Network News

The Network is committed to working with our partners and constituents to identify laws, policies and actions that can advance equity and address the barriers to good health in our communities. We invite you to contribute to this growing body of work by completing a brief survey. Your responses will provide valuable insight into the interests and needs of people and organizations working to advance racial equity in the communities they serve. The survey is anonymous. No identifying information will be connected to your survey responses. We also invite you to join us for one of our virtual focus group sessions where we will have a deeper conversation about this topic.

The Network is pleased to announce that Dawn Hunter, J.D., M.P.H., will head the Network’s Southeastern Region Office as director, effective July 1, 2021. The position was previously held by Gene Matthews, who will remain on the Network’s leadership team as Principle Investigator. As an experienced legislative analyst and state health department policymaker, Dawn will lead work to examine legislation impacting health and racial equity, and implement strategies to build the capacity of public health agencies and organizations to effectively use law and policy to improve health outcomes of communities across the country. She will also spearhead outreach initiatives with new partner organizations, including the Healthy Democracy Healthy People initiative and the newly formed Racism as a Public Health Crisis Research Collaborative.

The Network is proud to announce our new project with The Kresge Foundation to provide legal capacity building and technical assistance to the Foundation’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative.

At least 15 state legislatures have passed or are considering measures to limit severely the legal authority of public health agencies to protect the public from serious illness, injury, and death. This new report released by the Network and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), provides an overview of public health authority and its important role in protecting the health of communities, as well as examples of specific laws that would limit public health authority.

The Network for Public Health Law seeks a Senior Attorney. This position will provide legal technical assistance and consulting, conduct training, develop educational materials, and facilitate opportunities for networking and peer assistance on legal issues that affect public health agencies and the broader public health system.

The Network has an opening for a Program Associate. The Program Associate will be responsible for supporting program activities for the Network including data and reporting, website, conference and meetings support. The Program Associate must have the ability to work collaboratively within project teams, and interact effectively with staff, leadership, consultants, members, funders and sponsors.

As the nation continues to grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Network has joined with public health law partners to produce a report that includes critical analyses and recommendations from 50 national experts convened to assess the U.S. policy response to the crisis to date.

The rise in anti-Asian sentiment is closely intertwined with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the xenophobic language used by some government leaders has further fueled discrimination and hate crimes against Asian communities in America. The violent, physical attacks on people of Asian descent around the country, and the horrific shootings in Atlanta — which the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and many other communities believe was racially motivated — are glaring examples of why racism is a public health crisis.

The Network for Public Health Law is pleased to announce this call for applications from those seeking legal and policy support for efforts to mitigate or adapt to public health impacts of climate change.

In 2010, the same year that the Network launched, the ACA was enacted and the nation took a critical step toward improving access to health care. Now, ten years later and in the wake of the pandemic, we know there is still much to be done and that we must build not only on the advances made by the ACA, but strategize and argue for systemic change on multiple levels.

The Network is pleased to welcome new National Advisory Board member McClain Bryant Macklin, J.D., M.B.A. As the Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for the Health Forward Foundation, Ms. Bryant Macklin develops strategies for the foundation’s policy priorities in access to healthcare, the social determinants of health, and health equity.

This paper identifies barriers to OAT access and potential solutions to improve OAT uptake in eight sectors.