National Voluntary Accreditation for Public Health Departments
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundationexternal icon, is supporting the implementation of a national voluntary accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments. The Public Health Accreditation Boardexternal icon (PHAB), a nonprofit 501(c)3 entity, serves as the independent accrediting body. PHAB led the development and testing activities, with significant participation from local, tribal, state, and national leaders and launched the national accreditation program on September 14, 2011. PHAB began accrediting health departments in 2013.
Public Health Accreditation Board Websiteexternal icon
Standards, accreditation guidance, and other resources to help health departments with national accreditation efforts
National Voluntary Accreditation for Public Health Departments pdf icon[PDF – 153 KB]
CDC fact sheet
Evaluating the Impact of National Public Health Department Accreditation—United States, 2016
MMWR report that describes the range of benefits of accreditation reported by health departments, including improvements in quality and performance
Impact of Public Health Accreditationexternal icon
Journal issue featuring scientific articles, case studies, and commentaries about the impact of public health accreditation (Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, May/June 2018)
CDC Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and Inclusion of Accreditation-Related Language pdf icon[PDF – 267 KB]
Describes the accreditation-related language in CDC NOFOs

This compendium pdf icon[PDF – 12.3MB] describes how public health departments used National Public Health Improvement Initiative funding for accreditation readiness and other performance improvement activities.