Environmental and Health Services
Functions

Services to external customers are provided through two major divisions: Environmental/Public Health and Human Services. In addition to traditional public health services such as restaurant inspection, air pollution control, immunizations, mosquito control, and health education, the Department administers a wide range of programs designed to enable citizens to make informed decisions and achieve and maintain an improved quality of life. Services are provided to all age groups - from premature infants to senior citizens - and are geographically located in areas of greatest need.

The Department is continually evaluating how it can best utilize its resources to achieve the greatest impact. Collaborations with neighborhood groups, nonprofit agencies, other City departments, and governmental entities are now common, as staff seek to maximize community involvement and funding opportunities. Many new and innovative programs are funded with federal and state dollars and target specific populations and communities, such as the Diabetes Awareness and Prevention and the Communities All Together projects. The Health Education and Literacy Partnership uses community volunteers and donated books to increase literacy among mothers and infants served through the Child Health Program. The WIC program has proven significantly to reduce health care costs through providing food supplements and nutrition education to at-risk mothers and children through numerous clinics county wide.

Children and youth have emerged as one of the Department's highest priorities in recent years, and departmental programming reflects an increased emphasis on the needs of children and parents. Child health services are provided through four neighborhood clinics; a low birth weight program helps prevent costly re-hospitalization for premature babies; case management is provided for at-risk adolescents through schools and community agencies, and the Child Care Services Program subsidizes child care for low-income parents and students. The focus on youth was expanded in 1994 to include the establishment of the Youth Services Office to coordinate the City's provision of youth programs and to develop a consolidated approach to youth initiatives to promote the physical, mental, and social health of youth in the community.

All programs are intended to assure that citizens have access to needed health and human services and to promote self-sufficiency, especially among the disadvantaged. With the proliferation of the homeless in and around downtown, the Day Resource Center was established to provide employment and housing assistance, shower and laundry facilities, limited medical services, and a variety of programs to assist the homeless in the return to a stable lifestyle.

Two comprehensive multipurpose centers - the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and the West Dallas Multipurpose Center - offer a wide range of services through City staff and jointly with other on-site agencies.

Department staff provide oversight for grant and City funds allocated to community-based organizations for a variety of needs, including health, dental, AIDS-related, family violence, drug abuse, child care, gang intervention, homeless, and geriatric services, as well as services for persons with disabilities.

With the growth in the City's economic base and industrial development, more emphasis is being given to the preservation and protection of the environment. Environmental and Health Services has taken the lead in developing a City of Dallas Ozone Action Plan to educate citizens and businesses on the ozone problem and steps they can take to help lower ozone levels. Environmental health staff are active in all phases of air pollution control and restaurant inspection to ensure that air quality is maintained and food products are safe and wholesome.

The Department provides staff support for the following City of Dallas boards and commissions:

Environmental Health Commission
Human Services Commission
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Board of Directors
Senior Affairs Commission
Youth Commission
In an effort to keep abreast of changes at the federal level in managed health care and the evolving role of public health departments, a team of staff regularly meets to consider how the Department of Environmental and Health Services can market its services and continue to help meet the health and human services needs of a growing and diverse city.

Program Functions