How Do Health Departments Implement & Enforce the Law? Overview of Administrative Law: Part 3

The final installment of our three-part training series on administrative law explains best practices for health departments in issuing permits and licenses, conducting investigations and inspections, and enforcing public health laws. This free training also discusses how health departments can engage community members and promote health equity while carrying out these regulatory activities.

The course is designed to benefit anyone who works in or with health departments. Before you take this training, we encourage you to watch Parts 1 and 2 of the series, which lay the groundwork for the discussion in this course. Part 1 answers the question “What legal powers do health departments have?” Part 2 answers the question “How do health departments create regulations, policies, and guidance documents?”

Part 3 continues the discussion of how administrative law plays out in actual practice in state and local health departments, focusing on implementation and enforcement.

After completing this training, you will be able to

• Describe the purpose and function of permits and licenses and the administrative law principles that guide when and how health departments can issue them;
• Identify and implement strategies to make licensing more equitable;
• Explain key legal and equity considerations for health departments when conducting investigations and inspections;
• Explain how health departments enforce public health laws by issuing citations and participating in administrative hearings; and
• Define equitable enforcement and explain how it can be operationalized in health departments’ day-to-day work.

If you are a TRAIN user, please register through TRAIN. To learn more about earning the Public Health Law Academy Certificate, see the complete training plan. This training is current as of August 2021.

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