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Development Level Title Description
Early Creating a Culture of Belonging : A Guide for Retention This guide, from the State of Colorado, provides information on why retaining a diverse workforce is important, initial steps and measurements organizations can take, and onboarding new employees into a culture of belonging.
Early Ensuring a Diverse Workforce : A Guide for Inclusive Hiring Practices This guide, from the State of Colorado, provides several recommendations to ensure the workforce represents the community it serves. Included are resource such as a position description checklist, job announcement checklist, sample interview questions and more.
Early Martin County Diversity Hiring Toolkit This toolkit is intended to provide information, tools, and resources to recruit for vacant positions in partnership with HR, with a focus on building a high quality, diverse applicant pool and a more inclusive hiring process.
Strong Making Alternative Credentials Work : A New Strategy for HR Professionals This guide includes how employers and employees view and value alternative credentials and explores workforce readiness alternatives.
Development Level Title Description
Early ASTHO Health Equity and Public Health Accreditation Guide This is an introduction to equity from the Association of State and Territorial Health Offices (ASTHO) during the process of public health accreditation. The guide reviews how to integrate equity into your health department for accreditation, with real world examples from other health departments.
Established ASTHO Workforce Development Plan Toolkit The Association of State and Territorial Health Offices (ASTHO) Workforce Development Guide gives examples and resources on how to integrate equity into an organization's workforce development plan. A notable example to review includes Ohio State's workforce development plan, which requires staff to receive health equity training.
Established Moving Into Equity : The Public Health Journey This guide focuses on how to increase your organization’s equity development from "Content with the Status Quo" to "Committed, Engaged, and Activated." The guide has a checklist to see where your department is and recommendations for each step on how to move further down the equity journey.
Strong University of Kansas Community Toolbox: Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Your Community This guide reflects on addressing equity in a community once organizational staff receives a general introduction to equity and equity efforts gain leadership support.
Development Level Title Description
Early Effective Public Engagement through Strategies and Communication This guide serves as a tip sheet and offers communication strategies that local governments can incorporate into public engagement efforts. The sheet shares steps organizations can take before, during, and after engagement.
Early Engaging Your Community : A Toolkit for Partnership, Collaboration, and Action This toolkit is designed to help organizations build effective partnerships, carry out creative outreach initiatives, and develop persuasive communications that speak to various community groups and populations. The toolkit provides instructions for conducting self-evaluations of a partnership, as well as outreach techniques to involve community residents and other organizations. It also provides resources for enhancing these tactics to increase organizational capacity.
Early Integration to Improve Health: Partnership Models between CBOs and Healthcare Organizations This resource focuses on common approaches organizations can take by working together to approve health outcomes through service models, financial relationships, data, partnerships, and governance. Each category has a variety of real-life examples that serve as additional learning opportunities for readers.
Early Planning Public Engagement: Key Questions for Local Officials This guide provides 14 key questions for local agencies to consider when engaging with the public.
Early Promoting Effective Public Participation at Governing Body Meetings: Opportunities to Deepen Public Participation and Trust This publication provides suggestions to improve the process of receiving public input during local agency meetings and opportunities to deepen public participation and trust.
Early Resources for Collaboration and Power Sharing This guide is for health departments seeking to share authority with community power-building organizations (CPBOs) and provides action-oriented steps to improve collaboration.
Early Strengthening and Sustaining Public Engagement: A Planning Guide for Communities This guide instructs local governments, elected officials, and/or school systems on how to strengthen and sustain public engagement in planning strategies. Considerations such as types of engagement, when to prioritize engagement, and how to build more robust engagement methods are included.
Early Resources for Collaborations and Power Sharing Between Government Agencies and Community Power- Building Organizations This guide outlines the benefits of partnerships between government entities and community power-building groups and offers a variety of models for collaboration.
