The California Department of Public Health has been criticized for its inability to collect LGBTQ demographics and for its inconsistent policies on gathering such information, according to a report from California State Auditor Grant Parks. The report found that out of 129 forms used by the department, only 24 were required to collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data, and only 17 did so in a complete manner. Moreover, due to resource and technical limitations, the department is unable to export the SOGI data it collects for over 100 reportable disease conditions to an electronic database. As a result, Public Health has only made SOGI data available to the public from 17 of the forms reviewed, and it has not reported any SOGI data to the Legislature directly.
The report suggested that changes to state law may be necessary to compel more consistent and useful SOGI data collection practices. Although California mandated the state’s departments of health care services, public health, social services, and aging to begin gathering SOGI data in 2016, state health officials did not know how many LGBTQ residents of the Golden State were infected with the deadly coronavirus when it began ravaging the state three years ago. To this day, no such data is available. Even in San Francisco, where the city’s public health department has been on the forefront of LGBTQ health issues, the local agency has been criticized for its inability to collect the SOGI data of the people it treats and provides services to across its multiple health centers and programs.
Fed up with the situation, a number of LGBTQ state lawmakers in 2021 had called for an audit of the SOGI data collection efforts. Among them was gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has been a vocal critic about the lackluster LGBTQ demographic data collection in California for the last three years and authored the 2020 bill requiring SOGI data collection pertaining to communicable diseases. Wiener called the audit findings “extremely concerning” and renewed his demands on health officials that they do a better job on SOGI data collection.
In response to the audit report, state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón pledged that the statewide health department would address the SOGI data issues raised in the report. Although Aragón noted that the state health agency had “substantially complied” with the original SOGI legislation, he acknowledged that the auditor’s report highlighted other issues that need to be addressed “that go beyond the requirements” of the law. Aragón committed to reviewing the auditor’s recommendations and reporting on the state health department’s progress within 60 days, as well as in six months and next April.
The lack of consistent SOGI data collection procedures and the low number of Public Health forms that currently collect SOGI data indicate the need for improved practices in the collection of such data. The failure to collect such data has deprived California of information needed to understand and address the health needs of its LGBTQ population. Legislative action may be necessary to improve SOGI data collection practices and ensure that California’s health systems meet the needs of all its residents.