(1) The purpose of the office is to serve in a coordinating, educating, and capacity-building role for state and local public health programs and community-based organizations promoting health equity in Colorado by implementing strategies tailored to address the varying complex causes of health disparities, including the economic, physical, and social environment. The office shall work collaboratively within the department and with affected stakeholders to set priorities, collect and disseminate data, and align resources within the department and across other state agencies. (2) The office has the following powers, duties, and functions: (a) Administering and coordinating the health disparities and community grant program created in section 25-4-2203; (b) Leading and coordinating the department's health equity efforts; (c) Publishing data reports documenting health disparities and establishing appropriate methods to collect and disaggregate data based on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity for inclusion in data reports documenting health disparities; (d) Providing education to the public on health equity, health disparities, and the social determinants of health; (e) Coordinating the interpretation and translation services within the department and offering technical assistance to other state and local agencies; (f) Building capacity within communities to offer or expand public health programs to better meet the needs of a diverse population; (g) Conducting state-level strategic planning on minority health improvement, which includes those individuals who identify as racial and ethnic minorities, who have diagnosed disabilities, and whose sexual orientation or gender identity includes but is not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary; (h) Providing technical assistance to: (I) The department in carrying out its programs, including data collection and disaggregation of confidential health data, in accordance with federal and state data privacy laws, rules, and regulations and federal contracts, relating to race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and (II) County, district, and municipal public health agencies, community-based organizations, and communities in the state; (i) Promoting workforce diversity within public health systems; (j) Coordinating and staffing the health equity commission created in section 25-4-2206; (k) Repealed. (l) Building collaborative partnerships with communities to identify and promote health equity strategies; and (m) Developing communications strategies regarding health equity. (2.3) (a) The state board shall promulgate rules necessary for the collection of data by the office for purposes of its reporting on health disparities pursuant to subsection (2)(c) of this section, including rules concerning: (I) The requirement to collect data, to the extent permissible under applicable federal and state data privacy laws, rules, and regulations and federal contracts, from entities identified in subsection (2)(h) of this section that serve individuals who choose to provide the data; (II) The demographic information to be collected and the time frame for collecting the data to ensure consistency in the collection of data; and (III) The disaggregation and reporting of confidential health data, in accordance with federal and state data privacy laws, rules, and regulations and federal contracts, to protect sensitive medical information or personally identifying information. (b) The rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (2.3)(a) of this section must apply to all state and county, district, and municipal public health agencies, as described in section 25-1- 506; public health directors, as described in section 25-1-509; and other persons required to collect and report data to the department. (2.5) (a) (I) On or before July 1, 2022, and continuing every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct an assessment and publish a report concerning health disparities and inequities in Colorado that includes an assessment of the impact of social determinants of health on health disparities and inequities and recommended strategies to begin to address such inequities. The department shall collaborate with the commission, community partners working on health equity issues, local public health agencies, stakeholders from affected communities, data organizations, and other state and local partners in the creation of the report. In addition to providing information to the public about the impact of health disparities and inequities on Coloradans, each state agency that has representation on the commission shall use the report in their plan as described in subsection (2.5)(b)(I) of this section. In each report after the first published report, the department shall report the progress made by the commission pursuant to subsection (2.5)(b) of this section to address the social determinants of health and the strategies used to address health disparities and inequities. (II) Not later than July 1, 2023, for any report published pursuant to subsection (2.5)(a)(I) of this section that does not include complete reporting on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, as that data becomes available, each state agency that is represented on the commission shall provide a supplemental report that includes progress made by the commission to address the social determinants of health and the strategies used to address health disparities and inequities based on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. (a.5) (I) To assist with the department's assessment and reporting required pursuant to subsection (2.5)(a) of this section concerning health disparities and inequities, not later than November 1, 2022, the commission shall convene a data advisory working group to advise the commission in carrying out its duties under subsections (2)(c) and (2)(h) of this section. (II) The data advisory working group shall make recommendations to the commission concerning the process for collecting and aggregating nonidentifying demographic data for Colorado residents relating to race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity: (A) As part of public health programs; (B) From information collected to evaluate public health conditions in the state; and (C) From data acquired from data sources or submitted to the department. (III) The data advisory working group shall include: (A) One member of the department, appointed by the executive director of the department; (B) Three serving members of the commission, appointed by the director of the office, with a preference for members having experience in data and reporting, working with county or district public health agencies in data collection, or working with or on behalf of department data collectors or vendors; (C) One member of a nonprofit organization, appointed by the director of the office, who has experience in administering data collection instruments and reports relating to the COVID- 19 virus, vaccines, and health care as it impacts individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or nonbinary and whose work is recognized at the state and national level; (D) One member of a nonprofit organization, appointed by the director of the office, who has experience in administering data collection instruments and reports relating to the COVID-19 virus, vaccines, and health care as it impacts individuals who have been diagnosed with a disability and whose work is recognized at the state or national level; and (E) Two members of nonprofit organizations, appointed by the director of the office, who have experience in administering data collection instruments and reports related to individuals who identify as Hispanic or Latino, African American or Black, Asian, American Pacific Islander, and indigenous and whose work is recognized at the state or national level. (b) Within six months after the publication of the first report required in subsection (2.5)(a) of this section: (I) The governor shall convene the commission to conduct a strategic planning process and develop an equity strategic plan, to respond to the report, and to ensure that there is coordination in equity-related work across state agencies to address the social determinants of health in each agency's respective areas. The strategic planning process must include input from community stakeholders and policymakers. The department may collaborate with the health disparities and community grant program created in section 25-4-2203 to address issues identified by the equity strategic plan. (II) Each member of the commission that represents a state agency shall develop a plan to address the social determinants of health relevant to that state agency as they affect health disparities and inequities. Each state agency shall dedicate up to twenty hours of staff time to the development and implementation of the equity strategic plan. (3) The office shall report to the executive director of the department or his or her designee, at the discretion of the executive director.
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