Development Level Title Description
Early Partnering with Community- Based Organizations for More Broad- Based Public Engagement This webinar discusses rural health equity efforts in the state of Colorado and contains real-life examples of equity work. While this resource is Colorado-centric, it is a helpful introduction to the concept of rural health equity and multi-partner collaboration necessary when addressing inequities in small, rural communities. Rural Resource
Established A Guide to Supporting Engagement & Resiliency in Rural Communities While this guide is catered towards Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (MAP) process, concepts and strategies identified in this guide are relevant for rural communities. Provided are essential elements of successful engagement with rural communities, including trust and partnerships. Rural Resource
Established Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): A Strategy for Building Healthy Communities and Promoting Health through Policy Chang Presented by PolicyLink and UC Berkeley, this guide combines lessons and best practices from around the country. Included are six case studies from California that share learned experiences, promising practices, sample resources, and tools to assist local leaders in planning their own CBPR inspired projects.
Development Level Title Description
Early The Guide to Cross-Sector Collaboration This guide provides actionable steps on how to find, build and develop cross-sector partnerships.
Early Stanford Social Innovation Review-Cross Sector Leadership This interactive guide covers several topics including the need for cross-sector leadership, essential skills for leaders, creating a culture of collaboration and establishing cross-sector networks. It also contains profiles of leaders across industries (e.g., business, non- profit, government etc.).
Early Grassroots Organizations on Collaborating with Public Health Agencies This guide describes how grassroots organizations and public health agencies can work together to advance health equity and racial justice. The document describes processes for bringing intentionality to agreements, leveraging community expertise, and integrating equity into organizational goals. Community spotlights are also included for each section, including one from Monterey County, California.
Early Initiating Cross- Sector Partnerships to Advance Population Health This guide provides examples of cross-sector partnerships collaborating to address the social determinants of health. The document goes step by step into finding the right partner, creating a lasting relationship, and creating lasting goals within the collaboration.
Established Developing Effective Coalitions: An Eight Step Guide This guide provides actionable steps for building effective partnerships.
Development Level Title Description
Early Mission Statement Development Guide The Office of Health Equity TA Team presents a list of compiled resources for developing mission and vision statements. The guide also contains real-world examples of equity mission statements.
Early A Rising Tide: Increasing Rural LHDs Capacity to Address the Social Determinants of Health The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) presents a guide focused on the unique challenges and experiences of local health departments integrating equity into their organization. The guide shares results of an assessment completed with five rural health departments, which discusses foundational equity work in each department and digs deeply into motifs across the interviews. Recommendations are included to assist rural health departments address social determinants of health in their organizations. (Rural Resource)
Early Building a Movement, Transforming Institutions Developed by PolicyLink, this guide defines health equity and gives actionable steps for how to further incorporate equity into your organization. The guide is broken down into sections covering topics such as “Building Leadership for Health Equity,” “Leveraging Institutional Capital for Health Equity Sustainability,” and “Framing and Communication for Health Equity.” The guide has recommended resources for further reading, which includes examples from California health departments and other public health institutions.
Early Building Organizational Capacity to Advance Health Equity Created by the CDC, this is a list of actionable steps and recommendations that organizations can take to advance health equity internally. In addition to the recommendations, the guide also includes an example from Nashville and Davidson County, TN and a checklist that organizations can use to facilitate discussions about future organizational equity commitments.
Early Choosing Health Equity:Understanding Decision Points in Policy and Practice This is a useful discussion guide for public health advocates and decision-makers. A framework within the guide details four steps to implement equity and has discussion questions for each step. In addition to the questions, the guide explains the purpose of asking the questions and examples for further reading into the concepts behind questions. Organizations can benefit from expressing the purpose behind their equity work and verbalizing it to both internal and external partners.
Strong Using a Health Equity Lens The CDC guides readers on how to consider and use an equity lens in inclusive communication and decision-making. The guide discusses the overall concept of an equity lens and lists step-by-step recommendations on how to integrate equity into already established programs and policies.
