11 minutes
Four things to look for Unnecessary barriers, unclear requirements, unintended disparate effects and hidden assumptions — what each one sounds like on the page, and how to describe it so it can be fixed.
What you’ll be able to do Identify unnecessary barriers, unclear requirements, unintended disparate effects and hidden assumptions in a draft, and describe each one precisely enough that the person who owns the draft can act on it. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: What should the review note say instead? Document a next step for Four things to look for: Read one page of a draft and write four short findings, one of each kind, each naming the sentence, who it affects, what happens to them and the wording you suggest. Even on the page, uneven on the ground A draft policy is written in general sentences and lived in particular ones. The sentence says “the applicant must submit.” The life says a person who works nights, shares a phone with two other adults, has moved twice since spring and reads Somali more comfortably than English must submit. Nothing in ordinary drafting forces that translation to happen. It has to be done on purpose, by someone who has decided to do it.
Four findings cover most of what an equity review turns up, and they are worth keeping separate because each has a different fix. An unnecessary barrier is removed. An unclear requirement is specified. A disparate effect is designed around — a second channel, a longer window, a different proof. A hidden assumption is named, and then the sentence is rewritten for the people who do not match it. Collapsing all four into “this is a problem” gives the drafter nothing to do.
None of this is about intent, and the review works better when it says so. You are not investigating the person who wrote the sentence, and you do not need to prove discrimination to recommend a change. You are reading a draft for foreseeable results while they can still be changed, which is the ordinary work of writing rules for a public that is not uniform.
The four findings, and what each one sounds like Unnecessary barrier A step the purpose of the policy does not require. Test it by asking what would actually go wrong if the step were removed, and whether that thing is happening now. Signs: a document the agency already holds, an in-person appearance for something verifiable another way, a notarization, an original rather than a copy, one channel with one way in, a form that must be printed to be completed.
Wording to look for: “must appear in person,” “must be notarized,” “original documents only,” “submitted through the online form.”
Unclear requirement A sentence two careful readers can satisfy in two different ways. It produces uneven decisions, appeals, rework and a quiet advantage for people who can afford to guess wrong or who know someone to call. Test it by asking a colleague outside the program to say exactly what they would do.
Wording to look for: “appropriate documentation,” “promptly,” “as needed,” “sufficient evidence,” “may be required,” “in a timely manner.”
Unintended disparate effect A requirement that reads the same for everyone and is not equally available to everyone. Test it against what the state actually looks like: broadband and cellular coverage, distance to a clinic or county office, transit, daytime availability, the languages people read, whether a name and address match across three systems.
You are not proving discrimination and you do not need to. You are naming a foreseeable uneven result while the sentence is still open.
Hidden assumption The person the draft was written around. Read the draft and describe that person out loud: their housing, transportation, work hours, family, reading, documents, and trust in government. Then name who does not match, and what the sentence does to them.
Wording to look for: “the responsible family member,” “the applicant's home,” “during normal business hours,” “the primary caregiver,” and any process that assumes one stable address.
Which finding is this? The draft requires a notarized signature on a form the division already receives electronically from the provider.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption Applicants must appear at a county office during business hours to verify identity, although the same verification is accepted by mail in a neighboring program.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The draft says a change must be reported “promptly after it occurs.”
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The draft requires “appropriate documentation” without saying what would count.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The only way to file is an online form, and the counties with the slowest connections are the ones with the longest drive to an office.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The deadline is counted in business days, and the clinic appointment it depends on is six weeks out in most of the region.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The draft refers to the reader throughout as “the responsible family member.”
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption The timeline assumes the person has one address, one phone number and one spelling of their name across all three records.
Choose a category Unnecessary barrier Unclear requirement Unintended disparate effect Hidden assumption Check matches Reset Write findings the drafter can act on What you can change You control how precisely you describe what you found.
What to watch for Do not send “this section raises equity concerns.” It cannot be acted on, it puts the drafter on the defensive, and it comes back to you as a request to explain what you meant, usually the week the draft is due.
Your next step Rewrite your next finding in four parts: the quoted sentence and where it appears, who is affected, what happens to them, and the wording you suggest instead.
Private reflection, kept by you and not collected anywhere: who could be helped, burdened, excluded or misunderstood by what this draft requires — and which of those groups would I have noticed without looking on purpose?
Carry this forward An unnecessary barrier is a step the purpose of the policy does not require: a notarization, an in-person appearance, a document the agency already holds, a single channel with one way in.
An unclear requirement is a sentence two careful readers can satisfy two different ways. It produces uneven decisions, appeals and rework, and it quietly favors people who can afford to guess wrong.
An unintended disparate effect is a rule that reads evenly and lands unevenly, because what it requires is not equally available: broadband, a car, daytime hours, a clinician within an hour's drive, a name that matches across three records.
A hidden assumption is the picture of a person the draft was written around. Describe that person out loud, then name who does not match and what the sentence does to them.
A finding is usable when it quotes the sentence, names who is affected, says what happens to them, and offers replacement wording. Anything less arrives as criticism and leaves as nothing.
A sorting exercise separating the four findings, a scenario on a requirement described as neutral, and a knowledge check on what makes a finding actionable.
Read one page of a draft and write four short findings, one of each kind, each naming the sentence, who it affects, what happens to them and the wording you suggest.
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