The importance of building public health legal capacity at the local level has been highlighted in many public health journals and through recent public health events, including H1N1. After action reports from the H1N1 response identified legal hurdles for local health departments such as protection from legal liability; the coordination and procurement of resources and response efforts among local health departments and private-sector organizations; expansion of public health legal authority; and standards for credentialing volunteers. With limited financial and staff resources, local public health departments often do not have easy access to legal assistance especially that which is public health preparedness focused. This complicates the ability of our nations' local health departments to serve their populations when confronted with legal questions, including those issues involving public health preparedness. NACCHO, with support from CDC Public Health Law Program, will help to meet these challenges by creating a public health legal preparedness training curriculum and tabletop exercise for public health professionals and their legal counsel. The purpose of the curriculum and tabletop exercise is to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the legal authorities that shape an agencies' and jurisdictions' ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. Through the utilization of the curriculum and tabletop exercise, local health departments will be better prepared to face the legal issues involving public health preparedness.
NACCHO intends to release the training curriculum and tabletop exercise by summer 2011 on NACCHO's online bookstore and other mechanisms.
