5. Refine and expand guidance on how federal agencies should implement Justice40 programs
Create clear, consistent, and enforceable selection criteria that prioritizes projects that holistically advance equity, climate action, and economic health.
Selection criteria are important levers through which federal agencies can maximize benefits resulting from Justice40 investments to “disadvantaged” communities and advance Justice40’s intersecting goals on equity, climate, and the economy. The administration should direct agencies to prioritize projects for competitive funding that offer benefits cutting across all of Justice40’s goals, and provide clear, consistent, and enforceable selection criteria that agencies can use to do so. These criteria should include, at minimum:
- the degree to which proposed projects incorporate climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies
- whether proposed projects have plans to provide—or partner with other organizations that provide—workforce development, job placement, career pathways, and business development opportunities to local people with low incomes and local people of color, and whether those plans incorporate job-quality standards
- whether proposed projects include plans demonstrating what—and how—specific benefits will flow to “disadvantaged” communities and specific groups within those communities
- the degree to which proposed projects include plans to identify and mitigate—if not eliminate—potential harms
- the degree to which proposed projects include plans to gather and meaningfully incorporate community input
- whether proposed projects have plans to establish community benefit agreements, if they are not already in place
- whether proposed projects have plans to establish financially sustainable operations and maintenance plans, if they are not already in place
Ensure that formula and other funds are spent in accordance with Justice40 principles.
While a number of formula grants, such as the Community Development Block Grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are included in the list of Justice40-covered programs released in July 2022, there remains significant confusion on whether and how Justice40 will apply to formula and other non-competitive federal funds, suggesting a need for the administration to reinforce that Justice40 applies to existing and new formula grant programs. Because formula grants to states comprise a majority of funding from bills such as the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act—a major source of Justice40 funding—the administration must also find ways to incentivize states, especially those whose leadership may not be politically aligned with the current administration, to distribute federal funds in ways consistent with Justice40 principles, perhaps by tying other competitive funding to compliance with Justice40 goals.
Provide detailed guidance on what benefits “count” and metrics to track those benefits.
The OMB’s interim implementation guidance contains a list of possible benefits for each of the seven areas covered under Justice40, but these are currently only suggestions; federal agencies are directed to independently identify benefits and ways of measuring those benefits for each of their covered programs. This could lead to a lack of consistency and clarity across agencies on what “counts” as a benefit, which in turn may hamper Justice40’s ability to advance equity, climate action, and economic health in the communities it intends to serve.
We understand that the administration intends to release final implementation guidance in late 2022 or in early 2023. We recommend that this updated guidance include clear and comprehensive direction on the types of benefits that federal agencies must document and track—including specific economic, equity, and climate-related benefits—and clearly defined and measurable outcomes for each benefit. For instance, if a reduction in air pollution is a desired benefit, one possible metric to track could be levels of PM2.5, a particulate matter known to cause serious health issues and premature mortality.
The administration should also direct federal agencies to consider who specifically within each community is likely to benefit from any given project, because projects may not benefit all residents of a community equally. To ensure that Justice40 projects advance economic, equity, and climate goals, the administration should collaborate with both cross-sector leaders and members of Justice40-eligible communities in producing this guidance (see recommendation 2: Meaningfully engage communities).
Proactively conduct outreach and channel investments to communities carrying the greatest burdens.
Instead of waiting for Justice40-eligible communities to apply for funding, the administration should direct federal agencies to conduct active outreach to communities identified as “disadvantaged” and meet them where they are. With a more effective method of assessing cumulative burdens (see recommendation 1: Improve identification methodology), agencies will be able to prioritize outreach to communities facing the greatest harms, proactively channel investments to these communities, and provide the aid and assistance necessary for communities to successfully absorb funding and implement Justice40 projects. Many federal agencies, including the EPA, HUD, and the Economic Development Administration (EDA), already have regional offices with established relationships with local governments, universities, and community-based nonprofits. Leveraging these offices to provide expanded and focused outreach can help break the cycle of perpetual advocacy that many lesser-resourced communities find themselves in; build trust; and help advance Justice40’s goals related to equity, climate action, and economic health.