Connecticut Office Of Multicultural Health

State Health Agency Paper

Josh

HCS ***

Professor *****

12/04/2005

Many states have offices of minority health. They have various titles; some are established as official minority health entities (such as an office, commission, council, center, branch, project or other unit) through either executive or legislative branch action. Other states have designated minority health contacts but no official office or commission. Other states have no specified minority health contacts. The Sate of Connecticut has the Office of Multicultural Health.

The office of Multicultural Health (OMCH) was established by State statute in Connecticut in 1998. OMCH is part of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. OMCH was created to improve the health of all Connecticut residents by eliminating differences in disease, disability, and death rates among ethnic, racial, and cultural populations (omch statutes a ¶ 1). In doing so, the office monitors the health status of African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. The results of the health status monitoring are then compared with the health status of non-Hispanic Caucasians/whites (omch statutes c ¶ 1A).

There are a number of functions that must be attended to in order for the office to properly carry out its public health mission. One of the office's responsibilities is to maintain a directory of any multicultural and multiethnic health resources in Connecticut. This gives access to different health centers or organizations for anyone interested in multicultural care. OMCH also holds the right to provide grants for culturally appropriate health education demonstration projects. The office may also apply for, accept and expend public and private funding for such projects (omch statutes d ¶ 1). OMCH stays in touch with the health of the state minorities is through assessing the effectiveness of state programs designed to help eliminate differences in health status. The office recommends policies, procedures, activities and resource allocations to improve health among Connecticut residents (omch statutes d ¶ 2). The Connecticut Department of Public Health can also apply for, accept, and spend available federal, state, and other funds, and enter into contracts in order to carry out the office's responsibilities (2 ¶ 1).

The constituencies served by the agency are all residents of the state of Connecticut. According to the Office of Multicultural Health Website, the official mission statement is as follows:

"The mission of the Office of Multicultural Health (OMCH) is to improve the health of all state residents in Connecticut."

The Commissioner of Public Health submits an annual report which contains all of the activities of the office for the year to many different parties. They are the office of the Governor, the General Assembly, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women established under section 46a-1 of the general statutes, the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission established under section 2-120 of the general statutes, the Indian Affairs Council established under section 47-59b of the general statutes and the Connecticut African-American Affairs Commission (omch statutes d ¶ 2). The office also holds community workshops to disseminate its findings statewide.

The overall structure of the office is very diverse. The members of the office are from a wide variety of backgrounds and appointed by a wide variety of leaders. From the Office of Multicultural Health statutes web page (dph.state.ct.us/OMCH/omchstatutes.htm), the office is comprised of the following members:

(1) One member appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall be a member of [the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly] an affiliate of the National Urban League, Inc.;

(2) One member appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People;

(3) One member appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a member of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly;

[(3)] (4) One member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be a representative of an advocacy group for Native Americans;

[(4)] (5) One member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a representative of an advocacy group for Asian-Americans;

[(5)] (6) One member appointed by the [Governor] majority leader of the Senate, who shall be a representative of an advocacy group for Hispanics;

[(6)] (7) The chairperson of the Connecticut African-American Affairs Commission;

[(7)] (8) The chairperson of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission;

[(8)] (9) The chairperson of the Statewide Multicultural Health Steering Committee;

[(9)] (10) The chairperson of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, or the chairperson's designee; and

[(10)] (11) Eight members of the public, representing diverse multicultural and multiethnic backgrounds, two of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, two of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, two of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, and two of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

The advisory commission meets quarterly to report its activities to the Commissioner of Public Health and the director of the Office of Multicultural Health within the Department of Public Health. The activities reported are those related to the preparation and implementation of its reports and strategic plans to improve the health of Connecticut residents.

An OMCH publication, the Multicultural Health Resource Directory, was published