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States Partner Across Sectors to Address Lead Poisoning Kayley Humm, Kerry Wyss, Ali Aslam Learn in this brief how three states are using partnerships to improve lead testing and reduce cases of lead poisoning. ASTHO partnered with the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) to provide technical assistance and capacity-building support for lead poisoning prevention efforts in three state health agencies: Maryland Department of Health, North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, and Arkansas Department of Health. This brief highlights each agency’s strategies for collaborating across sectors along with accomplishments for strengthening lead poisoning prevention capacity in each jurisdiction. Many of these strategies align with those used in a health in all polices (HiAP) approach to lead poisoning prevention. State Examples Maryland Department of Health Maryland adopted a collaborative approach to prevent lead poisoning. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) has an established lead poisoning prevention program that partners with the Maryland Department of the Environment. The Department of the Environment oversees the childhood lead registry and case management, while MDH focuses on lead testing regulations and Medicaid services. This partnership has been implemented across the 24 local health departments in the state. Maryland enhanced lead case management by providing staff support and tackling complex cases that require additional assistance. In addition to supporting an increase in lead case management activities and lead awareness, ASTHO funding also helped strengthen collaboration and coordination among local health departments, state agencies, and local health care providers. The MDH Environmental Health Bureau also improved efficiency by moving data from the lead registry to MDH for lead surveillance and case management. They also developed and launched sub-county lead testing data as part of their Environmental Public Health Tracking public portal. These activities align with HiAP strategies of developing and structuring cross-sector relationships, coordinating funding and investments, and synchronizing communications. North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) made significant strides in building up the state lead program, which recently transitioned from the department of environmental quality to NDHHS. With support from ASTHO and NCHH, NDHHS developed a lead prevention website with a data dashboard, developed a lead screening questionnaire, and built collaborative partnerships. The activities in North Dakota align with the HiAP strategies of developing and structuring cross-sector relationships, synchronizing communications, and integrating research, evaluation, and data systems. Building collaborative partnerships is a key initiative for the NDHHS lead program. Already developed partnerships include stakeholders such as Health Tracks and WIC. Health Tracks developed a newsletter article for their provider network so physicians can stay up to date and aware of the lead program transition and lead testing changes, and WIC will host informational lunch and learns to raise awareness about lead testing within their network. North Dakota is also prioritizing building partnerships with tribal communities. A tribal communications plan was developed with the goal of establishing an effective communication plan between the state of North Dakota and each tribal government for lead-related events. Anticipated outcomes from the communication plan include testing for blood lead levels, conducting environmental assessments on tribal lands, and seeing if a tribal member or government is interested in hosting a lead screening event. Progress has been made with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa, and NDHHS is hopeful to establish intertribal meetings with all four governmental tribal representatives. Arkansas Department of Health The Arkansas Department of Health established its lead program in 2011 to support abatement of lead-based paint in residential and commercial properties. With support from ASTHO and NCHH, Arkansas has been using a data-driven approach to gain a more comprehensive understanding of lead exposure burden in the state. These activities align with the HiAP strategy of incorporating health data into decision-making and integrating research, evaluation, and data systems. The Arkansas Department of Health conducts periodic audits on its data system to support access to timely and accurate data. To improve data quality and frequency of blood lead testing reports, the health department is establishing incentive programs to encourage facilities to report cases of elevated blood lead. In addition to conducting outreach to its partners, the Arkansas Department of Health has been working to improve lead case data access and data quality through data mining efforts, case report matching, and migration to a new lead surveillance system. Arkansas has been working to modernize the current reporting system to facilitate automation and promote overall efficiency of data analysis and case identification. Conclusion The collaborative efforts of Maryland, North Dakota, and Arkansas highlight the importance of multi-sector partnerships and data sharing in addressing lead poisoning prevention and align with many of the strategies used in a HiAP approach. Each state implemented tailored strategies that sought to grow collaboration in its unique context. These initiatives highlight the importance of cross-sector collaboration in public health initiatives and may serve as valuable models for other jurisdictions. article yes

