A LAMEDA C OUNTY H EALTH C ARE S ERVICES A GENCY L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL An Overview for the Alameda County Public Health Commission Sept 14, 2017 Downtown Oakland from Lake Merritt by Greg Leong for Visit Oakland Kimi Watkins-Tartt Public Health Deputy Director
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alameda county public health Our Pillars of Community Community Equity Work Capacity Collaborations & Partnerships Building Equity & Social Justice in Alameda County Policy and Systems Institutional Data and Policy Change Change Change Research
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL Vision Everyone in Alameda County benefits from policies that assure equitable health and wellness. Mission The Legislative Council promotes a social and health equity legislative agenda through a cross-agency, interactive, and inclusive process. 4
alameda county public health W HY A L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL ? According to the CDC: “It is a health department’s responsibility to alert policy-makers and the public of potential unintended consequences and to evaluate existing policies to determine areas where improvement is needed.”
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : B ACKGROUND • Established in 1996 • Revived in 2001 when a full-time management analyst was hired with TMSF. • With this stability, the Council has been able to expand its efforts and become a permanent fixture in the PHD infrastructure. • Expanded to be agency-wide in 2010. 6
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : R EPRESENTATIVES • Administrative Services • Office of the Health Officer • Communicable Disease • Public Health Nursing Control & Prevention • Community Health • Behavioral Health Services • Environmental Health • Emergency Medical • Health Care Services Services Agency • Family Health Services • Office of AIDS • Office of the Director 7
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : T HE M ODEL • The Council meets twice a month when the legislature is in session. • Try to have the expert on the subject matter present the bill. • Any bill or proposed piece of legislation must be approved by the Council before it is brought to the BOS Personnel Administration and Legislation (PAL) Committee. 8
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : T HE M ODEL The wide range of expertise represented on the Council is used to: – Set priorities – Analyze legislation and its potential impact – Educate legislators about public health issues – Educate the community about issues that might affect them – Empower the community to advocate for themselves 9
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : T HE M ODEL Tools Documents • Legislative Priorities • Legislative Platform • By-laws • Bill Summary Document • Bill Criteria 10
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : B ENEFITS • Fills gap between policy- makers and community • Empowers staff to address policy issues • Increases ability to advocate for public health • Utilizes staff experience and expertise 11
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : C HALLENGES • Engaging busy staff on policy issues • Fully incorporating community concerns • Educating and reaching all program areas • Making staff believe they can impact policy 12
alameda county public health L EGISLATIVE C OUNCIL : A CTIONS Educational Forums • Voter Education • Legislative Briefing • BBUs • Staff and Community Trainings 13
alameda county public health R ESOURCES • ACPHD Legislative Council website: http://www.acphd.org/legislative-council.aspx • Alameda County 2016 Legislative Platform: http://www.acgov.org/cao/documents/2016legplatf orm.pdf • Public Health Legislation Summary documents: http://www.acphd.org/legislative- council/publications.aspx 14
alameda county public health Q UESTIONS ? 15
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