Resources & Tools

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) regularly conducts a Profile study to gather information about state and territorial public health agency activities, structure, and resources. Among other elements, the Profile study reports data on how many state health departments have used the Core Competencies for a variety of workforce development purposes. View the ASTHO Profile of State and Territorial Public Health.

To determine areas in which to focus workforce development efforts, Denver Public Health (CO) conducts an annual Core Competency survey. Using the Modified Version of the Core Competencies and the process described in Determining Essential Core Competences for Public Health Jobs: A Prioritization Process, Denver Public Health identified essential competencies for various job classifications within the organization, as well as organization-wide competencies, and tailored the language of the competencies to staff needs. Staff assess themselves based on the relevant competencies for their job classification, and results guide the development of a workforce development plan, among other activities. To learn more, watch the archived webinar or view Denver Public Health’s workforce development plan.

Healthy People provides national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Within the Public Health Infrastructure area, Healthy People 2020 sets and tracks goals for use of the Core Competencies by public health agencies in job descriptions and performance evaluations, use of the Core Competencies for continuing education for public health agency employees, and integration of the Core Competencies into academic curricula. View the Healthy People 2030 Public Health Infrastructure objectives.

The Montana Public Health and Human Services Public Health and Safety Division conducted an assessment using a modified version of the Core Competencies to measure the competency of its workforce and determine training and educational priorities for its employees. This report summarizes the findings of the assessment. View the report.

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) regularly conducts a Profile study to gather information on local health department funding, workforce, programs, and partnerships. Among other elements, the Profile study reports data on how many local health departments have used the Core Competencies for a variety of workforce development purposes. View the National Profile of Local Health Departments.

Wyoming Department of Health Public Health Division conducts a workforce training assessment to assess staff competency levels and identify possible training needs. In addition to assessing knowledge and skills related to the Core Competencies, the workforce training assessment survey gathers information about Core Competencies priorities for specific positions, allowing for the three-step competency prioritization process to be completed in an automated way. A customized report is generated for each staff member based on their responses to the survey. View the Tier 2 Workforce Training Assessment and a template for the customized report.

• Archived Webinar: Determining Essential Core Competencies for Job Positions
• Competency Assessments for Public Health Professionals
• Determining Essential Core Competencies for Public Health Jobs: A Prioritization Process

The Council on Education for Public Health sets the accreditation criteria for schools of public health and public health programs. The October 2016 version of the Accreditation Criteria: Schools of Public Health & Public Health Programs includes MPH and DrPH Foundational Competencies. The Core Competencies were used to inform the development of these competencies. View the accreditation criteria.

The Community/Public Health Nursing Competencies reflect the competencies required for the practice of public health nursing and can be used by public health nurses from entry-level to senior management/leadership in a variety of practice settings. Developed by the Quad Council Coalition of Public Health Nursing Organizations, these competencies are based on the Core Competencies and are organized using the same eight domains and three tiers as the Core Competencies. View the competencies. 

The Competencies for Applied Epidemiologists in Governmental Public Health Agencies define competencies for practicing epidemiologists. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists developed these competencies to improve the practice of epidemiology within the public health system. Created within the context of the Core Competencies, the competencies follow the eight domain structure, but the order of the domains differs, and some domain titles were slightly modified. An additional tier was also added to include competencies for senior scientists/subject matter experts. View the competencies. 

The Competencies for Performance Improvement Professionals in Public Health are a set of skills desirable for performance improvement (PI) professionals working in public health. Developed by the Public Health Foundation, these competencies were developed to offer additional guidance in PI for public health professionals with responsibilities related to developing or implementing plans and activities in the areas of quality improvement, performance management, workforce development, accreditation readiness, or community health assessment and improvement planning. The competencies are designed to be used in conjunction with the Core Competencies and are organized using the same domain structure. View the competencies. 

The Competencies for Population Health Professionals are a set of skills desirable for population health professionals. Developed by the Public Health Foundation, these competencies are primarily designed for hospital, health system, public health, healthcare, and other professionals engaged in assessment of population health needs and development, delivery, and improvement of population health programs, services, and practices. The competencies were developed using the Core Competencies as a base and are aligned with the Core Competencies. View the competencies. 

