Local Health Departments' Spending on the Foundational Capabilities

Abstract

Improving our nation's public health system requires a detailed understanding of public health expenditures and related revenue sources, yet no comprehensive data source exists that contains such information for governmental health agencies at all levels. Using pilot study data of a standardized financial accounting framework for public health agencies-in the form of a uniform chart of accounts crosswalk-this article presents local health departments' (LHDs') expenditures on the foundational capabilities, that is, crosscutting skills and capacities needed to support all of an LHD's programs and activities. Among 16 sample LHDs from 4 states, per capita foundational capabilities spending ranged from $1.10 to $26.19, with a median of $7.67. Larger LHDs and LHDs with greater financial resources spent more per capita, as did accredited LHDs. Future work using data from a larger sample of LHDs is needed to examine agency and community-level characteristics associated with adequate funding for the foundational capabilities.