PHLaw_Attach-B_ Core Legal Competencies for PH Professionals

Center for Law and the Public’s Health
at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities
Hampton House, Room 582
624 North Broadway
Baltimore, Maryland 21205-1996
(410) 955-7624; (410) 614-9055 fax
www.publichealthlaw.net

“CDC Collaborating Center Promoting Public Health Through Law”

CORE LEGAL COMPETENCIES
FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
As of September 7, 2001

A.

Introduction

This document presents a statement of Public Health Law Competencies developed by the
Center for Law and the Public’s Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities with
support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the
Public Health Foundation (PHF).
In the preparation of this final statement, the Center received input from a multi-disciplinary
panel of experts that convened on June 19, 2001, multiple respondents to a national electronic
survey conducted by the PHF, and several national public health and public policy organizations,
including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the National
Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the American Public Health
Association (APHA), the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH), and the
National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL).
The Public Health Law Competencies represent a set of law-specific skills and legal knowledge
desirable for the practice of public health. These competencies are intended to serve as guides to
workforce development efforts for public health leaders who have specialized roles related to
public health law, as well as for front-line staff who need a basic understanding of the role of law
in protecting the public’s health.
Public health agencies, professional associations, universities, and continuing education programs
may find these competencies helpful in assessing professional training needs, developing training
and leadership programs, evaluating existing curricula, and improving performance related to
using and understanding public health law.

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B.

Relationship of Public Health Law Competencies to Core Public Health
Competencies

The Public Health Law Competencies are designed to complement the consensus set of Core
Competencies for Public Health Professionals developed in May 2001 by the Council on
Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice
[http://trainingfinder.org/competencies/ comp.pdf]. This document builds upon a decade of work
defining skills and competencies, the literature, and insights from public health practitioners and
academicians. These nationally recognized competencies are linked to the Ten Essential Public
Health Services [www.apha.org/ppp/science/10ES.htm] and will be used widely as a framework
for training and personnel systems. For more information about the core competencies and the
Council on Linkages, visit www.TrainingFinder.org/competencies.
To ensure coordination with the national core competencies (which set forth individual skills
desirable for the delivery of Essential Public Health Services), the Public Health Law
Competencies have been:
1.

compared with the Council’s core competencies to ensure that all core competencies
relevant to law are included. Relevant core competencies are enumerated in separate
columns in the table below by domain and competency number following each public
health law competency; and

2.

stratified according to three levels of public health professionals, similar to the
Council’s core competencies. The table below compares the proposed staff levels for
Public Health Law Competencies to the levels used by the Council. Definitions1 are
included for each staff level.

Professional Categories for Core Public
Health Competencies
Front Line Professional Staff - individuals

Proposed Professional Categories for Public
Health Law Competencies
Front Line Professional Staff (F)

who carry out the bulk of day-to-day public health
tasks (e.g. sanitarians, counselors, nurses and other
clinicians, investigators, lab technicians, health
educators). Responsibilities may include basic data
collection and analysis, fieldwork, program planning,
outreach activities, programmatic support, and other
organizational tasks.

Senior Level Professional Staff - individuals

Senior Level Professional Staff (S)

with a specialized staff function but not serving as

1

. The source for all definitions except “Health Officials and Governance Boards” is Council on Linkages
Between Academia and Public Health, Competencies Project Web Site, Prologue to the Core Competencies,
http://www.trainingfinder.org/competencies/background.htm#prologue (5/9/01).
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Professional Categories for Core Public
Health Competencies

Proposed Professional Categories for Public
Health Law Competencies

managers (e.g. epidemiologists, biostatisticians,
health planners, health policy analysts). They have
increased technical knowledge of principles in areas
such as epidemiology, program planning and
evaluation, data collection, budget development,
grant writing, etc. and may be responsible for
coordination and/or oversight of pieces of projects or
programs.

Supervisory and Management Staff individuals responsible for major programs or
functions of an organization, with staff who report to
them. Increased skills can be expected in program
development, program implementation, program
evaluation, community relations, writing, public
speaking, managing timelines and work plans, and
presenting arguments and recommendations on policy
issues.

Supervisory and Management Staff (e.g.,
program managers) (M)

Health Officials and Governance Boards (O) leaders who have responsibilities to determine or assure
public health agency policies including local or state
public health agency directors, deputy directors, or senior
management staff with agency or jurisdiction-wide policy
responsibilities; local or state board of health members;
and members of legislative or executive branch
organizations that have oversight and policy
responsibilities for public health agencies and systems.

Unlike the Council’s core competencies, the Public Health Law Competencies are not stratified
further within each professional category to indicate the desirable level of proficiency (e.g.,
awareness, knowledgeable, proficient). This allows desired levels of proficiency to be determined
as appropriate to individual profession and specific program responsibilities.