Arizona Department of Health Services Pursues Policies to Advance Data Sharing with Tribal Nations Erik Skinner, Christina Severin, Reema Mistry The Arizona Department of Health Services is pursuing policies to advance data sharing with tribal nations, centered around partnerships, education, and more. With leadership support and funding to modernize its public health infrastructure, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is pursuing policies to advance data sharing with tribal nations. This includes investing in partnerships with tribal leaders, educating the public health workforce about tribal governments and tribal health care, and working to improve data identification processes to support effective data sharing between the state and tribal nations. Data sovereignty is an important consideration for ADHS, as there are 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona. ADHS recognizes the inherent right of tribal nations to access their citizens’ public health data and is developing a tribal data sovereignty policy that both acknowledges their unique data needs and aligns with state requirements around tribal engagement. Leadership Support and Effective Tribal Engagement ADHS leadership understands the importance of making strong connections with tribal nations and recognizing each nation’s public health priorities while meeting its statutory requirement to develop tribal consultation policies. To that end, ADHS developed the tribal liaison position to serve as a resource, advocate, and communication link between ADHS and Arizona’s Native American health care community partners, including tribal community leaders, health and epidemiology directors, Indian Health Service (IHS), and Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs). Understanding cultural norms is essential to building trust with tribal partners; the tribal liaison role has been vital to ADHS engagement with tribal nations on data sovereignty topics. People and processes are important to establishing data sharing policies, and a well-informed workforce is essential for effective collaboration with sovereign tribal nations. ADHS is working with the Native Nation Institute to provide training on tribal sovereignty and cultural humility for staff. It has also developed a tribal handbook for public health staff on sovereignty, cultural trauma, and the roles of IHS and TECs. Identifying Tribal Affiliation within Datasets and Tribal Public Health Priorities ADHS conducted a data assessment to identify instances in which data sharing was active and ongoing between ADHS and tribal nations, and instances in which it had expired. A notable technical challenge was identifying tribal members within existing datasets, as many public health datasets are incomplete (e.g., do not include tribal affiliation) or rely on IT systems that are unable to aggregate data appropriately—making it difficult to ensure tribal authorities receive relevant, comprehensive public health data for their communities. In addition, because each tribal nation’s public health priority areas and data needs could differ from the data that state health information systems collect, sharing relevant data with tribal nations can be challenging. ADHS is working with each nation to identify tribal public health priority areas, find solutions to identify tribal data within state collected datasets, and share it with the respective nations. Ken Komatsu - Brief - AZ DHS Pursues Policies to Advance Data Sharing with Tribal Nations Honoring Sovereignty in Data Sharing Relationships Data sharing agreements with public health agencies often establish that the state agency controls the disposition and use of the data, and that each party benefits. Acknowledging that tribal partners are entitled to their citizens’ data without conditions differs from how ADHS has historically approached data-sharing relationships with others. ADHS plans to formally establish a non-transactional data sharing policy with tribal public health partners, and establish data sharing agreements that align with this approach going forward. Implementation Considerations Considerations for state health agencies in fostering strong relationships and effective engagement with tribal partners around data-sharing efforts include: Center tribal sovereignty when framing data sharing agreements with tribal nations. Engage tribal liaisons in data-sharing efforts with tribal nations. They maintain close relationships with tribes and can help develop mutual cultural understanding, which is essential to engaging tribal partners. Assess datasets to determine data completeness with regards to tribal affiliation and identify opportunities to improve comprehensive data sharing with tribal authorities. Invest in state health agency staff training on tribal sovereignty and cultural humility, so staff can be well-prepared when engaging in data sharing conversations with tribal partners. Gerilene Haskon - Brief - AZ DHS Pursues Policies to Advance Data Sharing with Tribal Nations OT18-1802 website yes

