Rules Advisory Committees (RAC)

 What's a RAC?

A Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) is formed to make or change the Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs). 

Each RAC held within the Oregon Health Authority may have a different process. 

Usually, though public notice on the website, there will be an application that can be filled out or an email to request participation in a RAC. The organizers will review requests and select Subject Matter Experts (SME) to participate. Participants will form the committee and while the committee is open to the public, only those selected can comment. 

Things to keep in mind during RAC: 

  • The goal of the committee is to develop, review, and/or update language within a rule.

  • Committee members may include advocates in favor and those in opposition; it may have participants who are business owners, trainers, and consumers. 

  • Finding common ground and consensus can be challenging with bigger committees, especially if there are conflicting priorities. 

How does the ODA participate in RACs? 

We acknowledge that a lot of this work is intertwined and while the Oregon Doula Association has board members and staff that may have their own doula organizations or work with other organizations that involve doulas, it is imperative that, as a statewide doula association, we prioritize the majority of the doula workforce over any personal interests. This means naming any potential conflicts of interest ahead of time and being clear on what role we are playing (or hat we are wearing) when entering policy spaces. 

If any ODA representative is chosen to participate in a RAC, we do our best to keep a neutral stance. This means not endorsing or recommending any specific trainings, organizations or businesses. 

Things we may say instead: 

  • Communities of color are still facing significant disadvantages. Organizations that are rooted in culturally specific services should be prioritized!

  • It is imperative that the THW Doula workforce is well skilled in XYZ to better support families. We recommend considering trainings organizations/models that embrace and are rooted in community health support. 

  • We have heard from our members that these three items are the most important for them. Here are our recommendations on how that can be implemented. 

  • There are concerns with adding this language to the bill. An unintended consequence of that is…

Questions about policy work? Contact us at call2action@ordoulas.org