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Lita Marie Wills, MPH

Commissioner of Health Equity and Social Justice

Cleveland Department of Public Health

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Division of Health Equity &

Social Justice

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    • June 2020 - City of Cleveland adopted Resolution 296-2020 declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis

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    • March 2021 Ordinance No. 843-2020 established the Division of Health Equity & Social Justice (HESJ) at the Cleveland Department of Public Health

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    • HESJ Division mission
      • The mission of the Division of Health Equity and Social Justice is to improve the health outcomes and the overall quality of life and to remove barriers to resources in order to create thriving neighborhoods and a thriving city.

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    • Transition Report 2022 Equity in Action Recommendations
    • Office of Equal Opportunity
    • The declaration by Council also authorized the creation of the Racism as a Public Health Crisis Working Group, to work with the Health and Human Services Committee

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Creation & Context

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The work of HESJ focuses on Healthy People 2030

Social Determinants of Health

Division of HESJ

Conditions in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age that affects a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

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Operationalizing Equity

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Three major 'buckets' of work:

Division of HESJ

HESJ prioritizes

health inequities addressed in specific programming:

    • HIV/AIDS
    • MomsFirst
    • OMHAR (CenterPoint)
    • Office of Minority Health

Within

CDPH

Within the

City of Cleveland

Within the community

Operationalize equity in policy and practice within City systems using the Social Determinants of Health.

    • The Interdepartmental Equity Team (IET)
      • IET Strategic Plan
      • Health and Equity Assessments
    • Equity Advisory Board
      • Examine DEI structures

Align with the Racism as Public Health Crisis Coalition (RAPHC-C) for external, community driven initiatives that focus on the Social Determinants of Health.

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Interdepartmental Equity Team (IET)

Goals:

    • Develop a Strategic Plan for 2024-2026 that will
      • Establish a process of conducting Health and Equity Impact Assessments for current programs, processes, and policies in practice at the City.
      • Determine ways to amplify positive impacts and mitigate negative impacts.
      • Support the monitoring of annual performance measurements by each department/agency.

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    • Sustain the regular meeting of the IET in order to:
      • Provide a forum for information exchange and identification of opportunities for collaboration.
      • Develop guidelines for outreach, communication, community engagement.
      • Identify focus areas and develop policies and actions that improve fairness in (government) organizational processes.

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Interdepartmental Equity Team (IET)

Nov

2022

IET Meet & Greet

Full IET Workshop #1:

What is equity?

Full IET Workshop #2:

What are the SDOH?

Full IET Workshop #3:

Connecting our work

Pillar Breakout #1:

What is RBA?

Pillar Breakout #2:

Results and Indicators

Pillar Breakout #3:

Indicators and Strategies

Full IET Reconvening:

Reporting out on pillars

Jan

2023

May

2023

Mar

2023

June

2023

July

2023

Aug

2023

Sept

2023

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IET Representatives

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    • Aging
    • Building & Housing
    • City Planning
    • Communications
    • Community Development
    • Community Relations Board
    • Economic Development
    • Finance

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    • Law
    • Office of Equal Opportunity
    • Port Control
    • Public Health
    • Public Utilities
    • Public Safety
    • Sustainability

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Safety and Community Supports

People’s relationships and interactions with family, friends, co-workers, and community members can have a major impact on their health and well-being. This pillar focuses on supporting safe and just systems that build reinforce the fabric of our community.

Result 1: All Cleveland residents live in safe communities, free from violence.

Result 2: The City of Cleveland is made up of just, non-discriminatory systems that support all residents.

Indicators:

Strategies:

# of domestic violence

# gunshot wound hospital visits

Recidivism rates

Indicators:

Strategies:

Unhoused population data

Sentencing rates

Educational attainment

    • Community Police Commission
    • Trauma informed care social workers
    • Crisis Intervention Team
    • Robocalls and messaging to seniors

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    • Community Police Commission
    • Street Oureach Team
    • Youth Diversion Program
    • Relationships with CMSD and Laurel Schools (CWRU partners with groups for various things)

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Departments/Offices:

Departments/Offices:

    • Public Safety
    • Community Relations Board
    • PIO

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    • Community Relations
    • Aging
    • PIO
    • Public Safety
    • Community Development
    • Community Development
    • Public Safety

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    • PIO

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    • Community Police Commission
    • Youth Diversion Program
    • Crisis Intervention Team
    • Police training, neighborhood meetings
    • Faith-based orgs/outreach partnerships
    • Community Relations

Gun violence in the community

Intimate partner violence, child abuse, and elder abuse

Reentry and reintegration are important to health outcomes

Addressing inequitable criminal justice

An isolated and under-addressed population

Systems of education as predictors of health outcomes

Economic Stability

Building & Housing

Office of Equal Opportunity

Community Development

Economic Development

City Planning

    • ED projects generating jobs
    • influencing types of retail

DPC-OCI

    • diversity and inclusion

Public Utilities

PIOYYA

    • summer youth employment
    • recruitment
    • providing contracts and contractors
    • increasing business advisors

Office of Sustainability

    • Neighborhood revitalization through code enforcement

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Office of Communications

Community Development

Office of Equal Opportunity

Neighborhood & Built Environment

Building & Housing

Public Utilities

    • water, power, and sewer
      • infrastructure improvement prioritization
      • access + affordability
      • quality of services

PIOYYA

    • neighborhood recreation & resource centers

City Planning

    • land use
    • type + form of built environment

DPC-OCI

    • environmental improvements

EMS

    • hospital closures

Public Health

    • lead safe housing
    • air quality
    • Address blight & community growth, i.e. rehab properties, new construction

Progress as of September 2023

Mapping Connections

Building the Strategic Plan

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RAPHC Coalition

Both the IET and the RAPHC-C are using the same framework, Results-Based Accountability (RBA), to create plans using the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH):

Sample crosswalk of plans

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Equity Inventory and future work

The Interdepartmental Equity Team

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Lita-Marie Wills, MPH

Commissioner

Division of Health Equity and Social Justice

Cleveland Department of Public Health

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(216) 664-2677

LWills@ClevelandOhio.gov

Thank You