Public Health Law Center Inc

CATEGORY B: PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGERS WORKING IN LOCAL, STATE, TERRITORIAL, AND TRIBAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

COMMERCIAL TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CONTROL-RELATED PUBLIC HEALTH LAW TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CDC AND NTCP FUNDED AND NON-FUNDED PARTNERS. - CIGARETTE SMOKING REMAINS THE LEADING CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE DEATH, KILLING MORE THAN 480,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR AND LEAVING MILLIONS MORE TO SUFFER FROM CHRONIC DISEASE. MAKING MATTERS WORSE, THE TOLL OF ILLNESS AND DEATH IS CONCENTRATED IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES. WHILE OVERALL SMOKING RATES HAVE DECLINED IN RECENT YEARS, HEALTH DISPARITIES RELATED TO TOBACCO USE HAVE INCREASED. RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES, PARTICULARLY AFRICAN AMERICANS AND CERTAIN NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATIONS, BEAR A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF TOBACCO-RELATED DISEASE. IN ADDITION, STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO SMOKE THAN THEIR NON-LGBT COUNTERPARTS. INDIVIDUALS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS ALSO USE TOBACCO AT HIGH RATES. TOBACCO-RELATED HEALTH DISPARITIES ARE THE DIRECT RESULT OF THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY?S PREDATORY TARGETING OF SPECIFIC MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. THE GROUPS MOST HARMED BY TOBACCO USE ARE INTENTIONALLY TARGETED BY THE INDUSTRY AND LEFT OUT OF PROTECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY. OVER OUR TWENTY YEARS OF PROVIDING LEGAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA), OUR SERVICES HAVE EVOLVED AND EXPANDED DRAMATICALLY. OUR TEAM OF 18 ATTORNEYS AND POLICY ANALYSTS SUPPORT THE FULL SPECTRUM OF COMMERCIAL TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY CHANGE AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT IN THE U.S. WITH SUPPORT FROM MULTIPLE FUNDERS, WE RESPOND TO OVER 1,000 REQUESTS FOR LEGAL TA EVERY YEAR FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCATES IN ALL 50 STATES. OUR WORK IS STRATEGIC, INFLUENTIAL, AND EQUITY-FOCUSED ? LEADING OUR PARTNERS IN THE IDENTIFICATION AND ELEVATION OF NEW POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO END THE COMMERCIAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC. WE STRIVE TO LEAD THE NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL MOVEMENT WHILE SERVING AS A TRUE PARTNER TO TOBACCO CONTROL ORGANIZATIONS AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. OUR ACTIVITIES IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH BY BUILDING CAPACITY FOR POLICY CHANGE AND ENGAGING THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY IN STRATEGIC DIALOGUE TO END THE TOBACCO EPIDEMIC. WORKING ON EVERY TYPE OF TOBACCO-RELATED ISSUE, WE WILL SUPPORT NTCP-FUNDED AND -NON-FUNDED PARTNERS IN MAKING EFFECTIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY SOLUTIONS THE HEART OF COMPREHENSIVE TOBACCO CONTROL THAT ADVANCES HEALTH EQUITY BY REDUCING TOBACCO-CAUSED HEALTH DISPARITIES. BY THE END OF THE 5-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD, WE WILL INCREASE NTCP-FUNDED AND -NON-FUNDED PARTNERS?: AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC HEALTH LAW AND EVIDENCE-BASED TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY INTERVENTIONS; ATTENDANCE AT WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND WEBINARS ON EVIDENCE-BASED TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY INTERVENTIONS; USE AND DISSEMINATION OF TRAINING RESOURCES AND SUPPORT MATERIALS ON KEY PUBLIC HEALTH LAW ISSUES RELATED TO TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY; USE AND DISSEMINATION OF BRIEFING DOCUMENTS, FACT SHEETS, AND OTHER RESOURCES TO EDUCATE DECISION-MAKERS; AND USE OF TA ON TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY ISSUES. WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CDC NATIONAL NETWORKS, WE WILL PROVIDE INTENSIVE, EQUITY-FOCUSED LEGAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOP TOBACCO CONTROL POLICY RESOURCES DESIGNED TO REDUCE TOBACCO-CAUSED DISPARITIES IN PRIORITY POPULATIONS. WE ALSO WILL INCREASE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL CAPACITY TO REDUCE TOBACCO-RELATED DEATH AND DISABILITY THROUGH EFFECTIVE POLICY DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND ENFORCEMENT; THE USE OF EFFECTIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACHES FOR TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CONTROL POLICIES, INCLUDING INCREASED APPLICATION OF CDC?S BEST PRACTICES FOR COMPREHENSIVE TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL; AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THE U.S. POPULATION COVERED BY SMOKE-FREE POLICIES AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRICING POLICIES FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CONTROL-RELATED PUBLIC HEALTH LAW TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CDC AND NTCP FUNDED AND NON-FUNDED PARTNERS.