Olmsted County Pilots a Regional Population Health Data Hub to Improve Data Accessibility Gelila Tamrat, Sara Black, Reema Mistry, Christina Severin Olmsted County, Minnesota, pilots a regional population health data hub to improve data accessibility, which supports improved decision-making and interventions. Historically, Olmsted County and other local counties in southeast Minnesota have faced barriers to accessing timely and actionable public health data, including limited data analytics workforce capacity, lack of data-sharing agreements (DSAs), and misaligned data suppression standards. To address these challenges, Olmsted County Public Health Services (OCPHS) piloted a regional population data hub, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and 10 local health departments (LHDs). OCPHS procured resources to develop a regional data-sharing platform, expanded their epidemiology team, and pursued DSAs. As a result, they gained access to critical data that supports informed decision-making and tailored interventions at the local level. Tina Jordahl - Brief - Olmsted County MN DMI Hub Developing a Regional Population Health Data Hub With financial support from the Minnesota legislature in 2021, OCPHS collaborated with MDH and its regional counterparts to develop a regional population health data hub for smaller LHDs to access community-level public health data. OCPHS maintains the hub by managing data from the state, regional partners, and 10 LHDs, and creating data dashboards to support southeast Minnesota counties’ population health data needs. This effort involved building and expanding relationships with MDH unit-specific epidemiologists, working closely with public health system consultants at MDH, and raising awareness of the need for sustained data analytics workforce support. Following the initiative’s success, OCPHS plans to engage with state and local leaders to identify funding sources that can sustain the hub beyond the pilot funding cycle. Promoting Data Accessibility through Strategic Partnerships and Agreements MDH’s Center for Public Health Practice supports public health system consultants, who offer technical assistance and consultation services to strengthen public health infrastructure across Minnesota. The consultant for the southeast region of the state was crucial in linking state and local staff to advance the development of the regional population health data hub. They helped triage and expedite requests from OCPHS by identifying the right points of contact for datasets and legal counsel within MDH. The collaboration of MDH, OCPHS, and participating LHDs facilitated the development of DSAs, which allowed for proper data flow and enabled OCPHS to request data from MDH on behalf of participating counties, reducing the need for each county to request data. It also helped OCPHS to become the first county in the state to adopt CDC’s ESSENCE tool to monitor hospital visits for syndromic surveillance across Minnesota and neighboring states, better enabling LHDs to address the needs of communities residing along state borders. Hiring Strategies for the Data Analytics Workforce OCPHS focused on hiring staff to support the regional population health data hub with data expertise, strong communication skills, and a particular interest in population health and social determinants of health. OCPHS created two permanent epidemiologist positions to promote sustainability for that position in the future. To expand their hiring pool, OCPHS relied on Olmsted County’s updated remote work policies following the COVID-19 pandemic when many shifted to remote or hybrid work. They also invited leaders from partner counties to help vet candidates who could support other LHDs’ needs. Meaghan Sherden - Brief - Olmsted County MN DMI Hub Advancing Equity Through Data Accessibility Due to data suppression rules, counties in southeast Minnesota had limited access to county-level data for certain statewide datasets. OCPHS worked with MDH to identify appropriate data suppression standards that supported access to community-level public health data and preserved privacy and security, and collaborated with the county IT department to develop the regional data hub with public-facing and internal dashboards, aligned with the required privacy and security standards. The public-facing dashboards show aggregate data with appropriate suppression standards at county, regional, and state levels. The internal dashboards provide complete data summaries and are protected with appropriate permissions and multi-factor authentication for LHD staff to perform population-level analysis. Providing timely, granular data to participating counties allows LHD staff to develop tailored strategies to address emerging health issues promptly, bridging health equity gaps. OCPHS also integrates standard demographic data on race, sex, gender, and age into its dashboards, enabling regional LHDs to gain deeper insights into their communities and fine-tune equity-centered public health initiatives and interventions. Jenny Passer - Brief - Olmsted County MN DMI Hub Implementation Considerations Foster collaborative relationships across state and local health departments to identify opportunities to share resources when advancing data-sharing efforts. Models in which larger LHDs support key data infrastructure needs on behalf of smaller LHDs may bolster data analytics/epidemiology capacity across multiple LHDs and streamline coordination with key partners at the state health department. Consider how state health department consultant or liaison roles charged with providing technical assistance to state or local partners may help facilitate key connections between state and local health department staff pursuing cross-jurisdictional data-sharing efforts. Invest in data analytics/epidemiology workforce strategies that help address specific needs related to population health and relationship building, along with technical skills. Cross-jurisdictional data-sharing efforts require staff with strong data analytics and communication skills, as they work with multidisciplinary leaders and across jurisdictions to inform community-based interventions. Collaborate proactively with legal and IT departments to identify data governance solutions and technical approaches to adhere to required privacy and security standards. Establishing DSAs is important, as it allows sharing of data within required legal guardrails. Similarly, IT leaders can identify technological solutions that support effective access to data. OT18-1802 website yes

Support for programs and policies that encourage positive mental health in early childhood and provides support for parents and caregivers to have the best chance to improve mental health across the life course.

The Florida Department of Health created an effective algorithm to automate syphilis laboratory result processing that improves case assignment accuracy and prioritization. This tool outlines key steps and considerations for jurisdictions looking to adopt the algorithm.

ASTHO conducted focus groups to examine overdose-related issues and identify potential engagement opportunities for public health and public safety around overdose prevention. This brief outlines key takeaways and is designed to serve as a guide for public health building and strengthening relationships with public safety.

