Legal and Policy Assistance to Address Racial Health Equity

The Network for Public Health Law is pleased to announce this call for applications from organizations seeking legal and policy support to promote racial health equity.

The Network for Public Health Law supports health and health equity through law and policy. We do this by providing legal technical assistance, developing trainings, creating legal resources, and facilitating connections and the exchange of ideas. Advancing public health and achieving health equity requires that racial health equity is at the center of systems change at all levels of reform. The Network seeks to support local, state, and tribal governments, health departments, community-based groups or organizations, nonprofits, professional associations, health care systems and providers, and others in their efforts to eliminate deep, systemic, and racially driven inequities in public health.

The Network is releasing this call for applications (CFA) to support work on racial health equity. We are seeking applicants developing or working on a specific issue that prioritizes racial equity that would benefit from legal and policy technical assistance. We can assist with work that is at any stage of development.

We recognize that racial health inequities are created by a variety of factors that often linked to the social determinants of health and are also intersectional. The Network has a broad range of knowledge in the use of law and policy to promote health equity and improve public health in the areas of: Housing; Food Security; Mental health and Suicide Prevention; Harm reduction; Communicable Diseases; Climate Change; Emergency Preparedness; Vaccines; Data Sharing and Privacy; Public Health Authority and Operations; Access to Health Services; Community Engagement, and Reproductive and Sexual health. We have legal and policy expertise in these and other areas.

Through this CFA, the Network will provide up to 40 hours of legal and policy technical assistance.

The Network will also provide a training and a guided facilitated discussion to the CFA cohort. The goal is to deepen understanding of how public health law can support racial equity and provide opportunities to share lessons learned and build relationships with each other.

Limited funds via stipends are also available to honor community and staff time to support the participation of under-resourced organizations.

Legal and Policy Technical Assistance Available

Up to 40 hours technical assistance is available per project and may include:

• Applying racial equity tools to laws and policies.
• Analyzing the impact of laws or policies on different populations.
• Identifying legal components of a barrier to achieving racial health equity.
• Analyzing the legal authority to implement reforms.
• Assessing innovative laws to address racial health equity and related health equity issues.
• Developing a fact sheet, issue brief, toolkit, or other legal resource that sets forth a range of policy options.
• Evaluating differences and similarities in how different jurisdictions have addressed racial health equity.
• Identifying model ordinances or laws to that advances racial health equity.
• Assisting government and community organizations/groups in making connections with each other to facilitate dialogue on shared goals and needs.

The Network does not provide legal advice or legal representation. Successful applicants are encouraged to share the products of their collaboration with the Network with their legal counsel for review if appropriate/necessary.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include local, state, or tribal health departments, community-based organizations or groups, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, health care systems or providers, and others working to eliminate deep, systemic, and racially driven inequities in health. Participants that were previously selected through the Network’s prior CFA on racial health equity are eligible to apply, but priority will be given to new applicants.

We are interested in supporting projects that have most, if not all, of the following characteristics:

• Have a commitment and clear goals to furthering racial health equity
• Are committed to an intersectional approach to racial health equity
• Are grounded in principles of health equity and the priorities of communities that have experienced inequitable health disparities
• Are community led
• Are led by entities that are engaged and working with communities either currently or that are seeking assistance with how to connect with communities
• Could be implemented in other jurisdictions or communities
• Have a well-defined legal/policy scope or would benefit from planning assistance to define the legal/policy scope
• Have a clear connection to improving population health
• Focus on taking practical steps to implement actions items in declarations of racism as a public health crisis

Commitments and Expectations 

The Network will accept applications from August 2024, through September 9, 2024.  Applicants will be notified of their status in early September.

To ensure a successful collaboration, applicants must make a commitment to:

• Work with the Network to identify at least one issue on which the Network can provide legal and policy technical assistance.
• Identify at least one project point person who will: (1) regularly communicate via e-mail as needed and provide necessary information related to the project, (2) participate in a one-hour introductory project meeting with Network staff in October; and (3) attend monthly project check-in meetings with Network staff until the project is complete.
• Participate as a member of the CFA cohort and will attend a virtual training on public health law and its role in furthering racial health equity; and
• Attend a virtual guided facilitated discussion to learn about and connect with other projects supported under this CFA.
• At the completion of the project, provide feedback to the Network including answering a short evaluation and being available for a short 30-minute virtual evaluation.

The Network will provide resources and dedicated staff to work on each project, provide timely communication, engage in monthly (and as needed) project discussions, and respond to any questions that may arise.

Timeline

Application

• August 2024: Call for applications opens.
• September 9, 2024: Applications due
• September 2024: Applicants receive notification of acceptance/non-acceptance.

Legal and Policy Technical Assistance (7 months)

• October 2024: Legal and policy technical assistance begins.
• April 30, 2025: Legal and policy technical assistance ends.

Cohort Events

• October 2024: Virtual training on public health law and racial equity.
• February 2025: Guided virtual facilitated discussion.

Evaluation

• May-June 15, 2025: Project evaluation concludes.

Send questions to: April Shaw ashaw@networkforphl.org and Sara Rogers srogers@networkforphl.org

You can access the application here.