Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.
What it says it does
SEE SCHEDULE O
- Income
- $39.8 million
- Spending
- $38.0 million
- Employees
- 104
- Volunteers
- 1,000
- Highest pay
- $389,517, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Governance
This return does not answer enough of the governance questions to score.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- IN SPRING 2024, CSTE CONDUCTED THE EIGHTH EPIDEMIOLOGY CAPACITY ASSESSMENT (ECA) IN STATE AND TERRITORIAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS. AS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY CAPACITY IN GOVERNMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH, THE ECA PROVIDES A SNAPSHOT OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGY WORKFORCE, INCORPORATING DATA FROM ALL 50 STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND-FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2001-ALL U.S. TERRITORIAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES. THE LATEST ECA REVEALS CONTINUED GAPS IN APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY CAPACITY AND FUNDING, WHICH WILL LIKELY WIDEN AS PANDEMIC ERA FUNDING EXPIRES. HEALTH DEPARTMENTS' CAPACITY TO CONDUCT ESSENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES IS BEING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED, POTENTIALLY LEAVING THE U.S. UNPREPARED TO RESPOND TO EXISTING OR EMERGING HEALTH THREATS. HOWEVER, THERE IS GOOD NEWS: ECA RESULTS CAN BE USED TO BOLSTER THE APPLIED EPI WORKFORCE AND SOLICIT CONSISTENT SUPPORT AND FUNDING. WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE GAPS, WE CAN'T ADDRESS THEM. WITH ECA DATA, CSTE AND PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS CAN EDUCATE FEDERAL POLICYMAKERS ON FUNDING SHORTFALLS, INFORM STATE-LEVEL DECISION MAKERS ABOUT CAPACITY NEEDS, AND TAILOR RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING EFFORTS TO SUPPORT CURRENT APPLIED EPIS WHILE CULTIVATING THE WORKFORCE PIPELINE. CSTE IS ALSO ACTIVELY FOSTERING THE APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY WORKFORCE PIPELINE TO HELP FILL PERSONNEL AND TRAINING GAPS. WE RECENTLY UPDATED THE APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY COMPETENCIES (AECS), WHICH DEFINE THE ROLE OF AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. AND WE CONTINUE OUR ROBUST FELLOWSHIPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY FELLOWSHIP, DATA SCIENCE TEAM TRAINING PROGRAM, AND OTHERS, TO SUPPORT APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGISTS THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREERS. ECA STATISTICS * 80%: FUNDING FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY PERSONNEL AND ACTIVITIES THAT COMES FROM FEDERAL SOURCES * 5,706: NUMBER OF EPIDEMIOLOGISTS IN STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS (AS OF SPRING 2024) * 2,537: ADDITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGISTS NEEDED IN STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS TO MEET BASIC PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS
- APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGISTS ARE SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN STLT PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS. BUT THEIR WORK IS OFTEN CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL-INFECTIOUS DISEASES DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO LINES ON A MAP, AND NON-INFECTIOUS ISSUES LIKE INJURY AND CHRONIC DISEASE ARE ADDRESSED MORE EFFECTIVELY THROUGH A UNIFIED, CONSISTENT APPROACH. AS THE ONLY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO ADVANCING THE FIELD OF APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGY, CSTE IS THE HUBWHERE APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGISTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS COLLABORATE, STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS, AND CREATE ALIGNED STRATEGIES THAT ENABLE THEM TO MORE EFFECTIVELY PROTECT THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH. ONE FUNDAMENTAL AREA CSTE COORDINATES IS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO OUTBREAKS AND OTHER ACUTE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES. IN THE LAST YEAR ALONE, CSTE FACILITATED RESPONSE EFFORTS FOR MEASLES, FLU, H5N1 (BIRD FLU), RSV, COVID-19, OROPOUCHE, AND APPLESAUCE CONTAMINATED BY LEAD, AS WELL AS RESPONSE READINESS WORK FOR MARBURG AND EBOLA. THIS APPROACH ENABLES RAPID SHARING OF INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES, DRIVING AN INTEGRATED NATIONAL RESPONSE. CSTE ALSO HOLDS HUNDREDS OF IN-PERSON AND ONLINE MEETINGS EACH YEAR. WORKGROUPS INCLUDING INJURY SURVEILLANCE, TRIBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, ECR, AND DOZENS OF OTHERS MEET REGULARLY TO ADDRESS CURRENT ISSUES AND DEVELOP COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS. AT THE 2025 CSTE ANNUAL CONFERENCE, THE POLICY WORKGROUP FROM THE COUNCIL FOR OUTBREAK RESPONSE: HAI AND AR (CORHA)-A NATIONAL COUNCIL THAT CSTE CO-LEADS-HELD A DISCUSSION SESSION HIGHLIGHTING MAJOR GAPS IN PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE FOR HIGH-IMPACT PATHOGENS (HIP) LIKE EBOLA, MPOX, AND MEASLES IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS. INPUT AND FEEDBACK DURING THIS SESSION INFORMED CORHA'S STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES, GUIDE EFFORTS, AND LEAD PROGRESS AGAINST THESE THREATS. AS THE CONDUIT FOR CONNECTING APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGISTS, CSTE FACILITATES INCREASED COLLABORATION AND COHESIVE PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES AND INITIATIVES. IN TURN, THIS HELPS EPIDEMIOLOGISTS KEEP THEIR COMMUNITIES SAFE FROM CURRENT AND EMERGING THREATS AND SUSTAIN HEALTHY, THRIVING COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE.
