Newswise — Organizations in five states have received funding to support community partnerships with state or local governments to leverage COVID-19 relief funds to advance policies for data sharing and data integration efforts. The grants were awarded by Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) as a part of the organization’s ongoing work to connect information systems and share data across sectors. Historically disjointed data sharing across healthcare, public health, social services, and other sectors beyond health has hindered the coordination of equitable, community-driven health improvement efforts.
The awards are a part of a DASH’s Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program led in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS).
Each of the five projects will receive $80,000.
Awardees include:
- Nebraska (led by Cync Health): Developing a Roadmap for Democratizing Data for Housing and Homelessness Leveraging COVID-19 Funding
- New Mexico (led by the Center for Health Innovation): Support for Creation of Statewide Food, Hunger, and Farm Data Infrastructure to Address Hunger and Food and Water Insecurity Worsened by COVID-19
- Georgia (led by ARCHI (Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement)): Invert the Burden: How to Build a More Equitable Service Access System to Address Persistent Inequities in Metro Atlanta
- Utah (led by San Juan County): Removing Barriers Utilizing Greater Digitization to Advance Navajo Elder Services in Coordinating Truly Wraparound Care and Services in San Juan
- Connecticut (led by Connecticut Data Collaborative, CT DATA) Hartford Data Collaborative Behavioral Health Indicators for City Youth
DASH’s experience and engagement with community, state, and national thought leaders suggests that leveraging the power and influence of state agencies is a key opportunity to support and amplify existing community relationships and data sharing initiatives, while simultaneously helping states achieve their goals related to improving population health and health equity.
"Community members experiencing systemic health disparities are uniquely qualified to identify and implement equitable solutions. Equitable Spaces is encouraged that LAPP II created opportunities for those with this lived expertise to participate in the selection process of their partner grantees, demonstrating the project's commitment to honor, value, and incorporate the knowledge and perspectives of those who have been historically sidelined in the decisions surrounding the policies and programs that directly impact their lives," shared Jimmieka Mills, Mills, Co-Founder of Equitable Spaces.
This is the second round of LAPP funding. In 2021, DASH began the program with six states who are utilizing funds, resources, and technical assistance to enhance community data-sharing capabilities and foster relationships between state government, community-based organizations, and community members.
“Evolving state data systems to reflect community-led definitions of well-being is essential to achieve a just and equitable future,” said Lori Pfingst, Senior Director, Office of the Secretary at Washington State DSHS (a round one grantee). “The LAPP/DASH partnership is supporting Washington in creating a state culture and process that values the expertise of people and communities historically excluded from well-being in decision-making.”
With the LAPP program, DASH hopes to continue its core support of multi-sector collaboration and data sharing efforts and leverage these lessons to identify powerful policy and system change opportunities. The LAPP initiative was developed with guidance from federal and state officials, community-based organization leaders, subject matter experts, and community members.
To learn more about the initiative, visit www.DASHconnect.org/LAPP.
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About Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH)
Led by the Illinois Public Health Institute and the Michigan Public Health Institute, DASH is a National Program Office of the Robert Wood Jonson Foundation, DASH supports collaborations that work together to improve the health of their communities, promote health equity, and contribute to a Culture of Health by strengthening information-sharing systems, engaging additional sectors and community members, and building sustainable capacity to work collaboratively toward community goals. DASH shares lessons learned from awardees to create a body of knowledge and advance this emerging field of sharing data and information across and beyond traditional health sectors, and leverages peer-to-peer connection opportunities to spread innovative approaches that address the root causes of inequity and poor health. The home for this network of dissemination is All In: Data for Community Health.
About the Center for Health Care Strategies
The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a policy design and implementation partner devoted to improving outcomes for people enrolled in Medicaid. CHCS works across sectors and disciplines to connect people and ideas to spark insights, build expertise, strengthen leadership, and spread innovations. Its work focuses on making more effective, efficient, and equitable care possible for millions of people in the U.S. who face serious barriers to well-being, like poverty, complex health and social needs, and systemic racism. For more than 25 years, CHCS has collaborated with state Medicaid and related health and human services agencies across the country to shape how health care services are designed, financed, and delivered. For more information, visit www.chcs.org.
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