This infographic breaks down the top 10 takeaways from the 2022 Climate and Health Capacity Survey.

This infographic highlights 10 high-level strategies to advance work in school behavioral health.

An issue brief by ASTHO and the Duke University Margolis Center for Health Policy that highlights considerations for state health officials as they look to maximize the benefits of COVID-19 therapeutics.

People who use electricity-dependent durable medical equipment (DME) at home—such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators—can face life-threatening consequences during a power outage. HHS reports that 2.7 million Medicare beneficiaries rely on electricity-dependent DME to live independently. This ASTHOBrief details the significant challenges that individuals who rely on electricity-dependent DME face during power outages and discuss recent efforts to increase support for this population.

This brief details innovative uses of geographic information systems (GIS) in public health. It showcases original research conducted by ASTHO staff to better understand the value of GIS in mapping national public health emergencies

Climate for Health Ambassadors Training ASTHO, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, climate for health, ambassadors training, health agencies, ecoamerica training, public health, climate change, extreme weather, climate resilient communities, climate resilient, public health programs, impacts of climate, readiness and resilience, climate action, climate basics, human health, health equity, climate solutions, health benefits, communicating climate, advocacy and engagement, staff training ASTHO is excited to partner with ecoAmerica to provide Climate for Health Ambassadors training to state and territorial health agencies. ASTHO is excited to partner with ecoAmerica to provide Climate for Health Ambassadors training to our state and territorial health agency members and their staff at no cost — equipping them with specific resources and tools to address the impacts of climate change in their jurisdiction. Climate change and extreme weather events continue to threaten public health, safety, and quality of life. ASTHO supports building and sustaining healthy, climate-resilient communities that are prepared for climate change and extreme weather events. Implementing public health programs that increase the capacity to prevent, protect, and respond to the impacts of climate and extreme weather improve a community’s overall readiness and resilience. The training is online, self-paced, and includes six modules: The Health Case for Climate Action, Climate Basics Impacts on Human Health, Health Equity Climate Solutions & Health Benefits Communicating on Climate and Health Advocacy & Engagement Making a Difference as an Ambassador Watch the video to learn more about our Climate for Health Ambassadors training.<!-- and sign up for the program today.--> website no

#MaskUp Campaign ASTHO and the Big Cities Health Coalition produced a public service announcement to encourage people across the country to express their compassion for others and #MaskUp. Please download, share, and encourage others to do their part to protect the community from the pandemic. website no