- IN PUBLIC HEALTH TODAY, SPEED IS PARAMOUNT, AND DETECTING THREATS BEFORE THEY ESCALATE IS THE CORNERSTONE OF AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE SERVES AS A CRITICAL EARLY-WARNING SYSTEM, CONTINUOUSLY ANALYZING STREAMS OF REAL TIME EMERGENCY ROOM-VISIT DATA TO IDENTIFY UNUSUAL PATTERNS. CSTE PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN STRENGTHENING THIS CAPABILITY NATIONWIDE, BRIDGING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES. A POWERFUL EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE COMES FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (NCDHHS) IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HELENE IN SEPTEMBER 2024. NCDHHS NOW PLANS TO USE THIS DEFINITION FOR ROUTINE MONITORING AND IN FUTURE DISASTERS, SO PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS CAN PROACTIVELY EDUCATE ON SAFE TOOL USE, COMMON INJURIES, AND RISKS DURING CLEANUP, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN PROVIDE SAFETY EQUIPMENT, WHICH CAN ULTIMATELY PREVENT THESE INJURIES FROM HAPPENING. BY IMPLEMENTING THIS DEFINITION IN THE SHARED NSSP ESSENCE PLATFORM, NORTH CAROLINA IS MAKING THEIR INNOVATION AVAILABLE TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS USING THE PLATFORM AND HELPING PROTECT RESIDENTS IN OTHER STATES-DEMONSTRATING HOW KNOWLEDGE IS SHARED ACROSS THE NETWORK. A NATIONAL NETWORK AMPLIFIES AND ACCELERATES STORIES LIKE NORTH CAROLINA'S. CSTE'S SUPPORT FOR SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE IS ANCHORED IN OUR ROLE AS THE CONVENING BODY FOR THE CDC'S NATIONAL SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM (NSSP) COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP). THIS COLLABORATIVE NETWORK OF 1,652 MEMBERS GIVES PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS A FRAMEWORK TO CONNECT, SHARE KNOWLEDGE, AND SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES TOGETHER. IN ADDITION TO HOSTING THE ANNUAL SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE SYMPOSIUM, CSTE ALSO COORDINATES REGULAR WEBINARS, SPECIALIZED SUBCOMMITTEES, AND TECHNICAL WORKGROUPS TO ADDRESS EMERGING ISSUES AND DEVELOP RESOURCES FOR REAL-TIME SHARING. THIS ONGOING, PEER-TO-PEER EXCHANGE ENSURES THAT ADVANCEMENTS ARE DISSEMINATED RAPIDLY, AND THAT NO JURISDICTION HAS TO INNOVATE IN ISOLATION.
