? Has it had a plain-language review? Are accessible formats and phone or in-person options available?
Time, steps, and other barriers (required)
Consider deadlines, required documents, and return methods. Note anything that can be removed or simplified.
Sources and their authority labels (required)
Label each source Official, Guidance, or Outside source; check before use. If you cannot find a source, note that you asked the policy owner.
Who reviewed this before release (required)
Consider communications, language access, accessibility, and the policy owner.
What you chose not to assume (required)
Note the assumptions you avoided about the people receiving this.
Who will address each barrier (required)
Add one line for each barrier, including the action and the person responsible.

Review your notes against

Questions to bring to Ask

One DHS People, Access and Culture