The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) is the state agency tasked with administration and oversight of "state and federal programs for health care, social services, public assistance and rehabilitation" in the U.S. state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The agency is headed by the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, with headquarters in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. Many of the laws in the

California Health and Safety Code The California Health and Safety Code is the codification of general statutory law covering the subject areas of health and safety in the state of California. It is one of the 29 California Codes and was originally signed into law by the Governor ...

are enforced by CHHS components. On March 6, 2019, Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...

nominated Mark Ghaly to be Secretary of CHHS. The

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

unanimously confirmed Ghaly on June 17, 2019. Ghaly previously served as the director of health and social impact for Los Angeles County, deputy director of the

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...

, and medical director of the

San Francisco Department of Public Health The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), previously called as the San Francisco Health Department, is the public health department of the city of San Francisco, California in the US. It has two main divisions: The San Francisco Heal ...

’s Southeast Health Center. Ghaly earned his doctorate of medicine degree from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

and a master of public health degree from the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. CHHS was created from a reorganization of other California agencies, including the California Health and Welfare Agency which included the California Department of Health Services.

Organization

The agency is divided into various departments and boards: * California Department of Aging * California Department of Child Support Services * California Department of Community Services and Development *

California Department of Developmental Services The California Department of Developmental Services is a state agency of California, headquartered in Downtown Sacramento. The agency provides services for California residents with developmental disabilities, such as autism, cerebral palsy, epilep ...

California Emergency Medical Services Authority The California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA or EMS Authority) is an agency of California State government. The California EMS Authority is one of the thirteen departments within the California Health and Human Services Agency. Th ...

California Department of Health Care Access and Information California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

California Department of Health Care Services The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is a department within the California Health and Human Services Agency that finances and administers a number of individual health care service delivery programs, including Medi-Cal, which ...

California Department of Managed Health Care The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) is a regulatory body governing managed health care plans, including Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and most Medi-Cal managed care plans in California. The DMHC was created as the first state d ...

* California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board *

California Department of Public Health The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency. It enforces some of the laws in the California Health ...

California Department of Rehabilitation The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) is a California state department which administers vocational rehabilitation services. It provides vocational rehabilitation services and advocacy from over 100 locations throughout Californi ...

California Department of Social Services The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is a California state agency for many of the programs defined as part of the social safety net in the United States, and is within the auspices of the California Health and Human Services Agenc ...

* California Department of State Hospitals ** CONREP * California Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII) * California Office of Law Enforcement Support * California Office of the Patient Advocate - originally created in 2000, it conducts

consumer education Consumer education is the preparation of an individual to be capable of making informed decisions when it comes to purchasing products in a consumer culture. It generally covers various consumer goods and services, prices, what the consumer can ...

, provides quality of care scorecards, and reports on consumer questions and complaints * California Office of Systems Integration *

Office of the California Surgeon General An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

Secretaries

* Winslow Christian (1963-1964) * John A. Svahn * Spencer Williams (1967-1968) * Lucian Vandegrift (1968-1970) * James M. Hall (1971-1972) *

Earl Brian Earl Winfrey Brian Jr. (1942 – November 2, 2020) was an American physician and businessman who served as Director of California's Department of Health Care Services, and then as Secretary of California's Agency for Health and Welfare under Gove ...

(1972-1974) * James E. Jenkins (1974-1975) * Mario G. Obledo (1975-1981) * Douglas X. Patiño (1982) * David Swoap (1983-1985) * James Stockdale (1985-1987) * Cliff Allenby (1987-1991) *

Russell Gould Russell S. Gould is an American financier, currently a partner at California Strategies, LLC. He was a member of California Governor Pete Wilson's administration, as Secretary of Health and Human Services (1991 to 1993) and as the Director of Fina ...

(1991-1993) * Sandra Smoley (1993-1999) * Grantland L Johnson (1999-2003) * S. Kimberly Belshé (2003-2011) * Diana Dooly (2011-2018) * Michael Wilkening (2018-2019) * Mark Ghaly (2019-2024) * Kim Johnson (2024-present)

History

The agency was originally created in 1961 by Government Code section 12800 as the Human Relations Agency, and renamed to the Health and Welfare Agency in 1972 to and again to its current name in 1998.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:California Health And Human Services Agency Health and Human Services Agency State departments of health of the United States Medical and health organizations based in California