People sit 6 ft apart in chalk hearts on a grassy park lawn with San Francisco’s Painted Ladies and skyline in the background at sunset.

Aligning public funding and state and local systems for a just recovery in California (Core Support)

Building momentum and capacity to embed health equity within state and local policies, systems, and public funding programs

We envision a California where health, safety, and wellbeing are shaped by structural conditions that support health equity and racial justice. From June 2023 to May 2025, we are partnering with local power-building organizations, statewide advocates, and governmental allies to build momentum and capacity to embed health equity within state and local policies, systems, and public funding programs. This work helps spur long-term investments that strengthen community conditions and advance a just and equitable recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the national uprising for Black lives exposed deep inequities across California’s systems—from labor protections and housing to environmental conditions. These impacts are not felt evenly: Black and Latine Californians experience disproportionately higher COVID-19 case rates and deaths, and communities with lower incomes face significantly greater risks and barriers. As one of the most racially diverse states in the nation, California’s recovery depends on addressing the longstanding structural inequities that limit opportunity and material resources for Black, Indigenous, Latine, and other communities of color. Through this work, we contribute to statewide transformation by strengthening equitable investments, addressing systemic barriers, and rebuilding a public health ecosystem capable of delivering equitable outcomes.

Primary activities:

Expanding California’s public health infrastructure and funding beyond governmental systems to achieve equitable outcomes by promoting recommendations from Centering Racial Justice to Strengthen the Public Health Ecosystem: Lessons from COVID-19 supporting equity-focused public health investments; strengthening data practices; and advancing community-led partnerships.

Fixing systemic barriers to health equity and racial justice by partnering with governmental leaders and advocates to embed equity into state-level procedures, budgeting, and decision-making processes—informed by the dual lenses outlined in Building Bridges: The Strategic Imperative for Advancing Health Equity & Racial Justice.