Administrative law touches nearly every aspect of modern life, and many areas of public health practice are, in fact, specialized fields of administrative law. Administrative law guides the regulation of food safety, water quality, housing conditions, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, occupational safety and health, and medical practice, among other areas. It governs implementation and enforcement of public health policies and programs from retail licensing and lead paint inspections to quarantine orders and eligibility and disbursement decisions for public benefits like Medicaid and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Ultimately, state, tribal, local, and territorial health agencies exercise extensive powers vis-à-vis individuals and private entities.

Because of the reach and intensity of these powers and the possibility of severe infringement on the rights of individuals, it is important for public health practitioners to understand administrative law and recognize key principles and procedural rules when exercising public health powers. This perspective informs the latest set of Public Health Law Academy courses — The ABC’s of Administrative Law in Public Health Practice: Parts 1 and 2.

Part 1 Webinar
In the first of two webinars, National Association of County and City Health Officials, (NACCHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Public Health Law Program, and ChangeLab Solutions will introduce public health practitioners to broad concepts and principles that form the foundation of the Public Health Law Academy’s course offerings on administrative law. Participants will learn about the scope of administrative law and why administrative law is important for public health. The webinar will include opportunities to engage with the speakers to learn more about how these critical legal principles influence the broad range of public health powers and set appropriate limits on those powers in order to protect individual rights.