Health and Equity
in All Policies (HiAP)

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In recognition of the central role that institutional and structural racism play in health inequities, and the importance of an anti-racist lens to any HiAP effort, State of Equity has added the word “Equity” to HiAP, which had formerly been referred to only as Health in All Policies. 

California Health in All Policies Task Force

Since 2010, State of Equity has collaborated with the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and Department of Public Health (CDPH) to build the California HiAP Task Force from the ground up. This has included facilitating collaborative projects between over 30 units of state government and numerous external organizations, across three gubernatorial administrations, both Democratic and Republican. 

With our support, the Task Force has embedded racial equity and health equity policies, practices, metrics, and guidelines across numerous grant programs, services, and administrative functions touching multiple sectors- including public health, housing, transportation, environmental protection, parks, and social services.  

State of Equity currently serves as an advisor to the California HiAP Task Force. This includes:

•  Advising SGC as they address structural barriers that many Californians face in accessing healthy, racially just, and resilient communities, 
• Chairing the HiAP Safe & Equitable Communities Roundtable,
• Facilitating the Capitol Collaborative on Race & Equity (CCORE),  
• Serving as a strategy and research partner to California’s new Racial Equity Commission, and
• Representing California on the Executive Committee for the Global Network for Health in All Policies (GNHiAP).

California HiAP’s Pathway to Racial Equity

Over a seven-year span, PHI’s State of Equity has supported the HiAP Task Force to establish racial equity as a key focus for all areas of work. Following are key milestones:

2010-2012 

The California Health in All Polices Task Force was established in 2010 through Executive Order S-04-10 to “identify priority programs, policies, and strategies to improve the health of Californians while… improving air and water quality, protecting natural resources and agricultural lands, increasing the availability of affordable housing, improving infrastructure systems, promoting public health, planning sustainable communities, and meeting the state’s climate change goals.”

Philanthropic partners provided resources for nonprofit staffing by State of Equity, to work alongside state government in partnership with SGC and CDPH. Over the next two years, this partnership developed Task Force membership, identified priority areas, and began early stages of implementing multi-sectoral programs, policies, and strategies that improve the health of Californians.

In 2012, the legislature affirmed the HiAP approach and called for continued efforts through Senate Concurrent Resolution 47

2013 

State of Equity teamed up with the American Public Health Association and the California Department of Public Health to write Health in All Policies: A Guide for State and Local Governments, which is used to this day as a text and training manual in public health programs, government health departments, and health ministries around the globe.

HiAP Task Force takes further shape with the development of a Charter, defining the Task Force structure, staffing, and decision-making processes.  

2014-2016 

Under the leadership of State of Equity, the HiAP Task Force continues to convene, including adopting a guiding Vision, Purpose, and Strategy.

The Task Force identified key areas for collaboration, such as active transportation, housing, parks and greening, food access, and more. Strategic, actionable, and time-bound commitments were set via Action Plans, with state entities setting leadership and support commitments around each action.

Progress updates were presented to the Strategic Growth Council for interagency input and public feedback.   

2016–2017 

State of Equity surveyed California state departments and agencies about their racial equity practices, and this identified both a deep commitment to racial justice and a significant need for capacity building and coordination for state government. We then supported state government to make public commitments to health and racial equity through the creation of the HiAP Equity in Government Practices Action Plan. This laid a pathway for launching racial equity capacity building for California state government, further normalizing racial equity concepts, organizing structures, and operationalizing practices, in partnership with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE).

State of Equity’s nonprofit staff were integrated into the SGC government organizational structure, increasing cabinet-level engagement in HiAP-driven initiatives.

State of Equity joined the newly formed Global Network for Health in All Policies (GNHiAP).  

2018 

In support of the HiAP Task Force commitment to racial equity capacity building, State of Equity launched the Capitol Collaborative on Race & Equity (CCORE) in partnership with GARE and SGC. Nineteen departments, agencies, and offices participated in the first two years of the program, establishing racial equity leadership teams and carrying out early actions to transform their institutions.  

2019

State of Equity was instrumental in securing funds in the California state budget for a new Health and Equity Program at the SGC, which allowed SGC to hire state-funded, permanent staff positions to lead the HiAP Task Force. This has been critical for the long-term durability of this work.   

2020

Three full-time staff were appointed to SGC’s new Health and Equity Program, to begin the shift of HiAP facilitation from nonprofit to government leadership.

CCORE Learning Cohort continued and expanded, with an additional 21 state entities participating in the 2020-2021 Learning Cohort.

2021

With State of Equity support, SGC’s new state-funded staff partnered with the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley to gather input from stakeholders across California on priorities and barriers to advancing public health and racial equity – which directly informs future Task Force activities.

2022

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests for racial justice, the HiAP Task Force relaunched with a new focus to use its cross-sectoral convening capacity to address the structural barriers that many Californians face in accessing healthy, racially just, and resilient communities.

State of Equity established the Task Force’s Safe & Equitable Communities Roundtable and launches a partnership with Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice. The Roundtable responds to external input on barriers communities face regarding safe, violence-free communities and convenes diverse State entities working on health equity, racial equity, violence prevention, and other community-based initiatives.

CCORE Learning Cohort continued and expanded, with an additional 16 state entity participants. 

2023

State of Equity launched two new initiatives: the National States Strategy for Racial Equity: a network of state-level racial equity practitioners from across the country for learning, sharing, and collective impact and the CCORE Transformative Leadership Cohort, a BIPOC centered leadership development community for racial equity practitioners

2024 and beyond 

State of Equity remains an advisory and implementation partner for the HiAP Task Force’s racial equity work. This includes elevating challenges and strategies identified through CCORE, convening the Safe & Equitable Communities Roundtable and partnering with the California Racial Equity Commission. State of Equity continues to host the CCORE Learning Cohort and Transformative Leadership Cohort and has adapted these offerings to respond to our ever-evolving political environment and organizing needs.