Isolation and quarantine are public health authority tools that may be implemented by a state or local government to limit the spread of communicable diseases and protect the public.
Overdose prevention centers (OPCs) are facilities where controlled substances, obtained outside the center, may be consumed in a safe environment with monitoring by staff. These centers are intended to lessen the risk of overdose and often also provide access to critical services such as syringe exchange, fentanyl test strip and naloxone distribution, and referrals to treatment for infectious diseases and substance use disorder.
This longitudinal dataset provides a comprehensive overview of anti-bullying laws across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, from January 1, 1999, through January 1, 2018.
Debt collection lawsuits have increased dramatically over the past few decades, now accounting for about a quarter of all cases on civil court dockets. These lawsuits — which can include civil lawsuits to recover student loan debt, medical debt, car loan debt, credit card debt, and more — are overwhelmingly resolved in favor of the debt collector. Debt and debt collection judgments can have severe and far-reaching consequences, including wage garnishment, bank account seizure, and inability to secure housing, employment, or medical care.
More than one million people are arrested annually for drug possession across the United States. People charged with and convicted of criminal drug offenses can face devastating collateral consequences, including eviction, unemployment, loss of the right to vote, and deportation. Research shows that criminalization of drug possession contributes to the marginalization of people with substance use disorders, results in stark racial disparities, and costs billions of dollars.
This longitudinal dataset captures legislation addressing school entry vaccination requirements, non-medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements, the reallocation of authority to determine vaccination requirements for schools, and expansions to provider scope of practice to administer vaccines between January 1, 2023, and May 22, 2023, in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
This dataset examines features of prior authorization policies in the Medicaid managed care plans of five states (Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and South Carolina) selected to be case studies for ADHD medication prior authorization in managed care. Features examined relate to pediatric ADHD medication treatment, including applicable ages, medication types, and criteria for approval in effect as of April 1, 2023.
Public Health and law are interwoven, shaping how communities interact and people experience the world around them. Legal mapping is the scientific process of analyzing state laws concerning a particular legal topic at either a particular point in time (cross-sectional) or its change over a period of time (longitudinal). This page features ASTHO’s legal mapping work to plot the legal landscape for public health priorities, beginning with policies intended to prevent overdose.
