The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health received 12 Achievement Awards from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Each year, NACCHO recognizes innovative and effective public health programs that support and enhance services for residents. The awards are a testament to the expansive reach of Public Health’s programs and services that support the health and wellbeing of more than 10 million residents in Los Angeles County. 

“Public Health is facing significant challenges and uncertainties due to funding pressures, but one thing is clear: We are effective and committed to ensuring that residents have the resources needed to be healthy and thrive. I want to express my gratitude to the colleagues, partners, and programs at Public Health for their unwavering commitment to creative, impactful, and inclusive public service,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “We are grateful to the National Association of County and City Health Officials for this recognition.” 

The 2025 Public Health honorees include recognitions for Model Practices, which are awarded to local health departments implementing programs that demonstrate exemplary and replicable outcomes in response to an identified public health need and for Promising Practices, which are exciting approaches and strategies to local public health issues that are on track to becoming Model Practices. Each awarded practice was reviewed by a committee of peers, made up of other local health department professionals, and selected from a competitive collection of applications. 

The Public Health honorees are: 

Model Practice

Children’s Medical Services: California Children’s Services Call Center 

Public Health revamped the call center with a ticketing system to track, monitor and respond to calls-providing better responses to patients/families/providers and yield data to inform weaknesses or gaps in workflows and processes. 

Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention: Healthy Brain LA 

Healthy Brain LA is a collaborative effort launched in 2020 by Public Health in partnership with a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from community-based organizations, government entities, health plans, community advocates, and persons with lived experience who are committed to improving the lives of people living with dementia, their caregivers, and their families.  

Division of HIV and STD Programs – Community Health Ambassador Program (CHAP)  

Public Health distributed HIV self-test kits within high-risk networks, through an ambassador program with 11 Ambassadors that distributed information and test kits, with a 7% positivity rate.  

TB Control: Mitigating Transmission in Community-Based Substance Abuse Facilities 

The Tuberculosis Control Program MLK Center for Public Health Clinic Services chest clinic have developed a collaborative model with a federal qualified health center to provide tuberculosis (TB) screening, testing, evaluation and treatment for both TB infection and TB disease in unlicensed nonmedical community-based substance use treatment facilities. These facilities serve primarily immigrants with substance use disorder who are experiencing homelessness. These settings are linked to three different TB outbreak strains in Los Angeles County. 

Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Programs: Abundant Birth Project 

The Abundant Birth Project (ABP) is the first evidence-based pregnancy guaranteed income program in the United States, designed to address the causes of long-standing disparities in birth outcomes. By providing direct, unconditional cash, mothers and birthing people are empowered to make informed decisions for themselves and their babies with dignity, reducing pregnancy-related stress by easing economic hardship. ABP has centered community voices by using participatory research, design thinking, and collective governance throughout its development and rollout.  

Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Programs: Youth Advisory Council 

Los Angeles County’s Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Programs Division supports a diverse Youth Advisory Council (YAC) of 29 high school and college students representing all eight service planning areas. The YAC provides vital input on programs and policies affecting youth, with a primary focus on mental health equity. In response to concerning mental health data the YAC identified youth mental health as its top priority for FYs 2023–2025. 

Promising Practice

Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention: Adult Vaping Media Campaign 

To help combat the ongoing vaping epidemic, Public Health launched the What’s Your Reason to Quit Vaping? campaign in 2024. The campaign sought to inspire positive behavior change and support Los Angeles County adults in making healthier choices through support and resources from LA Quits. By October 2024, the campaign garnered nearly 10 million impressions, >77,000 clicks to the website, and 4 million video views (72% due to TikTok).  

Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention: Food as Medicine 

The Produce Prescription Program (PPR) addresses barriers to access by giving patients a specified amount of money to purchase fresh produce at participating local grocery stores. The program enables healthcare providers to “prescribe” produce as part of patient care plans, empowering patients to manage their health through improved nutrition.  

Office of Violence Prevention: Mapping Domestic Violence Restraining Orders 

Public Health, in partnership with survivors, domestic violence providers, community leaders, law enforcement, City and County departments, court representatives, and other service providers, developed a visual representation of the current and future state of the process of obtaining a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) and identified five Cross-Cutting and eight Point-Improvements that would create a more human-centered, caring, reliable, consistent, and trauma-informed experience for survivors. 

Substance Abuse Prevention and Control: Smoke/Vape Shop Project 

Public Health developed recommendations to address the sale of Delta-8/emerging cannabinoids, unregulated cannabis products, and other dangerous products and paraphernalia near youth sensitive locations.  

Emergency Preparedness and Response Division: Community Readiness Champions 

Public Health launched the Community Readiness Champions (CRC) Initiative to train LA County residents and workers with essential emergency response skills such as Mental Health Awareness During Emergencies, STOP THE BLEED®, Naloxone (Narcan®) Training, and Hands-Only CPR with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness (HOCPR/AED). By training community members in these lifesaving skills, the CRC initiative builds stronger, more resilient communities, ensuring that everyone can play a role in saving lives during an emergency or disaster. 

Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Programs: Home Visiting 

With funding from the American Rescue Plan, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health restored vital home visiting services previously ended by the Department of Mental Health. Through the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division, evidence-based programs—Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) and Healthy Families America (HFA)—were relaunched to support low-income, high-need pregnant and parenting families impacted by COVID-19 and systemic inequities. 

Since Fiscal Year 22–23, 561 families (967 individuals) have been served, with 480 families supported in Fiscal Year 23–24. NFP reported only 1.6% low birth weight and 0% preterm births from infants born into the program—significantly outperforming national and state averages. HFA also showed strong outcomes, including 8% low birth weight and immunization rates of up to 100% by 18 months. Both programs provided critical screenings and referrals for mental health and developmental concerns, strengthening care for vulnerable families.