Building a Resilience Framework in Colorado Creating Resilient Communities in Colorado Heather Tomlinson, Kerry Wyss Learn how Colorado public health is building community and cross-sector partnerships to build community resilience. Following the 2012 wildfire season and the 2013 Colorado Floods, Colorado recognized the opportunity to better prepare for natural disasters and coordinate efforts across state agencies to build resilience into their regular operations. In 2015, Colorado became the first state to develop a resilience framework and created the Colorado Resiliency Office (CRO) with the goal of building more resilient systems in the face of shocks and stressors. The Colorado Resiliency Working Group (CRWG) is an interagency group that meets on a quarterly basis to collaboratively implement and advance resilience actions and goals. The Colorado Resilience Framework serves as interagency guidance on strengthening resilience and emphasizes finding co-benefits across community sectors, reducing community risk and vulnerability to disruptions, and supporting the state in anticipating and preparing for current and future conditions. The framework is updated every five years to adapt priorities and to keep up with current conditions. Changes from 2015 to 2020 included a shift from focusing heavily on long-term recovery to taking a more holistic approach to resilience. The CRWG is currently working on the 2025 update with a focus on statewide vulnerability where they can have the most impact and prepare for future conditions with available resources. They are also focusing on clear metrics and being able to communicate progress effectively. The state also created a statutory definition of resilience, which has helped with coordination across long- term projects and agencies. Coordination with Partners Resiliency work in Colorado is greatly enhanced by working with a wide range of partners that bring their subject matter expertise to the table. As a state with strong local control, Colorado has prioritized working collaboratively with local partners, providing technical assistance and subject matter expertise to support their work on the ground, from planning support to targeted grant programs. This collaboration helps ensure continuity from the state to the local communities. Colorado’s approach to resilience ensures resilience is integrated within its many agencies. For example, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has continued to evolve and advance their agency’s resiliency work. Beginning March 2025, CDPHE developed a monthly internal working group to funnel knowledge into resilience leadership across CDPHE — including environmental health, chronic disease, environmental justice, disease and public health, and air pollution. Their goal is to build partnerships across internal programs and state agencies. The CRO was first established in the Governor's Office and moved to the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) in 2018. This move strengthened continuity of its long-term work and, given Colorado’s strong local control governance structure, enabled the CRO to further the goals of building a more resilient Colorado by partnering with and supporting local governments with planning and technical assistance to build greater resilience. The CRO offers flexible Future-Ready Technical Assistance Opportunities for state agencies, which helps them apply adaptability and future-visioning lenses to their resiliency principles in programs and operations. To involve the wider network of resilience practitioners within communities across the state, the CRO launched a community of practice on LinkedIn to foster peer-to-peer learning and dialogue and ensure all voices are heard in a collaborative environment. The Governor’s Office of Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery (CPO), facilitates cross agency coordination and collaboration while driving proactive state-wide climate preparedness priorities and supports development of the state’s disaster recovery capacity and capabilities. The CPO also coordinates efforts to ensure that the state budget and legislative processes reflect statewide climate preparedness, disaster recovery, and resilience priorities and leads the development of Colorado’s Climate Preparedness Roadmap — a strategic guiding document updated every three years that uses the best available science and data to prioritize near-term climate adaptation actions across Colorado state government. In collaboration with the implementing state agencies, the first Roadmap, released in 2023, set achievable near-term action items ensuring clear steps to strengthen climate resilience and adaptation. Among the actions, the Roadmap outlined the need to tackle extreme heat through a collaborative interagency approach, while better understanding the unique ways that heat affects Colorado. Social and community capacity were also outlined in the framework as a priority. CDPHE has worked with the Governor's Office to evaluate best practices and strategies tailored for each unique region and implemented their first heat plan in 2024. Extreme heat can be deadly and is projected to continue to intensify. CPO takes the lead in coordinating extreme heat work across agencies. They are partnering with the Colorado State Forest Service to pilot solutions such as climate-smart tree planting to help keep people safe during high-heat events by reducing ambient neighborhood temperatures and shading individual homes to lower indoor temperatures and reduce cooling costs for residents. Building Disaster Recovery Capacity Colorado is investing in disaster preparedness and recovery capacity to reduce the impacts of disasters, help communities recover more effectively, and build resilience into recovery efforts. Ensuring strong recoveries allows for the integration of strategic investments in resilience and hazard mitigation, which the state did in partnership with Xcel Energy — in the wake of the Marshall Fire, the state provided financial assistance to rebuild home to high performance standards and integrated wildfire mitigation actions during the rebuild process. In recent years, Colorado has expanded their recovery investments, including the addition of key positions in targeted recovery areas including within CPO, at DOLA within the Division of Housing and within the Division of Local Government, at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and at the Department of Public Health and Environment. Technical expertise and capacity at the agency level is leveraged to strengthen preparedness and to support recovery from state declared disasters through the Colorado Department of Public Safety's State Recovery Task Force, providing recovery expertise when activated according to their assigned Recovery Support Function (RSF). Colorado partnered with FEMA’s State Technical Assistance for Recovery Strategies Program to develop processes and strategies that can be integrated into the RSF plan updates within the State Emergency Operations Plan, and to refine RSF functions, capabilities, and partnerships. Over the last year, the state has additionally conducted numerous discussion-based exercises to strengthen RSF relationships and operational capability. The state continues to identify and enhance new opportunities in supporting local communities with pre- disaster recovery technical assistance. Examples include: Hosting Department of Public Safety-led regional recovery symposiums. Piloting additional focused recovery workshops that prioritize rural and less resourced communities. Developing and refining disaster recovery planning tools. Offering recovery and resilience toolkits and expertise to local governments led by DOLA. Strengthening integration of disaster considerations into local planning processes. Colorado implemented this work in summer 2025 when the state experienced numerous wildfires in short succession that received state disaster declarations, activation of the State Recovery Task Force, and required close state-local disaster recovery coordination. Ensuring strong recovery capacity and capabilities is critical to long-term resilience, enabling communities to recover more quickly, more completely, and in ways that integrate proactive resilience strategies. A Path Towards Long-Term Sustainability A key element in Colorado’s long-term approach to building resiliency is closely involving the local community. Building robust community planning and response capabilities at the local level allows for agencies to tailor plans to community needs and ensures everyone is engaged in the process. The CRO, in collaboration with state agency partners in the CRWG, developed the Guidance for Local Government Climate Adaptation, which provides comprehensive guidance, funding resources, case studies, and connections to state and federal programs that can provide support in over 25 implementable actions. The CRO has also focused their resiliency work on anticipating what is to come down the road by assessing current and future community needs. An example is the Rural Resiliency and Recovery Roadmap Program, which brought together 16 different regional community teams with over 150 rural jurisdictions and non-governmental partners to support diversifying and strengthening their economies while building regional resiliency following the COVID-19 pandemic. Each regional team developed a roadmap that evaluates local stressors and how conditions may change in the future. This program also looks at what may impact the community from perspectives of housing availability, workforce, and potential resiliency stressors. Another example is the Camp Resilience: A Rural Prosperity Leadership Academy program, which offers a summer camp themed workshop to build rural community capacity to long-term stressors such as droughts, population loss, climate change, and lack of affordable housing. While funding cycle ebbs and flows

