Lawrence public health officials outline five‑year Community Health Improvement Plan, invite city alignment

Lawrence‑Douglas County Public Health presented its Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to the Lawrence City Commission on June 10, 2025, describing six focus areas — access to health services, behavioral health, anti‑poverty, birth outcomes, food security and housing — and asking the city to consider formally aligning staff and policy work with the plan.

"The Community Health Improvement Plan is a roadmap for advancing health and well‑being in our community," Jonathan Smith, executive director of Lawrence‑Douglas County Public Health, said during the presentation. The department said the CHIP was developed after a community health assessment and an engaged, multi‑partner planning process and launched in October 2024 with implementation and evaluation through 2029.

The plan organizes work under measurable objectives and evidence‑based strategies. Dr. Vicki Cali Akers, director of policy and planning at Lawrence‑Douglas County Public Health, said the assessment that informed the CHIP is a "comprehensive 145 page document" and that more than 1,000 Douglas County residents completed the department survey used to shape priorities. The CHIP’s steering committee includes more than 20 community leaders and conveners across health care, social services and housing.

Key targets and strategies cited in the presentation include a county‑level goal to reduce the unsheltered point‑in‑time (PIT) count by 50% by 2027 and a plan to provide up to 65 low‑barrier shelter beds for women and families; a goal to reduce food insecurity from 11.5% to 10.5% through improved program awareness, pantry capacity and transportation supports; and behavioral‑health objectives such as decreasing age‑adjusted suicide mortality, reducing drug‑overdose mortality and integrating housing with behavioral‑health supports.

Commissioners asked for details on how particular objectives will be advanced. Commissioner Sellers asked whether the CHIP includes a plan to reduce chronic absenteeism in Douglas County schools; Smith said the health department is working with USD 497 and representatives from other districts and that school district staff are included on the CHIP steering committee. Smith said conveners for each focus area and work groups will collaborate with local partners, and that the department expects annual community progress gatherings so conveners can report outcomes and challenges.

Presenters described policy and coordination tools the CHIP will use: an equity‑centered framework for strategies (remove, repair, remediate, restructure, support), a Health‑in‑All‑Policies subcommittee to develop policy briefs and impact statements, and a CHIP action network of the hundreds of community members and organizations who participated in planning. Smith also suggested specific avenues for city engagement, including formal adoption of the CHIP, city staff participation on CHIP work groups and advancing city policies that support CHIP goals (he cited "tobacco retail" as an example topic for future conversation).

Funding for CHIP activities, the presenters said, will come from a mix of existing operating budgets, targeted grants and program resources held by participating agencies; some strategies already have or are seeking local, state and federal grant support. Presenters emphasized the plan intentionally avoids assigning new, sole responsibilities to partners and instead aligns existing agency work under shared objectives.

Commissioners broadly praised the cross‑sector approach and the side‑by‑side slides that aligned CHIP objectives to the City of Lawrence strategic plan. Commissioners asked that annual updates include clear statements of barriers to progress and asked staff to identify what local actions require state or federal policy changes. Commissioners also discussed workforce and program capacity issues in behavioral health and child care as obstacles that will require broader funding and policy solutions.

No formal motion to adopt the CHIP by the commission was introduced during the meeting; presenters asked the commission to consider formal adoption and greater city engagement in upcoming work groups.

The health department said next steps include convening annual public progress meetings, standing up the Health‑in‑All‑Policies subcommittee and the CHIP action network, and coordinating with city staff on potential formal adoption and staff participation in implementation work groups.

The presentation and discussion occupied the work‑session segment of the June 10 meeting; several commissioners thanked public health staff for the presentation and signaled interest in continued coordination.