Office of Minority Health reports staffing rebuild, interactive data tools and $4.4M in FY24 community grants

Camille Blake Pfau, director of the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MHHD), told the House Health and Government Operations Committee she has rebuilt the office's capacity after prior turnover, resolved FY24 grant funding problems and is focusing the office's activity on data tools, community engagement and a health equity framework.

Blake Pfau said the office currently operates with seven staff positions (including the director and one contractual position), and that resolving grant-delivery problems in FY24 required rehiring four staff members early in her term. She said MHHD administered roughly $4.4 million in FY24 through 41 awards to 32 organizations.

Data, community engagement and strategic framing

- Data dashboards and report card: MHHD reported that the department's chief data officer has built an interactive public dashboard that allows users to slice data by ZIP code, age and other variables for topics including overdose, biosurveillance and cannabis; firearm violence and women's health were listed as coming soon. The office is also developing an interactive health disparities report card required by statute; MHHD said an initial version has been circulated for review and is being iterated.

- Health equity definition and framework: Blake Pfau said MDH has never had a standardized, state-level definition of health equity and that MHHD's collaborative work is producing a Maryland-specific definition for MDH use. The office is finalizing a health equity framework adapted from the Maryland Commission on Health Equity's work and plans to publish it within the department.

- Health Equity Liaisons Collaborative and community engagement: MHHD described a 24-member internal MDH Health Equity Liaisons Collaborative composed of staff across state hospitals, local health departments and MDH administrations to embed equity work across the department. The office said it is drafting a comprehensive community engagement strategy to improve how MDH solicits and uses community input.

Grants, training and workforce

- Grants and technical assistance: The office runs three grant programs (minority outreach and technical assistance; social determinants of health; and epidemiology and laboratory capacity through ELC/COVID funding). MHHD said ELC COVID dollars will end in 2026. The office provides quarterly technical assistance for grantees and has reinstated grantmaking operations after the FY24 issues.

- Workforce and training: MHHD has offered implicit-bias training for MDH employees (via federal public health infrastructure funds), participates in an underrepresented behavioral health professionals work group, and plans to hire a grant writer to expand federal grant-seeking and to provide written-application assistance to community-based organizations.

Statutory duties and follow-up requests

Blake Pfau reminded the committee that the office carries numerous statutory responsibilities from its 2004 authorizing law (the committee heard that the statute contains about two dozen discrete "shall" mandates). She said MHHD is prioritizing those tasks while also working within staffing limits and coordinating with MDH leadership.

Ending: The director requested continued legislative support and offered to provide the committee with the FY24 annual report and follow-up material on grantee results, the health equity definition and the interactive data tools. Committee members asked the office to seek partnerships with academic centers and community groups and to return with additional detail on grantee outcomes and proposed staffing expansions.