Model Policies

The Chronic Disease Partners Model Policy Workgroup develops policies to help you make positive changes in your community. Each one is evidence-based and can be adapted to fit your specific needs.

Enacting a policy alone doesn’t ensure that the policy will be successful. Additional steps are often necessary along the way to increase the likelihood of the policy achieving its intended outcomes. The CDC Office of the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy policy process guide can assist health partners in their work.

How to Implement a Model Policy

Recorded on
February 3, 2022

Learn how to improve the health of your community by developing and enforcing policies that can make a difference. Start by being clear about issue you want to address. If you are creating a new policy– use our Model Policy resources to help bring it to life. We’ll walk you through our Model Policy Checklist—a helpful step-by-step tool that shows you how to plan and draft your policy, what should be included, and how to ensure its success.


This video also covers: 

  1. How to use our model policies as templates
  2. Editing and customizing for your specific needs
  3. Examples of successful policies implemented by South Dakota organizations on: 
    • tobacco use
    • cancer screenings
    • automated external defibrillator (AED)
    • breastfeeding

Model Policy Checklist

Follow this step-by-step process for shaping a strong model policy.

Have questions or need technical assistance with policy implementation? Contact our Model Policy Coordinators or view our Staff Directory here.