“Divining” community college public health workforce development resource and service “water veins”

Community colleges are valuable “reservoirs” of “useable” public health workforce development services and resources – some less well-known than others. This session emphasizes the network of “below ground” water veins of lesser known community college-based public health workforce development resources and services. The intended audience is persons responsible for public health personnel and organizational development at any level: public health executives; health service administrators; human resource managers; project managers; supervisors; frontline practitioners; and college administrators and faculty. The session begins with a brief overview of the history, mission, different structures, and academic programs of community colleges. After reviewing the more familiar categories of public health workforce members and typical workforce development resources and services offered to those specific public health personnel market segments through community colleges, the presenter focuses on the system of current and potential “water veins” of community college workforce development opportunities permeating the community college system. The range of resources presented will include but are not limited to: professional preparation programs; workforce readiness certification; continuing education conferences, courses, and certificate and certification programs; adjunct teaching, collaborative grant writing, research and publication opportunities; community outreach/education; and workforce policy development/implementation support opportunities. Examples from Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York and community colleges that have inspired Kingsborough's administrators and faculty will be described. The session concludes with recommendations for future training and development collaborations between public health service providers and community colleges.