Los Angeles Briefs: Public Health Introduces Enhanced Community Health Profiles; City Department Vacancy Hearings Concluded

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Unveils Enhanced Community Health Profiles 

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health launched its latest community health profiles. These profiles provide key data on over 100 indicators affecting health and wellbeing for 179 communities within Los Angeles County. The profiles emphasize the significant role local environments play in influencing health outcomes, with data intended to fuel improvements in community conditions and resident health.

The new community health profiles are the most geographically expansive to date, covering the majority of Los Angeles County, including incorporated cities, unincorporated areas, service planning areas, supervisorial districts, and Los Angeles City neighborhoods and council districts with populations over 20,000, based on 2022 population estimates.

The Community Health Profiles data are categorized into 11 thematic areas, representing the most recent and relevant statistics available, offering a snapshot of the health and wellness for communities across the county.

The community health profiles also highlight stark disparities and inequities among LA county communities, revealing differences in health outcomes that depend heavily on where residents live within the county. For example, substantial variation can be seen in the rates of chronic conditions, such as the percentage of adults with obesity. However, the community health profiles data also provide insight into the social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape these disparities. 

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Community-health-profiles 

LA City Personnel Committee Finishes Series of Hearings on City Department Vacancies

LOS ANGELES — Councilmember Tim McOsker and the personnel, audits and hiring committee concluded a series of hearings April 24 focused on city department vacancies. The first hearing took place Feb. 28, followed by four subsequent sessions over the past two months.

“With these hearings, it was my intention to identify vacancies by job function in each department and bureau of the City and translate that information in terms of the effect on delivery and quality of services for constituents,” said Councilmember McOsker. “I recognize that the employee base and salary accounts are central to our Budget Committee hearings over the next month, and as the Chair of the Personnel Committee, it’s important to me that we have the most up to date numbers on vacancies and to hear from the department managers on what it means for our city services.”

According to the city administrative officer, since March 31, 2020, the vacancy rate has been consistently growing. The city is currently experiencing the highest vacancy rates in at least the last 15 years.

In December 2023, McOsker introduced a motion with council president Paul Krekorian to instruct all city departments to provide a list of vacancies by classification and programs, identify how these positions are funded (ie. special funds, fee-supported or general fund) and the impact of these vacancies to the respective departments and programs.

The personnel, audits and hiring committee hearings were broken into five categories, based on type of services and functions: proprietary; public safety; administrative services; public works/infrastructure; and social services. According to the city administrative officer, there are 3,599 vacant positions within the city of Los Angeles departments.

During the proprietary departments hearing, the Department of Water and Power shared that of the 11,848 positions funded from the last fiscal year, 11,334 were occupied with a vacancy rate of 6%. Comparatively, during the public works/infrastructure hearing, the Department of Transportation reported that they have 335 vacant positions, or an 18% vacancy rate. The Department of Recreation and Parks during the social services hearing has a vacancy rate of 23.1% and, 65.3% of those positions were vacated in the past two years.

At the public safety hearing, LAFD documented a 22% vacancy rate with a total of 94 vacant civilian positions. The Emergency Management Division has 34 authorized positions with only 2 vacant positions. Finally, during the administrative services hearing, the information technology agency shared it has 94 vacant positions with a vacancy rate of 20%. 29 of these vacant positions have a direct impact on public safety communications including police, fire, and medical communications between each other, supervisors, and 9-1-1 Dispatch.

There are multiple systemic barriers that have made it a challenge to recruit qualified candidates and retain them as permanent employees. McOsker’s intention with these hearings was to illustrate the various needs and analyze the effects on key public services that serve the residents of Los Angeles.

These hearings will allow the city to prioritize recruitment in key positions throughout this year and prepare for challenges in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year as budget committee deliberations begin next week.