Monday, May 12, 2025
5/12/2025
ATSDR's Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) - The cooperative agreement partnership between the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is now in its 29th year. Since 1990, the Site Assessment Section (SAS) in the Environmental Health Investigations Branch (EHIB) has been responsible for cooperative agreement activities and has successfully implemented ATSDR’s congressional mandate to keep communities in California safe from harmful exposures. Working with ATSDR and other stakeholders, CDPH will increase its capacity to identify and respond to site‐specific issues involving human exposure to hazardous substances in the environment, evaluate these exposures, educate and engage communities, and seek new and better ways to protect public health, especially in disproportionately burdened communities. Our work also increases the capacity of communities, public agencies, and other stakeholders to identify, prevent and reduce environmental exposures. Since 2017, CDPH has implemented ATSDR’s Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) guidance by raising awareness and partnering with major stakeholder agencies and organizations. CDPH will continue to work in the two core programs of APPLETREE Component 1: a) site assessment and community education/outreach activities including conducting public health assessments, health consultations, technical assistance, community outreach and education activities at sites that are on the National Priority List (Superfund), other hazardous waste sites (including petition sites), and releases of toxic materials; and b) implementation of the CSPECE guidance including increasing existing partnerships with stakeholder agencies and other organizations to integrate CSPECE into existing and evolving processes and strengthen local communities. Our output materials are usually translated into Spanish or the predominant language used in the community. In addition, CDPH is proposing work in APPLETREE Component 2: Capacity building and applied prevention science. CDPH will build on our successful use of innovative tools and best practices for community engagement to find practical ways to prevent or reduce exposures to hazardous materials including increasing our collaborations and partnerships with non-profit organizations, healthcare providers, and academia. The proposed collaborations will increase the resilience of communities in California, especially the most vulnerable, and integrate emerging public health concerns into existing processes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).