Our Priorities
PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH BECAUSE IT PROTECTS YOU
FUNDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Protect Future of Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure Investments
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s public health heroes came together with state leaders to secure an ongoing $300 million commitment for rebuilding state and local public health infrastructure and workforce, known as the Future of Public Health Initiative (FoPH). Today, roughly $188 million in state General Fund annually is committed to rebuilding the workforce and infrastructure of local public health departments, which serve as the first line of defense against threats of disease.
Through FoPH investments, local health departments have added more than 1,100 public health positions to support their life-saving work, including, but not limited to, public health lab directors, public health nurses, disease investigators, environmental health specialists, epidemiologists, and microbiologists.
CHEAC and local public health leaders continue to urge state lawmakers to protect and maintain the full funding amount for FoPH.
Sustain myCAvax System
The California vaccine management system, myCAvax, was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to streamline and improve the administration and management of vaccines in our state. It connects local health departments and vaccination providers with tools and functionality that in many jurisdictions were manual processes using spreadsheets. The system supports multiple California Department of Public Health vaccination programs including but not limited to, Vaccines for Children (VFC), Vaccines for Adults (VFA), LHD 317 (serving uninsured and underinsured individuals), and other state funded vaccinations. This system is also known to the public as MyTurn which allows the community to make an appointment, find a walk-in clinic offering vaccinations, and access their digital vaccine record.
Current funding for the myCAvax system is slated to end on June 30, 2025. CHEAC and local public health leaders urge the legislature to fund this critical system that supports local health departments, providers, and communities across our state.
Respond to Federal Policy and Funding Shifts
California’s state and local health departments rely heavily on federal funding and resources to support
vital public health programs and services. According to the Governor’s January budget proposal, California anticipates roughly $2.3 billion in federal funds for CDPH and local assistance, supporting areas such as emergency preparedness, infectious disease prevention and control, and maternal, child, and adolescent health programs, among others.
CHEAC urges lawmakers to backfill any funding and resource reductions adopted by the federal
administration and Congress to ensure vital public health programs and services continue to be available to communities throughout California.
Delay Implementation of the DHCS California Children’s Services (CCS) Monitoring & Oversight Initiative and Provide Adequate Resources for the Existing CCS Program
Beginning July 2025, DHCS plans to launch the CCS Monitoring & Oversight initiative to assess county CCS program performance through grievances, training, reporting and surveying, and enforcement. While the initiative’s goals are commendable, this initiative adds a new series of requirements on county programs at a time when the existing CCS program has been significantly underfunded by DHCS. Without adequate funding to fully support CCS diagnostic, treatment, therapy, and case management services for the state’s most medically complex children, county CCS programs may be deemed out of compliance with the proposed CCS Monitoring & Oversight initiative requirements.
CHEAC urges state lawmakers to delay implementation of the CCS Monitoring & Oversight initiative and instead provide adequate funding to address both existing and new responsibilities associated with
operating county CCS programs.
PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY
Across the nation, we are seeing attempts to erode trust in public health and authority through legislation, policies, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Local public health officials are mandated to protect the public from public health threats and are granted specific authority to do so. This authority plays a critical role in monitoring and responding to public health threats such as avian flu, measles, tuberculosis, and Ebola.
In California, we have seen recent legislative efforts to preemptively limit the capacity of local government to fulfill its statutory duty to take the measures necessary to preserve and protect public health. Public health officials continue to work tirelessly to protect communities from the spread of disease, while often facing harsh criticism and even threats and harassment.
CHEAC urges state lawmakers to support the work of our local public health officials and reject any
attempts to erode public trust in public health and local authority.
WORKFORCE
AB 1288 (Addis and Valencia) Registered Environmental Health Specialists.
Local health departments continue to face recruitment and retention challenges, which were exacerbated by the pandemic due to harassment, burnout, and stress, affecting various roles, including registered environmental health specialists (REHS).
REHS’ are professionals certified to interpret and enforce environmental health regulations, including food safety, water quality, and waste disposal. In recent years, REHS trainees have faced increasing difficulties in meeting examination requirements and achieving a passing score to become an REHS. Additionally, local health departments can only employ an REHS trainee for up to three years, making it harder to retain qualified candidates while they work toward certification.
To address this challenge, CHEAC, in partnership with the California Association of Environmental Health Administrators (CAEHA), is co-sponsoring AB 1288 (Addis), which aims to strengthen the REHS workforce pipeline and expand opportunities for both professional and entry-level employees to join local health departments. AB 1288 seeks to extend the length in which a local health department may employ a trainee from three to five years and make additional adjustments to help recruit and retain high-performing REHS trainees, ensuring a more robust and sustainable environmental health workforce is available to protect local communities.