The American Public Health Association’s Community Transformation Grant (CTG) Program was granted approval in September 2013 to distribute up to 10 awards, ranging from $5,000 to 10,000 to APHA Affiliates within CTG implementation states and communities.  APHA’s CTG Program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This opportunity required a very quick response and the ability to produce an end product in a relatively short period of time.  APHA is committed to supporting its Affiliates and leveraging resources to build capacity. 

APHA requested proposed projects from Affiliates willing to partner with their local health department or CTG grantee to produce a webinar, toolkit and/or printed materials related to strategies in any of the three CTG priority areas of healthy eating, active living or tobacco control. 

Proposals were to reflect a partnership with the health department or local CTG grantee and be related to CTG best practices or strategies for policy and systems change that are being implemented at the community level, or activities at the state level that are being used to enhance community level change. APHA was interested in funding proposals that can be promoted nationally, and would have transferrable knowledge.  As a National Network Dissemination Grantee, APHA’s CTG Program will work with funded projects to promote the activity or final products at the national level. 

RESPONSE

The Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) responded to the APHA CTG program announcement by partnering with the Austin-Travis County Health and Human Services (ATCHHS) Department, a direct CDC CTG grantee. The activity hosted a webinar highlighting the success ATCHHS has had with worksites in Travis County to develop tobacco-free campus policies. The objectives of the webinar were stated as:

Governmental, non-profit and for profit groups will have an increased knowledge, skill and ability to:

1)    Make a successful business case for tobacco-free worksites

2)    Work effectively with worksite staff on identifying appropriate and successful tobacco-free policies in their worksite

3)    Support worksite staff in engaging community partners in implementing chosen tobacco-free policies.