Strong Protocol for Culturally Responsive Organizations The Coalition of Communities of Color shares their protocol for focusing on racial equity in your organization. This guide explains the impact of racial inequity both on an individual and on whole populations, change theory that can support shifts to racial justice initiatives, and concrete best practices that prioritize racial equity in the organization. Additionally, the guide includes a scoring matrix to measure the cultural responsiveness of your organization, recruitment policies and strategies, performance reviews, and many other helpful resources.
Strong How to Evaluate an Organization's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Developed by the University of California, Merced, this guide lists what potential employees want in a diverse organization. While not public health specific, organizations can use this guide to create a more inclusive work environment while also aligning to new standards of outward facing commitment to diversity.
Strong Organizing for Racial Equity Within the Federal Government Multiple racial justice organizations, such as Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and Race Forward, share insights on organizing government agencies for racial justice. While focused on tips for federal agencies, many of the principles within this document are relevant to smaller agencies. One section to review is "Prepare for and learn from internal and external backlash," which can be an inevitable reaction that will occur when visually supporting antiracist policies.
Strong Advancing Health Equity in Health Department’s Public Health Practice Written by the Public Health Accreditation Board, this guide discusses different health equity initiatives in public health departments (including many across California), various resources and assistance available to departments wanting to further integrate equity, and overall recommendations for equity from the perspective of an accreditation body. Case studies, specific action items, and a large resource toolkit are all great real-world items that can be used to understand equity.
Development Level Title Description
Early Contracting for Equity: Best Local Government Practices that Advance Racial Equity in Government Contracting & Procurement This issue brief, developed by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), shares common policy and practice strategies local governments can implement to improve contracting for equity within the public sector. This issue brief highlights achievements and barriers jurisdictions face in contracting and procurement practices for equity.
Early Health Equity Guide: Allocate Resources Developed by Human Impact Partners, this health equity guide lays out nine strategic steps that leadership, staff, and departments can take to equitably allocate funding and resources.
Established Racial Equity Toolkit: An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity This toolkit, developed by GARE, is intended for governmental jurisdictions looking to operationalize equity into policies, practices, programs, and budgets. The racial equity toolkit can be utilized at multiple levels (local, regional, state, and federal) and shares guiding questions for considerations.
Development Level Title Description
Early Health Equity Performance Measures Toolkit: A Guide for Local Health Departments The Center for Public Health Systems (CPHS) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) developed this toolkit for all Local Health Departments (LHDs) who are interested in learning more about performance measures and how they can support LHD health equity initiatives. This toolkit is especially appropriate for public health professionals at LHDs who are curious about health equity performance measures (HEPM) but have not yet taken steps to design HEPM, or who are in the beginning steps of designing performance measures to assess progress and support improvement in health equity programs and initiatives at their LHD.
Established A Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity: Community Strategies for Preventing Chronic Disease This Health Equity Guide includes strategies and tools to incorporate equity into foundational skills of public health. This guide touches on the integration of health equity into local practices such as building organizational capacity, engaging the community, developing partnerships, identifying health inequities, and conducting evaluations for various public health initiatives.
Development Level Title Description
Early Gathering Data and Information from the City of Long Beach Office of Equity Toolkit (Page 14-15) This toolkit provides guiding questions and examples of how to apply an equity lens to multiple strategies, including gathering data and information (of interest for this competency). The guiding questions span different levels in the spectrum of early, established, and strong.
Early COVID-19 Health Equity Playbook for Communities, Strategies and Practices for an Equitable Reopening and Recovery (Page 53) The Data Section of this report provides examples of dashboards from local health departments and lists state data tools to further explore.
Established How Can We Mobilize Data? This website provides ideas, actions, and resources on how to utilize data to understand and investigate inequities and evaluate public health interventions. The various materials span the spectrum of our early, established, and strong categories.
Strong Applying social determinants of health indicator data for advancing health equity This technical guide walks local health departments and their community partners through collecting, analyzing, and using data indicators for local community health assessments, program/policy development, and health equity advocacy.