C.
I.

Public Health Law Competencies
Public Health Powers -- Generally

Level(s)

A. Describes the basic legal framework for public health; roles of federal,
state, and local governments; and the relationship between legislatures,
executive agencies, and the courts.
B. Describes the meaning, source of, and scope of states’ powers to
protect the public’s health, safety, and general welfare (aka. police
powers) and to protect the individual from identifiable harm (aka. parens
patriae powers).

3

F

M, O

Related Core
Comp.
2-3

C. Identifies and applies basic provisions of the governmental unit’s
health code and regulations within the particular area of practice (e.g.,
communicable disease control, environmental health, public health
nursing).
D. Describes the scope of statutory and regulatory provisions for
emergency powers.
E. Distinguishes public health agency powers and responsibilities from
those of other governmental agencies, executive offices, police,
legislatures, and courts.

M, O

2-3

O

2-10

O

5-4, 5-8

II.

Level(s)

Related Core
Comp.

A. Describes basic legal processes, such as how legislatures create and
amend laws, how executive officials enforce laws, and how courts make
and interpret laws.
B. Determines procedures for promulgating administrative regulations.
C. Determines procedures for obtaining mandatory or prohibitory
injunctions from a court.
D. Follows administrative procedure laws for conducting investigations,
holding hearings, promulgating regulations, and provisions concerning
open public records.
E. Weighs options and applies, when necessary, processes to address
public health problems through criminal charges for specific behaviors
and civil suits for damages.

O

2-1

O
O

8-7
8-7

M, O

1-6, 3-3

O

2-4, 2-7, 8-7

III.

Level(s)

Regulatory Authority/Administrative Law

Ascertaining Authority/Obtaining Legal Advice

A. Identifies legal issues for which legal advice should be sought and
knows what action to take where legal issues arise, including contacting
legal advisors.
B. Provides factual assistance and states basic legal issues to legal
advisors.
C. Reads and comprehends basic statutory and administrative laws.
D. Recognizes that legal rules do not always specify a course of conduct.
E. Effectively integrates legal information into the exercise of
professional public health judgement.

M, O

Related Core
Comp.
2-1, 2-7

M, O

2-1

M, O
M, O
M, O

2-3
2-3
2-3

F. Develops enforcement strategies consistent with the law and in the
interest of protecting the public’s health.

M, O

IV.

Level(s)

Law and Public Health Services and Functions

A. Describes how law and legal practices contribute to current health
status of the population.
B. Determines how the law can be used as a tool in promoting and
protecting the public’s health.

4

O

Related Core
Comp.
5-8

M, O

2-4

C. Identifies the mechanisms through which law can deter, encourage or
compel health-related behaviors.

M, O

2-5

D. Identifies and exercises legal authorities, responsibilities, and
restrictions to assure or provide health care services to populations.

M, O

5-8

E. Identifies and exercises legal authority over the quality, delivery, and
evaluation of health care services within the agency’s jurisdictions.

M, O

5-8

F. Applies ethical principles to the development, interpretation, and
enforcement of laws.

F, M, O

1-6, 8-1

V.

Level(s)

Related Core
Comp.

Legal Actions

A. Describes how and under what circumstances legal searches of private
premises can be performed.
B. Knows how and under what circumstances legal seizures of private
property for public health purposes can take place.
C. Describes the limits of authority for legally closing private premises.
D. Identifies legal authority for compelling medical treatment or
instituting mandatory screening programs.
E. Knows legal authority for imposing quarantine, isolation, or other
restrictions on the movement or placement of persons.
F. Identifies provisions for the issuance, revocation, or suspension of
licenses, and decides what actions to take to protect the public’s health.

S, M, O

S, M, O

2-3

G. Adheres to confidentiality laws in the collection, maintenance, and
release of data.

S, F, M,
O

1-6

VI.

Level(s)

Legal Limitations

S, M, O
S, M, O
S, M, O
S, M, O

A. Recognizes prominent constitutional rights implicated through the
practice of public health (e.g., freedom of speech, right to assemble,
freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, right to privacy, due
process, equal protection) and the analytic techniques courts use in
enforcing these rights.
B. Recognizes federal, state, and local statutes or ordinances and major
federal or state cases granting rights to individuals and limiting public
health authority.
C. Describes legal protections regarding minors and incompetent
persons.
D. Acknowledges the sources of potential civil and criminal liability of
public health workers

S, M, O

Related Core
Comp.
2-3

S, M, O

2-3

S, M, O

2-3

S, M, O

2-3

VII.

Level(s)

Related Core
Comp.

M, O

2-9, 7-7

Personnel/Contracts Law

A. Implements practices to legally hire, discharge, and discipline
employees.

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B. Applies essential tenets of antidiscrimination laws, such as the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) affecting employment practices
and the delivery of services.
C. Develops contractual terms when contracting for the delivery of
essential public health services that serve to protect the public’s health.

F, M, O

D. Negotiates, develops, complies with, and terminates contracts with
other persons, organizations, and agencies for the provision of essential
public health services.

M, O

6

2-9, 4-1

M, O
7-9