Public health liaison highlights statewide partnerships, Healthy Youth Survey challenges and prevention priorities
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Summary
Public health liaison Kristen Haley described partnerships with the Department of Health, Traffic Safety Commission participation, Healthy Youth Survey coordination challenges, and top priorities including cannabis packaging/labeling and high‑THC work groups.
Kristen Haley, the agency's public health education liaison, told the executive management team she has been working closely with the Washington State Department of Health and other state and local partners to support public health campaigns for cannabis, tobacco and vaping.
Haley said agency partnerships have enabled the creation of a Washington‑specific pamphlet on using cannabis safely, developed with DOH campaign staff and their ad agency, and credited collaborative relationships for helping sustain prevention work despite staff layoffs and funding cuts elsewhere.
She described her role in a multi‑state Traffic Safety Commission training and participation in a Fatal Case Review group that examines impaired‑driving fatalities to identify systems changes that could prevent future deaths. Haley said these interdisciplinary reviews bring together state and local partners — including Department of Licensing, Department of Transportation, State Patrol and judicial officials — to produce actionable recommendations for policy and practice.
On challenges, Haley said the Healthy Youth Survey is a valuable but complex tool because four agencies must agree to survey decisions; she recounted the survey's joint governance and noted operational problems have, at times, required live troubleshooting (for example, a Microsoft global outage during administration).
Haley listed priorities for 2026 that include continuing packaging and labeling work for cannabis, sustaining high‑THC policy discussions, completing the alcohol product placement rule with public health input, and planning three roundtables (two public health/prevention only, one combined with cannabis). She said a packaging and labeling work group will resume after the legislative session with the aim of proposing a rules package to the rules team.
Board members commended the partnerships and the pamphlet work with DOH; Haley said she will continue coordinating with public health partners as rule and policy work advances.
