The Role of Human Services Agencies in Advancing Climate and Environmental Justice

Factors in our physical environments and the weather around us profoundly impact our mental, physical, and economic well-being. Recent increases in the frequency and severity of natural disasters have highlighted this impact and shown us how human services agencies are called to respond and adapt in periods of disruption and uncertainty. Human services agencies can play a key role in finding innovative ways to build and maintain resilient communities that holistically support people before, during, and after natural disasters. At APHSA, we see that addressing environmental factors and understanding the short and long-term stress they place on the people we serve is crucial to our mission of creating thriving communities built on human potential. We are committed to supporting our members in pursuing environmental justice for all people.

What is environmental and climate justice?

  • Environmental justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment to live, learn, and work.
  • Climate justice: A movement that recognizes the disproportionate social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on communities with low incomes and communities of color, often the people and places least responsible for the problem. It seeks solutions that address the root causes of climate change while addressing a broad range of social, racial, and environmental injustices.

Our Work So Far

Our Work So Far

For the past several years, APHSA has been exploring and holding conversations with our members and partners at the local, state, and federal levels about the intersections between human services and environmental and climate justice.

  • In 2021, APHSA began meeting regularly with partners at Mathematica to discuss opportunities for shared engagement in this work.
  • Also in 2021, our President and CEO Tracy Wareing Evans published a memo in APHSA's Policy and Practice magazine entitled “Connecting our Work to Environmental Justice.”
  • At the 2022 National Health and Human Services Summit, APHSA and Mathematica held our first workshop on environmental and climate justice. Shortly afterward, APHSA and Mathematica hosted another workshop at APHSA’s Economic Mobility and Well-Being Conference, focusing particularly on environmental and climate impacts on food security.
  • In 2023, APHSA and Mathematica have been bringing together partners across focus areas such as public health, disaster response, and built environment to help inform further work and continuing conversations with human services leaders, including on Mathematica’s podcast On the Evidence. This spring, APHSA, and Mathematica administered a nationwide survey of state and local human services agencies to assess if and how environmental and climate justice is a part of their current work, and have continued to hear from our members and partners about how this shows up in their work.

Throughout this time, APHSA and our partners have been creating publications to build, refine, and continue the conversation about the unique role of human services in advancing environmental justice. You can find these resources and others below.

To keep in touch about the continuing work we are doing, please fill out this short form below.

Featured Resources

What’s new in environmental justice and human services?

The Role of Human Services Agencies in Advancing Climate and Environmental Justice The Role of Human Services Agencies in Advancing Climate and Environmental Justice
Outlining the Interconnections of Environmental Justice and Racial Equity for Human Services Outlining the Interconnections of Environmental Justice and Racial Equity for Human Services
Human Services, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice Human Services, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice

Other Key Definitions

  • Environmental racism: The concept of environmental racism emerged in the United States in the 1980s to refer to the socially uneven distribution of pollution and environmental resources along racial lines. The term “environmental justice” initially referred to the movement that arose to confront environmental racism, but it has since expanded to encompass multiple forms of environmental inequities and problems.
  • Racial equity: A process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems, and structures to prioritize measurable change in the lives of people of color and ensure that they experience the same outcomes as their white counterparts. You can read more here about APHSA’s work to advance racial equity in human services.
  • Slow-moving vs. Fast-moving impacts: The climate and environment can be impacted slowly over time (such as increasing pollution in the water or increasing heat in the atmosphere) or quickly (such as the direct and immediate impacts of wildfires or hurricanes).
  • Weather and Climate Resilience: The ability of an individual, household, or community to manage and recover from the impacts of severe weather events and a changing climate while adjusting to prevent those impacts from worsening.

APHSA/Mathematica Resources
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
Human Services’ Unique Position: Flexing New Ways to Pursue Environmental Justice Chloe Green, Colleen Psomas, Matt Stagner, and Alex Bauer In this article from APHSA’s Policy and Practice magazine, co-authors from APHSA and Mathematica summarize high-level takeaways from a recent podcast (below), discussing the role that human services can play in advancing environmental justice and listing a few actions that agencies can take to move this work forward.
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
Human Services Agencies Can Advance Environmental Justice Michael A Becketts, Tracy Wareing Evans, Shavana Howard, and Matt Stagner In this episode of the Mathematica podcast On the Evidence, the guests examine the roles that human services agencies can play in securing environmental justice. They discuss the various areas in which environmental issues overlap with the duties of human services agencies, including reducing food insecurity and mitigating the harm caused by increasing utility costs and more common extreme weather events.
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
Human Service Needs and Disaster Displacement Mathematica The Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Administration for Children and Families engaged Mathematica to create this report reviewing and summarizing existing literature and resources on disaster displacement and human services
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
We Can’t Be on the Sidelines: The Role of Human Services in Advancing Environmental Justice Chloe Green, Alex Bauer, Colleen Psomas, Shaun Stevenson, Anu Rangarajan, Matthew Stagner, and Jacque Gombach In this article from APHSA's Policy and Practice magazine, co-authors from APHSA and Mathematica explain how human services professionals can leverage their positions and existing work to ensure that the populations they serve are not subject to inequities arising from the impacts of climate change.
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
Environmental Justice Workshop Summary Mathematica Summarizes key takeaways from the EJ workshop co-hosted by APHSA and Mathematica at the 2022 Human Services Summit.
Title Source/Author(s) Summary
Connecting Our Work to Environmental Justice Tracy Wareing Evans This President's Memo in APHSA's Policy and Practice magazine gives the perspective of APHSA's president and CEO Tracy Wareing Evans on why EJ is connected to the work of APHSA and the Human Services sector. She emphasizes the impact of disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the communities that human services agencies support and how human services can help communities recover from such disasters and build more resilient systems to lessen their impact.