- PROTECTING COMMUNITIES REQUIRES THAT DATA IS GATHERED AND SHARED IN CLEAR, CONSISTENT WAYS NATIONWIDE. CSTE'S DATA STANDARDIZATION WORKGROUP (DSWG) EXISTS FOR JUST THIS PURPOSE. IN 2024-2025, DSWG CONVENED EXPERTS FROM STLTS, CDC, AND OTHER NATIONAL PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY CASE NOTIFICATION VARIABLES THAT HAVE BROAD APPLICABILITY ACROSS CONDITIONS AND BEGIN TO STANDARDIZE THEM. THIS WORK IS A STARTING POINT FOR BROADER STANDARDIZATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE DATA, WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR CONSISTENT UTILIZATION AND INTERPRETATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION FROM ECR, ELR, AND OTHER DATA SOURCES. THE CONSENSUS PROCESS FOR DEFINING EACH DATA ELEMENT IS THOROUGH AND DETAILED. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STANDARDIZATION ARE MADE BY DATA-ELEMENT SPECIFIC TEAMS, WHICH COMPRISE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS FROM ACROSS STLTS, CDC, AND RELEVANT DISEASE PROGRAM AREAS. THESE DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THEN SUBMITTED FOR SUCCESSIVE ROUNDS OF FEEDBACK FROM THE DSWG, SURVEILLANCE AND INFORMATICS STEERING COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP, AND ULTIMATELY ALL CSTE MEMBERS. ONCE THIS INPUT IS RECONCILED, THE DATA ELEMENT DEFINITION IS VOTED UPON BY STATE EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. TO DATE, DSWG HAS DEFINED 53 CORE DATA ELEMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO HOSPITALIZATION, TRAVEL, AND IMMUNIZATIONS. DSWG'S MISSION IS TO BUILD A COMMON LANGUAGE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. BY DEVELOPING A SET OF STANDARD DEFINITIONS THAT ARE APPLICABLE ACROSS A RANGE OF CONDITIONS, DSWG AIMS TO FACILITATE THE STREAMLINING OF DATA TRANSMISSION PRACTICES INTO A UNIFIED NATIONAL STANDARD. THIS CAN LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR FACILITATING MORE EFFECTIVE INTERJURISDICTIONAL DATA EXCHANGE AND TRANSMISSION TO CDC DURING FUTURE PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. CSTE IS FOCUSED ON ADVANCING INNOVATION, METHODOLOGIES, AND PARTNERSHIPS TO COLLECT, USE, AND SHARE DATA EFFECTIVELY TO CHAMPION POLICIES AND PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION. CSTE RELEASED A NUMBER OF GUIDES AND TOOLKITS TO SUPPORT OUR MEMBERS AND PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS NATIONWIDE: * LONG COVID REFERENCE GUIDE * NEONATAL ABSTINENCE SYNDROME SURVEILLANCE IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE * PUBLIC HEALTH LAW REPOSITORY * INJURY SURVEILLANCE TOOLKIT * ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION ACCESS TOOLKIT * CHRONIC DISEASE DATA MODERNIZATION TOOLKIT CSTE RELEASED NUMEROUS CSTE LEARN COURSES ON TOPICS SUCH AS MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH AND DATA MODERNIZATION, AS WELL AS THE WORLD CUP WEBINAR SERIES TO HELP JURISDICTIONS HOSTING GAMES COLLABORATE ON PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES. CSTE HOSTED DSTT COHORT 5 PRESENTATION WEBINARS FOR TEAMS TO SHARE THEIR PROJECTS AND EXPERIENCES AND EXPANDED CSTE CONNECT TO ADD MORE THAN 10 NEW CONNECT COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT OUR MEMBERS. CSTE WORKS TO ADVANCE DATA MODERNIZATION AND INTEROPERABILITY TO CREATE A HIGH-FUNCTIONING, HIGHLY AUTOMATED, AND INTEROPERABLE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM AT ALL LEVELS. CSTE WORKS WITH MEMBERS TO SOURCE AND DISSEMINATE STORIES OF DATA MODERNIZATION FOR THE CSTE STORIES FROM THE FIELD WEBSITE AND ADDED 10 NEW DATA MODERNIZATION SUCCESS STORIES. CSTE PUBLISHED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT CHRONIC DISEASE MODERNIZATION EFFORTS INCLUDING THE NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN, AN ACCOMPANYING ROADMAP, AND AN ONLINE TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION. CSTE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THIS WORK THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRONIC DISEASE SURVEILLANCE POLICY BRIEF, WHICH IS BEING COMPLETED IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH OUR S/I STEERING COMMITTEE, THE PARTNERS' NETWORK WHICH PROVIDES STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT AND GUIDANCE ON EMERGING INITIATIVES, AND THE CHRONIC DISEASE SUBCOMMITTEE. CSTE PRODUCED A DATA MODERNIZATION 101 TRAINING, WHICH WILL EQUIP THE WORKFORCE ACROSS STLTS AS WELL AS WITHIN CSTE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND FOUNDATIONAL DATA MODERNIZATION PRINCIPLES AND SUCCESSES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(6) business league.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.
The IRS master file records contributions to this 501(c)(6) business league as not deductible.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 1974.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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