National Voluntary Accreditation for Public Health Departments

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is supporting the implementation of a national voluntary accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments. The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), a nonprofit 501(c)3 entity, serves as the independent accrediting body. PHAB led the development and testing activities, with significant participation from local, tribal, state, and national leaders and launched the national accreditation program on September 14, 2011. PHAB began accrediting health departments in 2013.

Key Resources

Public Health Accreditation Board Website
Standards, accreditation guidance, and other resources to help health departments with national accreditation efforts

National Voluntary Accreditation for Public Health Departments [PDF – 153 KB]
CDC fact sheet

Evaluating the Impact of National Public Health Department Accreditation—United States, 2016
MMWR report that describes the range of benefits of accreditation reported by health departments, including improvements in quality and performance

Impact of Public Health Accreditation
Journal issue featuring scientific articles, case studies, and commentaries about the impact of public health accreditation (Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, May/June 2018)

CDC Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and Inclusion of Accreditation-Related Language [PDF – 267 KB]
Describes the accreditation-related language in CDC NOFOs

Accreditation Support Initiative

Accreditation Support Initiative [PDF – 230KB]
CDC supports national partners in funding local, tribal, and territorial health departments to undertake accreditation readiness activities. Sites are selected through competitive application processes. Since 2011, a total of 268 awards have been funded. More information about each initiative can be found through the organizations that coordinate each process:

Advancing Public Health: The Story of the National Public Health Improvement Initiative

This compendium [PDF – 12.3MB] describes how public health departments used National Public Health Improvement Initiative funding for accreditation readiness and other performance improvement activities.