No standard or uniformly accepted set of guidelines has been developed to address non-technical competencies for environmental health professionals practicing at the state and local level. The absence of non-technical competency guidelines for state and local environmental health professionals and the absence of uniform expectations across state and local public health jurisdictions result in a wide diversity in the level of training and experience of environmental health professionals serving at these levels. The absence of uniform criteria for non-technical competencies for environmental health professionals across state and local public health jurisdictions and variable program infrastructures result in a wide diversity in the capacity of environmental health programs to deliver quality services. CSTE will contribute to the development of these guidelines and will support their dissemination along with other cooperating agencies, organizations, and institutions in order to enhance the practice of environmental health at the state and local level.
Environmental health represents a critical component of public health.
The infrastructure for delivery of environmental health services varies across state and local public health jurisdictions as well as across agencies and programs. The delivery of environmental health services at the state and local level is administered and provided by professionals with a wide variety of education, skills, and expertise. The absence of uniform guidelines for non-technical competencies for environmental health professionals at the state and local level and variable program infrastructures result in a wide diversity in the capacity of environmental health programs to deliver quality services. Some state and local jurisdictions and some professional associations have partially addressed the need for competencies by outlining uniform knowledge requirements, by developing criteria for technical skills and expertise, and by developing licensing and certification requirements. However, these competencies do not address non-technical issues such as communication skills, problem solving skills, computer skills, etc.