The California Department of Public Health (Public Health) is dedicated to optimizing the health and well-being of all Californians. Public Health achieves its mission through the following core activities:

• Promoting healthy lifestyles for individuals and families in their communities and workplaces.
• Preventing disease, disability, and premature death, and reducing or eliminating health disparities.
• Protecting the public from unhealthy and unsafe environments.
• Providing access to quality, population-based health services.
• Preparing for and responding to public health emergencies.
• Producing and disseminating data to inform and evaluate public health status, and inform public health strategies, programs, and actions.

Because department programs drive the need for infrastructure investment, the department has a related capital outlay program to support this need. For the specifics on the Department of Public Health's Capital Outlay Program see "Infrastructure Overview."