The Competencies for Public Health Informaticians are a set of competencies for professionals working in public health informatics. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with the Association of Schools of Public Health and the University of Washington Center for Public Health Informatics, these competencies were created within the context of the Core Competencies by adding an additional domain to supplement the eight domains within the Core Competencies.  View the competencies. 

The Competency Guidelines for Public Health Laboratory Professionals describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities for public health laboratory professionals to deliver core services of public health laboratories. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Public Health Laboratories, with the engagement of subject matter experts from state and local public health laboratories, clinical laboratories, academic institutions, and laboratory professional organizations, these guidelines were mapped against the Core Competencies, in addition to other sets of competencies, to assess congruence with these materials and identify gaps in the draft public health laboratory competency domains. View the competencies. 

The Core Competencies for Performance Improvement Managers are a set of competencies for public health professionals working as Performance Improvement Managers (PIMs). Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) partner organizations, these competencies are based on the Core Competencies and were designed to guide NPHII professional development activities to help build the skills of PIMs. View the competencies. 

NACCHO collaborated with WE Public Health to develop a tool to build LHD staff competency and equip them with the knowledge, skills, abilities, processes, and resources necessary to effectively prevent, respond to, and monitor HAI/AR in their jurisdictions. The resulting competency training workbook offers intended users a rich repository of relevant information, training, and resources, significantly expanding your LHD’s capacity to combat HAI/AR. The workbook also unifies essential HAI/AR competencies into one comprehensive resource and addresses gaps in existing frameworks with the inclusion of a dedicated section on health equity. Download the training workbook.

Developed by a national committee comprised of disability and public health experts convened by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Including People with Disabilities: Public Health Workforce Competencies outline recent advances in knowledge and practice skills that public health professionals need to include people with disabilities in the core public health functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance. These competencies align with and complement the Core Competencies and other existing sets of public health competencies. View the competencies. 

The Legal Epidemiology Competency Model Version 1.0 provides guidelines for minimum competencies in legal epidemiology and is designed for public health practitioners, lawyers, and policy experts working in state, tribal, local, or territorial health departments. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Law Program, this competency model is meant to reflect the practice of legal epidemiology. The model is organized into three tiers to reflect stages of legal epidemiology career development that closely mirror the three tiers of the Core Competencies. View the competency model. 

The Public Health Law Competency Model: Version 1.0 offers a framework for the knowledge, skills, and abilities expected of public health practitioners in public health law. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Law Program, this competency model is intended to describe broadly accepted guidelines for minimum competencies in law needed by public health practitioners working in state, tribal, local, or territorial health departments. The model is organized using the same three tiers as the Core Competencies. View the competency model. 

Columbus Public Health (OH) developed a guide for creating functional public health competency-based job descriptions that describe the essential functions, qualifications, and competencies for positions within the organization. The guide provides instructions for developing a job description, including incorporating competencies and selecting the Core Competencies tier that is most relevant to the position. Competencies may be selected at four levels described in the competency framework used by Columbus Public Health, with the Core Competencies being the primary public health competencies used for all employees when documenting job-specific competencies. View the guide.  

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice maintains a collection of job descriptions that incorporate the Core Competencies. This collection includes more than 35 examples of competency-based job descriptions and resources used to develop them to assist organizations in incorporating the Core Competencies into their own job descriptions. View the collection. 

• Public Health Improvement Training Presentation 2023: Workforce Development Design Can be Fun: Aligning Job Descriptions and Workforce Competencies  
• Archived Webinar: Determining Essential Core Competencies for Job Positions 
• Determining Essential Core Competencies for Public Health Jobs: A Prioritization Process 
• Workshop: Aligning Job Descriptions with Core Competencies 

Denver Public Health (CO) operates a mentoring program to support staff performance, development, and engagement. Within this yearlong program, mentoring relationships are created with an emphasis on the Core Competencies domains, and mentors and mentees are expected to meet at least monthly from October through June. To learn more, view Denver Public Health’s workforce development plan. 

Staff at Denver Public Health (CO) participate in an annual Core Competency survey that assesses their knowledge or ability related to a set of competencies based on the Modified Version of the Core Competencies that is tailored to their job classification. Personalized assessment results are provided to individual employees and their managers to inform the creation of professional development goals. A coaching guide was developed and provided to managers to help facilitate this process. To learn more, view Denver Public Health’s workforce development plan. 

