Beginning in 2018, Public Health worked closely with the Community Prevention and Population Health Task Force (Task Force) on a prioritization process to select CHIP focus areas that reflected an urgent need, racial inequities for those most impacted, and could benefit from additional collaboration among partners. Before the CHIP could be finalized, Public Health efforts shifted to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic in March 2020, and work suspended on the CHIP.

Public Health appreciates the many partners who participated in the community engagement input process and provided their invaluable recommendations around the priority areas through key informant interviews, convenings, and coalition meetings between summer 2018 to the end of 2019.

With consideration to changes in the landscape since March 2020, focus on one critical issue, violence prevention, will be highlighted as the community health improvement plan for Los Angeles County. Violence prevention is one of the priorities selected by the Task Force in 2018. Violence continues to affect everyone in LA County whether it is directly experienced, witnessed or shared via newsfeed coming into our homes and communities. As a social determinant of health, violence can have long-reaching impacts on chronic disease, physical health, mental health, and life expectancy. This CHIP will amplify the community partnerships and the innovative work underway through Los Angeles County's Office of Violence Prevention, which is housed in the Department of Public Health, in its Early Implementation Strategic Plan.