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2026-2031 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)

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Growing Healthy Communities

Each Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) begins as a seed of change — rooted in data and shaped by community input. The 2026–2031 CHIP is a five-year roadmap that transforms identified health priorities into clear goals and action steps focused on Behavioral Health, Education, Healthcare Access, and Upward Mobility. Through collaboration and shared accountability, this plan guides community efforts to create lasting, measurable improvements in Sedgwick County.

The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
2022–2025 Wrap-Up & 2026–2031 Kickoff Meeting Recap

The meeting was part of the Health Alliance Meeting on January 9, 2026, featuring the 2023–2025 CHIP wrap-up and the 2026–2031 CHIP kickoff, with continued work on the CHIP goals. The selected health priorities for the 2026-31 CHIP are:

  • Behavioral Health
  • Education
  • Healthcare Access
  • Upward Mobility
Workgroup Meeting Summary
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKGROUP Summary of the January 9 Table Session:
  • Goal 1 summary: The workgroup identified the need to increase access to behavioral health services, including mental health and substance use supports. Key themes included the impact of chronic stress and the “poverty mindset,” and the importance of readiness, resilience, and trust-based engagement for sustainable outcomes.
  • Goal 1 – refined wording: Increase access to evidence-based, culturally tailored, and relevant behavioral health and substance use treatment and recovery services.
  • Goal 2 summary: The group discussed the need to reduce behavioral health and substance use stigma and its impact on overall health, highlighting strategies to improve community awareness and engagement.
  • Goal 2 – refined wording: Decrease behavioral health and substance use stigma and its impact on overall health.
  • Two other draft behavioral health goals were moved under the Healthcare Access workgroup to align with system navigation and community resource efforts.
EDUCATION WORKGROUP Summary of the January 9 Table Session:
  • Refined Goal 1: Equip families with community resources, support, and education needed to cultivate strong early childhood development readiness from pregnancy to age eight.
  • Proposed Goal 2: Increase parent support for families and caregivers with children in middle and high school.
  • Identification of core partners and stakeholders.
  • Suggested activities include identifying and reaching out to community partners.
HEALTHCARE ACCESS WORKGROUP Summary of the January 9 Table Session:
  • Goal 1 summary: The workgroup identified challenges with the current referral systems that lack a closed-loop process to confirm whether clients receive services. The group agreed that the initial focus should be on identifying and organizing community resources while exploring ways to improve or better use existing referral platforms.
  • Goal 1 – refined wording: Identify community resources (subgoal: improve the community’s client referral system).
  • Goal 2 summary: The group agreed that increasing understanding of the healthcare system is important, but the goal is broad and will be refined over the coming months to clarify which part of the healthcare system will be addressed.
UPWARD MOBILITY WORKGROUP Summary of the January 9 Session:
  • Goal 1 summary: The group discussed refining the food/basic needs goal to better define the CHIP’s role. A key gap identified was limited coordination among food system partners.
  • Goal 2 summary: The group reviewed current financial empowerment efforts and identified gaps related to employment, financial literacy, and support for ALICE households.
  • Early activity ideas: Compile a list of community resources related to food, employment, and financial empowerment and explore opportunities to strengthen coordination and awareness.
  • Proposed Goals for Discussion at February Upward Mobility Workgroup Meeting:
  • UM.1: Increase coordination among food system partners to increase community members' access to healthy food
  • UM.2: Increase the awareness of choices (opportunities?) to improve community members' financial situation

2026-2031 CHIP Workgroups