Federal Resources
Title Source Summary
The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Council on Environmental Quality Connected to the Justice40 initiative, this mapping tool is designed to identify disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment.
Title Source Summary
Homelessness and Climate Change: A Roundup of Resources for Communities Before, During, and After Disasters United States Interagency Council on Homelessness This resource roundup provides an inventory of tools that can help communities develop strategies to address the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness before, during, and after environmental disasters and hazards. The resources cover the following topics: Relevant Federal Funding, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Response, Disaster Recovery, Environmental Hazards, Engaging People Experiencing Homelessness, and Community and Federal Contacts for Coordination
Title Source Summary
Energy Justice Dashboard Office of Economic Impact and Diversity The Energy Justice Dashboard (BETA) is a pilot data visualization tool that displays DOE-specific investments in communities across the country experiencing disproportionately high and adverse economic, human health, climate-related, environmental, and other cumulative impacts.
Title Source Summary
Justice40 Initiative The White House This webpage explains the White House's Justice40 Initiative, a commitment that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantage communities which are overburdened by environmental issues.
Title Source Summary
EJScreen Environmental Protection Agency This mapping tool allows users to overlay national data on environmental and demographic indicators
Title Source Summary
Environmental Justice Grants Environmental Protection Agency This webpage lists EJ-related grants, funding opportunities, and technical assistance resources
Title Source Summary
Learn about Environmental Justice Environmental Protection Agency This webpage lays out the EPA's definition of environmental justice and how the EPA integrates it into their work.

Other Resources
Title Source Summary
Growing Quality Green Jobs Jobs for the Future This report utilizes the Green Transformation Cycle, a data-driven framework developed by Jobs for the Future and the Burning Glass Institute, to illustrate the economic transformation into green jobs that is currently underway. Their analysis of nearly 200 million online job postings demonstrates the prevalence of green jobs today and highlights key takeaways for a just transition to a green economy.
Title Source Summary
Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development Harvard University Center on the Developing Child This working paper delves into how the physical environments where children live affect their development and health, the stark racial disparities in environmental quality, and the resulting health outcomes. Connecting environmental justice with child and family well-being lays out new directions in policy that can ensure that all children grow up in safe and healthy environments.
Title Source Summary
The Health Care Consequences of Extreme Heat are Just the Tip of the Iceberg Center for American Progress This article summarizes the research on the health consequences of extreme heat, outlining both direct and indirect outcomes. It then provides recommendations for what policymakers can do to address rising heat and its impacts.
Title Source Summary
Partnering For Climate Resilience: A Practical Guide to Community-Based Disaster Planning for Health Care Health Care Without Harm This tool kit provides a new approach to disaster planning and climate preparedness built on a partnership between health systems and the communities they serve, working together to plan for and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The guide provides a playbook and sample materials for healthcare institutions to partner with emergency planners, public health professionals, and community-based organizations to run a disaster scenario exercise to identify and address vulnerabilities and enable communities to withstand climate impacts better.
Title Source Summary
Opportunities for state and local policy responses to climate change: A recap from the State and Local Webinar Series Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab In this blog post, the authors summarize takeaways from a webinar series in which researchers discussed strategies for state and local governments to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change and pollution impacts. Key actions include creating collaborative partnerships with state and local entities, using data to shape climate policies, and centering priority communities in climate change responses.
Title Source Summary
The Environment That Racism Built Center for American Progress This article focuses on racial inequities in health, particularly those experienced by black mothers and infants. It describes how a person's built environment shapes their long-term health and how public policy creates the conditions of these built environments, typically in ways that perpetuate racial health disparities. It calls on policy-makers to recognize the role that racism has played in creating our built environments and actively use policy to pursue health and environmental equity.
Title Source Summary
Environmental Racism Laura Pulido for the International Encyclopedia of Geography This article summarizes the concept of environmental racism, the origins of the term, and the history of the EJ movement and scholarship on environmental racism.
Title Source Summary
Creating Safe and Healthy Living Environments for Low-Income Families Center for American Progress This report summarizes the significant impact that the condition of homes and neighborhoods have on the health of their residents, as well as the many barriers people face to consistently residing in safe, healthy, and suitable home environments.
Title Source Summary
Food System Resilience: A Planning Guide for Local Governments John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future This planning guide is aimed at supporting local government staff and policymakers in creating a food systems resilience plan or integrating food systems resilience into a food, climate, or general resilience plan. It helps readers understand what resilience looks like and assess key ways local governments can help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from food systems impacts of disruptive events.