From the Public Health Law Program, Office of the Chief of Public Health Practice, CDC
http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/

Special Announcement

CDC’s Public Health Law Program is pleased to announce the release of new resources for professionals and policy makers to use in strengthening their agencies’ and jurisdictions’ legal preparedness for all-hazards public health emergencies -- at the community, state, and tribal levels alike.

These tools were developed with assistance from practitioners in public health, emergency management, law, law enforcement, the judiciary, and corrections to ensure that they speak to the priorities and needs of those who have front-line responsibility for protecting the public’s health from the threats posed by public health emergencies.

As noted below, these tools can be downloaded from the Public Health Law Program’s Website.   We would appreciate knowing about your use of the tools and their impact in your jurisdiction. Please share any comments or questions by emailing the Program at PHLawProgram@cdc.gov.

*** Public Health Emergency Law v. 3.0. This course, designed for front-line public health, emergency management, law enforcement, and other all-hazards public health emergency planners and responders, helps trainees develop a foundational understanding of law essential to legal preparedness for effectively managing public health emergencies. The course includes an introduction to emergency management in the federal system; a course manager’s guide and other instructor resources; a new scenario on chemical release into the environment; and it reviews emergency powers in relation to the protection of persons, property, and volunteers. To download the course materials, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/phel.asp. 

*** Forensic Epidemiology v. 3.0. This course is designed for public health and law enforcement professionals who conduct joint public health emergency investigations and responses. The course’s goal is to strengthen coordination of joint investigations and responses to public health emergencies through the use of a new scenario on pandemic influenza. Supplemental materials also include three CDC-developed scenarios (suspicious letter, anthrax, salmonellosis) and six field-developed scenarios. To download course materials, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/phel.asp.

*** Coordinated Implementation of Community Response Measures (Including Social Distancing) to Control the Spread of Pandemic Respiratory Disease: A Guide for Developing an MOU for Public Health, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and the Judiciary. This document was developed to guide local, state, and tribal jurisdictions in the development of cross-sector pandemic influenza operating plans. It is intended to improve the effectiveness of community-wide measures to control pandemic influenza, and describes the approach to developing an MOU and its necessary components. The guide was developed by the Public Health and Law Enforcement Emergency Preparedness Workgroup, convened by CDC and the U.S. Department of Justice. To access the guide, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/emergencyprep.asp.

***A Framework for Improving Cross-Sector Coordination for Emergency Preparedness and Response: Action Steps for Public Health, Law Enforcement, the Judiciary, and Corrections. Intended for local, state, and tribal jurisdictions developing capacity to address all-hazards public health emergencies, this framework was designed to improve jurisdiction-wide response to all-hazards public health emergencies through strengthened coordination between the four sectors. Select content includes a discussion of guiding principles and relations among sectors, and action steps. The framework was developed by the Public Health and Law Enforcement Emergency Preparedness Workgroup, convened by CDC and the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/emergencyprep.asp.

*** Menu of Suggested Provisions for Public Health Mutual Aid Agreements. With the assistance of an international panel of experts, the Public Health Law Program developed this menu, designed to assist public health officials and their legal counsel in the development of mutual aid agreements for a variety of jurisdictions. Mutual aid agreements can be effective tools to assist U.S. state and local governments, Tribes, Canadian provinces, First Nations, and Mexican states in sharing information, data, supplies, resources, equipment, or personnel for the purpose of protecting the public’s health. To access the menu, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/mutualaid/mutualinventory.asp.

*** Inventory of Mutual Aid Agreements and Related Resources. This inventory is an interactive tool used to disseminate information and new developments in mutual aid to a wide audience, including U.S. state and local governments, Tribes, Canadian provinces, First Nations, and Mexican states. Contents include international, interstate, intrastate, and tribal mutual aid agreements. To view the inventory, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/mutualaid/MutualResources.asp.

*** National Action Agenda for Public Health Legal Preparedness. The National Action Agenda presents some 100 “action options” that appointed and elected officials may use in assessing their jurisdictions’ and agencies’ legal preparedness for all-hazards public health emergencies and in making appropriate improvements to existing plans. Select content includes: “Improving Laws and Legal Authorities for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness,” and “Improving Information and Best Practices for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness.” Development of the Action Agenda was sponsored by CDC, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association, and twelve additional national partner organizations. The Action Agenda was published in a special supplement to 36 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (Spring 2008), and is available at http://www.aslme.org/cdc/.

***Social Distancing Law Assessment Template. This template will guide public health leaders and legal counsel who formulate state, tribal, and local preparedness plans for pandemic influenza and other highly virulent infectious disease outbreaks in assessing the adequacy of their jurisdiction’s current legal authorities. The template was designed by the Public Health Law Program and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, based on seventeen states’ participation in the ASTHO-CDC Social Distancing Law Project during 2007, and is available at http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/SDLP.

*** PHLP Website Updates. Please visit our Website for recent developments in public health and law. Notable additions include an Agreement of Understanding between the States of Chihuahua, Mexico and New Mexico, signed on May 7, available at http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/mutualaid/, and a resource for Texas courts, entitled “Control Measures and Public Health Emergencies A Texas Bench Book,” published by the Health Law and Policy Institute, University of Houston Law Center, available at http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/port_bench.asp.

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The CDC Public Health Law News is published the third Wednesday of each month except holidays, plus special issues when warranted. It is distributed only in electronic form and is free of charge. News content is selected solely on the basis of newsworthiness and potential interest to readers. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinions expressed by the original authors of items included in the News, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to products, trade names, publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS. Legal cases are presented for educational purposes only, and are not meant to represent the current state of the law. The findings and conclusions reported in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC. The News is in the public domain and may be freely forwarded and reproduced without permission. The original news sources and the CDC Public Health Law News should be cited as sources. Readers should contact the cited news sources for the full text of the articles.

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The News is published by the Public Health Law Program, Office of Strategy and Innovation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Rachel Weiss, J.D., Editor; Karen M. Leeb, J.D., M.L.S., Editorial Advisor.