Strong Do No Harm - Applying Equity Awareness in Data Visualization This guide with its respective checklists and toolkits focuses on the ways data analysts, researchers, and communicators fail to integrate equity in their work, how to correct common mistakes, and how to be more intentional in using a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) approach.
Strong Principles for Using Public Health Data to Drive Equity (Page 23) This guide aims to incorporate data equity principles to each stage of the data life cycle, bringing an equity lens to each stage. These principles emerge from an environmental scan by the CDC Foundation that is further described in the document. The various stages of the data life cycle relate to different levels of the early, established, and strong spectrum.
Development Level Title Description
Early Community and Stakeholder Engagement (Page 65-70) In this section of the COVID-19 Health Equity Playbook, CDPH provides actionable steps towards more empowering community engagement. The section gives the basic principles of engagement, real life examples of activities to solidify agreements and trust, and additional resources to explore the concept more.
Established Health Equity Data Analysis The Minnesota Department of Public Health shares their Health Equity Data Analysis (HEDA) guide to assist public health workers in separating their data into different vulnerable populations. This allows organizations to look at health outcomes among different populations in their community and plan equity activities based on data. The guide explains how to do a HEDA step-by-step, as well as how to both share and use the findings.
Established Evaluating Community Programs and Initiatives (Chapters 36, 38-39). Part of the Community Tool Box from the University of Kansas, this section focuses on how organizations can use Community Participatory Research to evaluate and make decisions on community facing programs and policies. The section includes a toolkit specifically focused on how to evaluate a community initiative with a detailed and easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.
Strong Principles for Using Public Health Data to Drive Equity - A guide to embedding equitable practices throughout the data life cycle (Page 23) The CDC Foundation uses this guide to help different organizations utilize equity principles throughout all uses of health data. The guide shares the five data equity principles, with advice on how to apply them to data work, and actionable steps to take to integrate equity at each step in the data analysis process.
Strong Powering Health Equity Action with Online Data Tools: 10 Design Principles This report offers 10 design principles for effective online data tools developed to advance health equity. This report explains how to apply these principles and include a local, state, or national real-world example of how the principle has been applied and executed.
Development Level Title Description
Early Involving People Most Affected by the Problem (University of Kansas Community Toolbox) This guide describes why inclusive decision- making is fundamental to advancing health equity. It also details how to pick partners, problem solve barriers to participation, and gives further resources to explore this topic.
Early Power Moves: Your Essential Philanthropy Assessment Guide for Equity and Justice This guide provides an overview of the three dimensions of power: building power, sharing power and wielding power. It contains an organizational self- assessment, sample questionnaires, a discussion guide, best practices guidelines and other tools to help organizations determine their readiness to wield power specifically within their internal operations and grantmaking processes.
Established Ensuring Equity in COVID-19 Planning, Response, and Recovery Decision Making This resource helps health departments ensure that equity is at the center of the decision-making process before, during and after a public health emergency. It provides examples of California health departments, (e.g., Santa Clara County, City of Long Beach etc.), embedding equity into their COVID-19 response.
Established Making Equity Endemic in Solano County Using the Solano County Public Health Department as an example, this report includes recommendations on ways to support BIPOC communities during the post pandemic recovery.
Established Resources for Collaboration and Power Sharing Between Government Agencies and Community Power-Building Organizations This guide is for health departments seeking to share power with community power-building organizations (CPBOs) and provides action-oriented steps to improve collaboration.
Strong Activities to Deepen Your Power-Building Analysis This guide assists public health professionals who wish to dive deeper into power dynamics and assess their own power-building activities. The guide contains activities that individuals and their whole organizations can complete in order to find their own abilities, create a partner landscape analysis, and complete a basic power mapping activity.
Strong Health Departments and Authentic Community Engagement by Center for Public Health Practice & Research This study of LHJ staff across the United States describes in detail their community engagement activities and provides recommendations for authentic community engagement.