TABLE 6
Percent Agreement of Recommended Credential Requirements by Program Area According to Staff and Manager Respondents
Program
% Agreement * Staff/Manager
Description
On-the-Job Training
REHS/RS Registration
Specialty Credential
State
NEHA
Either State or NEHA
51/57
63/69
Food safety/food protection
60/49
44/49
24/23
Certified Professional–Food Safety (CP-FS) Integrated pest management
17/21 89/93 86/90 72/79 57/65 61/55 43/48 30/46
58/63
Emergency preparedness (includes on an as-needed basis)
29/25
28/28
38/36
ICS 100 ** ICS 200 ** ICS 700 ** ICS 800 **
50/50
54/55
Swimming pools/recreational water safety
37/43
38/40
Certified Pool Operator (CPO) Certified Pool Inspector (CPI) Drinking water operator on public systems certification
56/58
59/64
Potable water
44/48
39/46
59/65
68/56
Zoonoses, vectors, pests (vector control)
36/31
37/34
45/46
Integrated pest and vector management training Vector control technician
36/23 33/34
Pesticide application and safety training and licensing Training required of installers National or State Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association trainings Integrated pest management Bloodborne pathogens training and certifications Training required of body artists Integrated pest management Lead risk assessor certification Lead technician certification
62/63
59/65
65/56 44/47
Onsite wastewater
45/47
41/47
60/54 61/61
50/50 43/42
66/68 59/56
School safety and inspection
42/47 45/41
21/20 84/71
Body art
47/35 21/20 80/80 38/37
76/60 47/54
53/61 60/43
Early childcare/daycare
43/38 42/29
31/45 47/34
Lead prevention
* Bolded numbers indicate that a majority of both staff and managers agreed with the credential requirement. ** Incident Command System (ICS) training courses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Note. NEHA = National Environmental Health Association; REHS/RS = Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian.
to managerial positions. This agreement might also be reflective of the community-centric approach to EPH services, an approach that emphasizes the importance of specific cus- toms and protocols within each department. Limitations It is estimated that there are 3,000 local health departments (LHDs) in the U.S.
(NACCHO, 2024). Although our study did not capture individual LHDs linked to responses, it is plausible that the responses might be representative of most LHDs given the geographic distribution and distribu- tion of known EPH programs in which respondents indicated they worked. Due to the dierent structures of health depart- ments and the focus of this study on LHDs,
states without respondent representation might not have local health departments. Furthermore, EPH programs and the responsibilities of the programs might be influenced by delegation agreements with external entities, which vary significantly among jurisdictions and were not measured in this survey.
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July/August 2025 • Journal of Environmental Health
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