Environmental Justice at HHS by Sandra Howard

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Policy Development and Dissemination Education and Training ServicesResearch and Data Collection, Analysis, and Utilization

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AT HHS(2012 Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation Plan)

2012 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program

April 12, 2012Sandra Howard

Senior Environmental Health AdvisorOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HHS Mission

• HHS is the U.S. government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

• The HHS mission is to enhance the health and well-being of Americans by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.

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Relationship of Health and the Environment

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Asthma and other respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease and obesity

Increased psychological distress and depression

• Housing and Neighborhood Quality

• Poor Air Quality• Poor Water Quality• Disproportionate exposure to hazards in the workplace• Unhealthy housing conditions (e.g., mold, lead paint, and pest infestation) •Lack of safe areas for physical activity

Developmental Disabilities

• Prenatal and Childhood exposures to environmental toxicants

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HHS 1995 EJ Strategy

• HHS issued its first EJ Strategy in 1995 in response to Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations”. The objectives of the Strategy addressed six elements: (1) Public Partnerships, (2) Public Education and Training, (3) Services, (4) Data Collection and Analysis, (5) Health Research and (6) Interagency Coordination.

• HHS Programs that supported the goals of the 1995 Strategy:– National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Minority Worker

Training Programs– Administration for Native Americans Environmental Mitigation Program– Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Community

Assistance Panels

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New Opportunities to Advance Environmental Justice

• Scientific Advances and New Information Tools– New knowledge about effect of toxic substances– Social media, GIS

• New Goals and Priorities– Focus of Administration on the environment and health

disparities– Healthy People 2012– Affordable Care Act, America’s Great Outdoors, Place –

based initiatives

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HHS EJ Vision Statement

• “A nation that equitably promotes healthy community environments and promotes the health of all people.”

• HHS environmental justice actions are being implemented in its programs, policies, and activities with this vision in mind.

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2012 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation Plan Framework

Strategic Elements

Vision Statement A nation that equitably promotes healthy community environments and protects the health of all

people

Guiding Principles• Create and implement meaningful public partnerships for programs and activities• Ensure interagency and intra-agency coordination of programs and activities • Establish and implement accountability measures for programs and activities

Policy Development & Dissemination

Education & Training

Research & Data Collection,

Analysis, and Utilization

Services

HHS EJ Stakeholder Engagement Activities

• HHS participated in all Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group (EJ IWG) Stakeholder Meetings:– Engaged in dialogue about environmental justice

concerns– Helped inform Federal agency environmental justice

initiatives• Meetings ranged in size from 40 to more than 300

attendees, with a total of more than 3,000 people participating in these stakeholder engagement activities.

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Policy Development and Dissemination EJ Action Highlights

Highlighted Actions Product or Outcome Target Date

Incorporate environmental justice in funding announcements/award criteria of HHS grants and other funding opportunities.

Compendium of Relevant Programs and Guidance

October 2012

Conduct a vulnerability assessment of HHS’s programs to climate change and develop an adaptation strategy to enable HHS to develop actions to build resilience of the Department to climate change risks and related impacts on vulnerable populations (minority, low-income and tribes).

Updated preliminary vulnerability assessment

March 2012

Climate Adaptation Strategy

June 2012

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Policy Development and Dissemination

Education and Training EJ Action Highlights

Highlighted Actions Product or Outcome Target Date

Increase public awareness of and access to information by conducting an assessment of existing on-line environmental justice resources within the HHS web domain.

Website to serve as a point of entry for the public to learn about HHS activities and resources related to environmental justice.

June 2012

Develop and implement training program for HHS staff on principles and practice of environmental justice, including community engagement.

Training module and webinars for HHS employees and contractors .

August 2012

Incorporate EJ and occupational safety and health education in training curricula of community health workers and Promotores de Salud.

Training curricula and associated materials for community health workers on environmental justice.

July 2012

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Education and Training

Research and Data Collection, Analysis, and UtilizationEJ Action Highlights

Highlighted Actions Product or Outcome Target Date

In collaboration with external stakeholders, partner with EPA and other federal agencies to improve the usefulness and usability of community mapping tools designed to identify minority and low-income populations and Indian Tribes with disproportionately high and adverse environmental exposures and health effects.

More effective and useful community mapping tools

Ongoing

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Research and Data Collection, Analysis, and Utilization

Services EJ Action Highlights

Highlighted Actions Product or Outcome Target Date

Evaluate the use of health impact assessments (HIA) to achieve risk reduction and reduce health disparities.

1. Award six HIA pilot projects

2. Hold National HIA Meeting3. Report characterizing HIA

use in the US

January 2012

April 2012

August 2014

Develop toolkits designed to teach communities how to build coalitions around a health issue.

Community mobilization toolkit, and basic environmental health literacy toolkit

September 2012

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Services

Examples of HHS EJ Accomplishments (2010-2012 )

• 2011 HHS Workshop on Tribal Access to Grants• Provided best practices for strengthening HHS and Tribal relationships, and suggested

tools for supporting Tribes throughout the entire grants process

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Minority Worker Training Program• Trained more than 7,800 workers in more than 30 communities with a job placement

rate of about 70%

• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), Exploratory Centers of Excellence Grants

• Implemented in partnership with EPA• In 2011, ten research institutions were awarded grants to conduct environmental

health disparities research

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Community Transformation Grants• CDC gave 61 awards for about $103 million in 2011 to support community-based

efforts to help improve health, and reduce health disparities, especially among population groups experiencing the greatest burden of chronic diseases

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Next Steps

• Implement environmental justice actions in EJ Strategy and Implementation Plan.

• Engage community partners and other stakeholders in implementation activities.

• Coordinate implementation activities with federal partners.

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http://www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice/

• Links to: – 2012 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy and Imple

mentation Plan

– 2012 HHS Environmental Justice Implementation Progress Report

– Environmental Justice sites across HHS• CDC/OMHD• NIH/NIEHS• NIH/NLM

HHS Points of Contact• Sandra Howard

Senior Environmental Health AdvisorOffice of Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)[email protected]

• LT Ron MilamEnvironmental Health OfficerOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)[email protected]

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