Purpose: The Approach

The healthy community initiatives across the state of Texas was created to utilize the CDC budget most efficiently. Texas is the second largest state in the US, and has a population of 22.9 million people living in 254 counties over more than 268,500 square miles. Given the expansiveness of the state and the limited program budget, it was not feasible to propose a plan that included frequent intense and on-site support. Therefore, the planners decided on a three-pronged approach to maximize efforts to reach as many communities as possible.

1. Lessons learned and techniques implemented by four previously CDC-funded Texas Steps Programs (Steps to a Healthier US Cooperative Agreement) and ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation and Environmental Change) will be used to guide the development of other Texas Healthy Community projects.

2. Planners will identify two Texas communities poised for change and provide in-depth technical assistance to develop their healthy community initiatives.

3. Planners will create a statewide interactive exchange to include regular communications (via email, conference calls, etc.) and an instructive website providing assistance to other communities for development and implementation of strategies addressing the goals of the Healthy Community initiative. Training and development will be offered in addition to the regular guidance provided for the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program staff.