Powered by the Public Health Foundation, the TRAIN Learning Network provides public health, healthcare, behavioral health, preparedness, and other health professionals with one-stop access to thousands of trainings, many of which are competency-based. The Core Competencies are integrated into TRAIN, allowing learners to search for courses aligned with specific tiers, domains, or competencies within the Core Competencies and TRAIN partners and training providers to provide competency-based professional development for public health professionals. Access the TRAIN Learning Network. 

The MCH Navigator is a centralized portal for pursuing continuous learning in maternal and child health (MCH) and is designed to help emerging and established MCH professionals and students map professional growth pathways.

Trainings by Core Public Health Competency

Use this resource to find learning opportunities related to specific knowledge and skill sets identified for each of the Core Public Health Competencies.

At Nevada County Public Health (CA), employees complete a staff competency assessment based on the Core Competencies, which informs individual staff training plans. These individual training plans are included in employees’ professional development plans, which form part of annual performance reviews. Areas for improvement, development, or growth are identified in the individual training/professional development plans, and supervisors work with employees to identify competency-based training to meet those needs. Employees track completion of training and can do so using a simple training log. To learn more, view the Professional Development and Training Plan, access the Individual Training Log, or review the Process section of Nevada County Public Health’s workforce development plan. 

Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Regional Public Health Training Centers  collectively represent the nation’s most comprehensive resource for public health workforce development.  Find your Regional Public Health Training Center for high-quality training and support developed specifically to meet your local workforce development needs.

The Safe States Alliance offers workforce development opportunities through its Training Center. Workforce development opportunities are mapped to the Core Competencies, with courses listing the domains within the Core Competencies that are relevant to the training. Learners can search the Training Center’s online clearinghouse by Core Competencies domain to access competency-based training opportunities. Access the Training Center. 

Wichita State University (KS) offers badge courses that introduce students to workplace skills that are in demand by employers. The Care of Populations badges focus on public health and are organized using domains within the Core Competencies. Access the badge courses. 

• Competency to Curriculum Toolkit 
• Guide to Improving and Measuring the Impact of Training 

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice maintains a collection of workforce development plans that incorporate the Core Competencies. This collection includes more than 20 examples of competency-based workforce development plans and resources used to develop them to assist organizations in incorporating the Core Competencies into their own workforce development plans. View the collection.

In late 2023 and early 2024, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) implemented the initiatives outlined in its 2021 strategic plan. Ensuring authentic and impactful efforts to dismantle racism were included in its policies and programs. To do so, MHD worked with the Public Health Foundation to engage a Prioritization Process using both the Core Competencies and the Racial Justice Competencies for Public Health Professionals. Deliberately and meaningfully integrating anti-racist frameworks and core competencies to build organizational structure and staff development creates the essential building blocks of dismantling racism in our communities. View the video to learn more about the process taken by MHD!

Denver Public Health (CO) established a Workforce Development Committee to foster a culture of professional development for all employees. Among its activities, the Workforce Development Committee is responsible for fully implementing the Core Competencies, including identifying areas in which to focus improvement efforts, conducting an annual Core Competency Survey, and recommending organization-wide training opportunities. The committee is limited to 12 members, members are selected through an open application process and commit to serving a minimum of two years, and the committee meets monthly. To learn more, view Denver Public Health’s workforce development plan. 

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) sets the standards for national public health department accreditation. The PHAB Standards & Measures Version 1.5 details the standards and measures that must be met by health departments for initial accreditation. To receive accreditation, one item health departments must provide is a workforce development plan that includes an assessment of staff competencies. The Core Competencies are referenced within the Standards & Measures Version 1.5 as the example of nationally adopted core competencies. View the PHAB Standards & Measures. 

The Region V Public Health Training Center conducts training needs assessments each year to inform training development. Findings from the training needs assessments inform the development of trainings that address the strategic skill domains identified by the de Beaumont Foundation in their 2021 report, Adapting and Aligning Public Health Strategic Skills, as well as the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals. The RVPHTC administered a training needs assessment survey to Region V’s local health departments (LHDs) in Fall 2023. View the dashboard to explore the data by state, urban/ rural, staff size, size of population served, and strategic skill domain or download the report to learn more.  

• Archived Webinar: Determining Essential Core Competencies for Job Positions 
• Determining Essential Core Competencies for Public Health Jobs: A Prioritization Process 
• Workshop: Developing a Workforce Development Plan