|
Abstract: The Turning Point Model State Public Health Act (the "Turning Point Act") is the most comprehensive model public health law ever drafted in the United States. The Turning Point Act was drafted by the Turning Point Public Health Statute Modernization National Collaborative, a partnership of public health practitioners and representatives from federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, and national public health organizations. Its provisions include constitutionally and ethically sound bases for state and local public health agency infrastructure, power, practice, and safeguards. Rather than presenting strict mandates, the Act offers a menu of provisions for state and local officials to use voluntarily to assess their existing statutory and regulatory public health laws. This article explains how law (principally statutory law) can be a tool for improving public health infrastructure and outcomes, and discusses existing needs for public health reform. This article also discusses the provisions of the Turning Point Act, explains why they are important, and assesses how the model law can and is actively being used by public health practitioners.
|