SUPPORTING MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH INNOVATION IN STATES - TO ACHIEVE A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE CAN LIVE LONG, HEALTHY LIVES, WE MUST DELIVER ROBUST MATERNAL, PRENATAL AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HEALTH SUPPORTS FROM THE BEGINNING. CENTRAL TO THOSE SUPPORTS IS ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS, AFFORDABLE AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT FOODS, A CORE DETERMINANT OF HEALTH. WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY NUTRITION INSECURITY. AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE, BLACK AND HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS EXPERIENCE NEARLY DOUBLE THE RATES OF FOOD INSECURITY COMPARED TO WHITE NON-HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS, AND SINGLE-MOTHER HOUSEHOLD HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST RATES. AS PROGRAMS LIKE WIC AND SNAP REFLECT, IMPROVING NUTRITION SECURITY IS AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES FOR MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH (MCH) POPULATIONS AND OTHERS. POLICY IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL TO IMPLEMENT AND AMPLIFY NUTRITION SECURITY PROGRAMS. WE PROPOSE TO DELIVER LEGAL CAPACITY-BUILDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO ACCELERATE STATE AND LOCAL POLICY INNOVATION FOR BETTER MCH OUTCOMES, WITH A FOCUS ON POLICIES TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, NUTRITIOUS, AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT FOODS. WE WILL CREATE A LEARNING COMMUNITY (LC) OF STATE AND LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH RELEVANT LIVED EXPERIENCE FROM 10 STATES, DISTRIBUTED ACROSS 5 GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS, WHO ARE READY TO ENGAGE IN POLICY WORK FOCUSED ON NUTRITION SECURITY FOR MCH POPULATIONS. WE WILL FOCUS ON POLICIES TO SUPPORT NUTRITION SECURITY FOR LOW-INCOME CHILDREN FROM PRENATAL TO AGE 5, AND LOW-INCOME TEENS AND ADULTS WHO ARE PREGNANT, POSTPARTUM, OR OF CHILD-BEARING AGE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH BABIES OR YOUNG CHILDREN (COLLECTIVELY, “MCH PRIORITY POPULATIONS”). WE WILL ALSO SUPPORT POLICY WORK RELATED TO OTHER PRIORITY TOPICS AND EMERGING ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES & SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) AND THE MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH BUREAU. WE WILL PROVIDE LEGAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA) TO LC MEMBERS, HRSA PARTNERS AND MCH STAKEHOLDERS, AND WILL W ORK WITH PARTNERS TO CO-CREATE A LIBRARY OF 24 LEGAL TA RESOURCES TO SUPPORT MCH POLICY WORK. OUR PROJECT WILL RESULT IN AT LEAST 6 POLICY INITIATIVES AT THE LOCAL AND/OR STATE LEVEL IN AT LEAST 6 JURISDICTIONS AND WILL BUILD THE FIELD’S CAPACITY TO SUSTAIN POLICY WORK BEYOND THE PROJECT. THE CENTER HAS A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND DEEP EXPERTISE IN STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY WORK TO DELIVER THESE GOALS. FOR 24 YEARS, WE HAVE WORKED WITH PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR PARTNERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE, EQUITY-CENTERED POLICY SOLUTIONS ROOTED IN COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. WE WORK WITH PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS IN ALL 50 STATES, MANY TRIBES, U.S. TERRITORIES, AND HUNDREDS OF MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE U.S. WE ALSO WORK WITH THE CDC AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES; NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HEALTH OFFICIAL ASSOCIATIONS; NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HEALTH ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS; COMMUNITY PLANNERS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT STAFF; FOOD COUNCILS; ANTI-HUNGER ADVOCATES; COMMUNITY COALITIONS; AND RESEARCHERS. COMMUNICATING ABOUT COMPLEX LEGAL TOPICS IN AN ACCESSIBLE WAY IS THE CORE OF OUR EXISTING PROGRAMMING AND AN AREA IN WHICH WE EXCEL. WE RESEARCH THE SCOPE OF AUTHORITY FOR DIFFERENT LEVELS AND BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS, ANALYZE POLICY OPTIONS, IDENTIFY THE LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT BEST SUITED TO ACT, DRAFT SAMPLE LANGUAGE, EXAMINE EXISTING FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, TERRITORIAL, AND LOCAL LAWS, AND ADDRESS IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES WITH A FOCUS ON AVOIDING INEQUITABLE OUTCOMES. WE SHARE THIS INFORMATION THROUGH CONVERSATIONS, EMAILS, FORMAL MEMOS, AND MEETINGS. WE USE THIS INFORMATION TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, WEBINARS, AND TRAININGS. WE ALSO ARE EXPERIENCED IN PLANNING AND FACILITATING LEARNING COMMUNITIES, CONVENINGS, AND COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS ACROSS AGENCIES, SECTORS, AND LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. WE ARE IDEALLY SUITED TO CARRY OUT THIS PROJECT AND ARE EXCITED AT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH HRSA AND THE BROADER MCH FIELD.