Aligning Strategic Plans Across Health, Aging, and Dementia ASTHO Staff, Alzheimer's Association Learn about the importance of and approaches to aligning strategic plans across health, aging, and dementia. Strategic planning helps state agencies on aging prioritize organizational action and meet community needs. Most state governments now have a health plan and a dementia plan, and all states are required to develop an aging plan as well per the Older Americans Act. As they work to respond to increasing calls for action on brain health, dementia, and caregiving, opportunities for shared priorities and cross-sector collaboration continue to grow. This resource supports the development and implementation of these state-level strategic plans, walking agencies through: State scan and key findings: Learn about ASTHO's scan of health, aging, and dementia plans across states to understand alignment and integration opportunities. How to use this tool: Explore six key steps for optimal use of this tool, from identifying purpose and partners to preparing for alignment, developing your implementation approach, and more. Outcome sharing and next steps: Understand how to best share results from what exactly you should share to who should lead sharing and channels for sharing. By turning complex planning landscapes into practical insights, this tool allows states to use resources more effectively, enhancing health outcomes across the lifespan. Get the Report (PDF) article yes

Environmental health and public health preparedness staff work closely together to respond to natural disasters and climate change—learn how in this report.

How Mississippi Prioritizes Environmental Justice During Disaster Response Association of state and territorial health officials, astho, environmental health, environmental justice, public health, cross sector partnerships, emergency preparedness, natural disaster response, emergency response, health equity, social determinants of health, missisippi state department of health, office of environmental health, office of health equity, covid 19 pandemic, emergency planning and response Ali Aslam, Yaryna Onufrey, Beth Giambrone This case study dives into the Mississippi State Department of Health’s environmental justice initiatives, conducted using cross-sector partnerships. Environmental justice is defined as all people enjoying the same degree of access and protection from environmental and health hazards. This happens by intentionally involving all people—regardless of race, color, national origin, or income—while developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws and policies. The Mississippi State Department of Health incorporates environmental justice principles into their disaster response and emergency preparedness efforts. Mississippi's environmental justice work has been community-based and equity-driven. This case study dives into Mississippi’s cross-sector partnerships, community health initiatives, and health equity work as the state has worked to address environmental health concerns. Get the Report (PDF) website yes

Policy Options to Improve Data Sharing Between State and Local Health Departments Organizational policies on data sharing between state and local public health agencies. This report explores organizational policies related to data sharing between state and local public health departments. ASTHO, in collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Network for Public Health Law developed this report, which aims to serve as a guide for state and local public health leaders as they consider organizational policy options to improve state and local data-sharing efforts. Get the Report (PDF) website yes

Moving from Design to Implementation: Lessons on Expanding Contraception Access in New Jersey Liz Gipson, Jahira Sterling, Lauren Moran, Brittany Lee, Sophia Durant Lessons on expanding contraception access in New Jersey. Public sector health leaders play a critical role in influencing reproductive health policy design and program implementation. As the key authorities on state programs, public sector leaders foster necessary collaboration between community partners and other state agencies. In New Jersey, state officials are implementing two contraception access bills, S 413 and S 275, enacted in 2022 and 2023 respectively. This report details lessons learned from New Jersey’s cross-sector and interagency collaboration, which can guide public sector leaders in other states working to expand access to reproductive health services. Get the Report (PDF) website yes

This guide captures the experiences and best practices of state and local public health agencies and their partners who are currently in the Cardiff Model implementation phase.