The California Endowment provides funding for PBI’s California Agenda public policy forums

April 12, 2012 - PRLog -- To help improve health outcomes throughout the Central Valley, The California Endowment (TCE) recently awarded a $290,864 grant to the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs (PBI) at California State University, Los Angeles.

The grant will support PBI’s Public Policy Education Program and allow PBI to work closely with TCE’s Building Healthy Community Groups (BHC) to convene California Agenda public policy forums in Fresno and Kern counties, so that multi-sector stakeholders from the area can participate in dialogue about critical health policy issues impacting the neighborhoods..  

“It is important to us that we act as a convener for stakeholders and, more importantly, that we can contribute to awareness of important policy issues impacting quality of life,” said PBI Executive Director Dr. Raphael Sonenshein. “I know former Governor Pat Brown would have been proud PBI is spreading its wings to the Central Valley.”

PBI will create a Community Advisory Board consisting of stakeholders from Fresno and Kern counties. The Institute will solicit their expertise on identifying health-related policy issues of importance, speakers and additional matters, in order to hold four public policy forums annually that attract a diverse audience of community leaders.  

To reach a wider audience and increase the visibility of each forum, PBI will distribute public policy forum briefs after each event that describe and assess the issue discussed and include viable recommendations and strategic actions that contribute toward improving health outcomes throughout the Central Valley.  

PBI will also prepare the State of the San Joaquin Valley Region Report, which will utilize current demographic data and research related to major health policy issues impacting Central California.  

The project will culminate with the 21st annual California Policy Issues Conference in 2013, where elected public officials, scholars, policy and decision makers, community leaders, BHC leaders and local youth converge and address the most pressing topics impacting the area as illuminated by the forum series.

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