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Downtown Oakland from Lake Merritt by Greg Leong for Visit Oakland

ALAMEDA COUNTY HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

An Overview for the Alameda County Public Health Commission Sept 14, 2017

Kimi Watkins-Tartt Public Health Deputy Director

alameda county public health

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alameda county public health

Institutional Change Equity & Social Justice in Alameda County Community Capacity Building Policy Change Data and Research

Our Pillars of Equity Work

Community Collaborations & Partnerships Policy and Systems Change

alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

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.

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alameda county public health

WHY A LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL?

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.”

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LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: BACKGROUND

• 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.

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: REPRESENTATIVES

• Administrative Services
• Communicable Disease

Control & Prevention

• Community Health

Services

• Emergency Medical

Services

• Family Health Services
• Office of AIDS
• Office of the Director
• Office of the Health

Officer

• Public Health Nursing
• Behavioral Health
• Environmental Health
• Health Care Services

Agency

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: THE MODEL

• 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.

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: THE MODEL

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

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: THE MODEL

Tools

• Legislative Priorities
• By-laws
• Bill Criteria

Documents

• Legislative Platform
• Bill Summary Document

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: BENEFITS

• 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

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: CHALLENGES

• Engaging busy staff on

policy issues

• Fully incorporating

community concerns

• Educating and reaching

all program areas

• Making staff believe

they can impact policy

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alameda county public health

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: ACTIONS

Educational Forums

• Voter Education
• Legislative Briefing
• BBUs
• Staff and Community Trainings

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RESOURCES

• ACPHD Legislative Council website:

http://www.acphd.org/legislative-council.aspx

• Alameda County 2016 Legislative Platform:

http://www.acgov.org/cao/documents/2016legplatf

• rm.pdf
• Public Health Legislation Summary documents:

http://www.acphd.org/legislative- council/publications.aspx

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QUESTIONS?

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