LA County Public Health Unveils the Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health's Strategic Plan

Photo: Arbor Day, Los Angeles, 2016, with then Mayor Gil Garcetti at tree-planting, Loren Miller Elementary in South Los Angeles, by Eric Garcetti, Wikimedia Commons

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released today the five-year Strategic Plan for the Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health (OEJCH), which will address historic and contemporary government decisions that have exposed vulnerable populations to environmental hazards.

The Strategic Plan was developed in collaboration with interagency, community-based, and tribal partners to enhance Public Health’s ability to prevent and mitigate environmental and climate health impacts. OEJCH will serve as a central hub for health-focused environmental justice and climate health goals, providing comprehensive data, health recommendations, policy solutions, and mitigation strategies.

Key focus areas of the Strategic Plan include:

•Community Engagement and Partnerships: Foster community relationships to ensure two-way communication and develop community solutions.

•Interagency Coordination and Government Engagement: Cultivate collaboration between public, private, and community partners to develop solutions to environmental and climate health threats.

•Policy: Track, inform, and develop impactful environmental justice and climate health policies.

•Data: Collect, interpret, and share accessible actionable environmental justice and climate health data with partners and the public to highlight emerging issues and actively inform policies and programs.

•Accountability and Communications: Develop and foster direct and transparent communications to keep the community and partners informed of the roles, responsibilities, and progress of OEJCH.

To read the Strategic Plan, visit the OEJCH website.

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