Steps: Partnerships

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Steps Partnerships

Through collaborations with national, private-sector, and governmental organizations, the Steps Program is changing the face of chronic disease prevention in communities across the United States. Partnerships and collaborations are cornerstones of this cooperative agreement program. Our partners, which include national health-related organizations and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, among others, support the national Steps Program and also lend their expertise and resources to enhance and expand the capacity of community-based programs. This section includes partnership profiles and examples of ways that our partners support the Steps Program.

YMCA/Steps Projects
The YMCA of the USA was selected as a national partner of the Steps Program in FY 2004 and awarded $2 million ($500,000 per year for four years) to increase the reach of Steps-funded activities. In FY 2005 and 2006, the YMCA provided mini-grants of $2,500 to $35,000 to Steps communities to conduct collaborative projects that encourage Americans to make small behavioral changes that reduce the burden of obesity, diabetes, and asthma.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
A Peer-to-Peer Technical Assistance/Mentoring program was established through an interagency agreement with CDC, the AHRQ, and the HRSA to provide Steps communities access to technical assistance and mentors for systems implementation and chronic disease prevention.

Administration on Aging
The Steps Program works closely with the Administration on Aging (AoA) to help Steps communities target the public health concerns of older adults. Two key issues, physical inactivity and poor nutrition, are addressed by the Steps Program. Because these risk factors play a major role in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic disease, AoA and CDC recognize the value of collaboration. Learn more about Steps to a Healthier Aging.

Ad Council
The Steps Program is proud to partner with the Ad Council, the leading producer of public service advertising (PSAs) for over 60 years. The Ad Council recently provided high-quality, health-focused PSAs and other campaign collateral materials to Steps grantees to promote their local programs. The campaign has been developed on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services through a partnership that began in 2002 with the Ad Council. The ads focus on the “small steps” individuals and families can take in their daily lives to get healthy. There are also kid-directed messages that provide children with a new and meaningful reason to eat better. Please visit www.smallstep.gov to learn more about the PSA campaign and to see the many resources available.

Active Living by Design (ALbD)*
ALbD is a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a part of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. Its focus is to establish innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies, and communications strategies. Since 2003, ALbD has worked with 25 diverse partners across the country to identify ways to increase routine physical activity through community design, which includes adding walking trails and bike paths. ALbD collaborates with Steps-funded communities on various programs to include neighborhood walkability audits. Future plans include completing similar audits in communities surrounding schools that participate in Steps intervention areas.

HealthierUS Veterans
Through HHS, the Steps Program partners with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to combat obesity and diabetes among U.S. veterans. Called HealthierUS Veterans, this multi-pronged collaboration aims to educate veterans about the health risks of chronic diseases and their underlying risk factors. By focusing efforts on obesity and diabetes in U.S. veterans and their families, this collaboration can reach up to one quarter of the entire U.S. population—about 70 million people.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Steps Program recently established a cooperative partnership to conduct complementary programs and activities in Steps-funded communities served by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). The USDA provides many services that benefit local and rural communities, both of which are funded by the Steps Program. Through the partnership, the Steps Program aims to adopt some of USDA’s promising activities and work with CSREES to replicate model programs in Steps-funded communities. Additionally, both entities will explore opportunities to collaborate on future evaluation activities.

*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.