The Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Tobacco Education and Prevention began its strategic planning process in August of 2007 and aimed to create a model that focused on effective tobacco control which would engage stakeholders at the local, state and national levels. As such it was critical to ensure that the process was both transparent and participatory, and included input and involvement from the full diversity of populations and regions across Arizona.

The Arizona Department of Health Services initiated the development of this plan with the intent to set priorities by formulating objectives and suggesting strategies to address chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a serious public health issue in Arizona. This plan begins with a detailed description of chronic obstructive lung disease followed by a discussion of proposed objectives and strategies. The overriding goals of this plan are those stated in the Healthy People 2010: Objectives for Improving Health.

Adult tobacco use represents an important and ongoing morbidity, mortality and health care cost problem. The Arizona Department of Health Services Tobacco Education and Prevention Program has been working since 1996 to reduce tobacco use in Arizona. This report presents data from the 2005 Adult Tobacco Surveys in Spanish on adult tobacco use prevalence rates, cessation behaviors, and home smoking bans.

The Arizona Department of Health Services sponsored the development of this plan with the intent to set priorities and suggest strategies to address asthma as a serious chronic disease and public health issue. The plan continues the focus placed on asthma in the Healthy People 2010 report. The plan is meant to serve as an ambitious and comprehensive approach to improving the health and quality of life for those with asthma living in Arizona.

In preparation for new federal legislation that promotes unprecedented levels of comprehensive planning and service integration at state and local levels, an analysis of state issues relevant to comprehensive service delivery is necessary. This paper examines such state issues, with a focus on Arizona's at-risk population, and presents a framework for comprehensive service delivery. It provides the rationale for such service delivery, summarizes the literature on research-based practices, illustrates district approaches to comprehensive service delivery, and sets forth guidelines for developing a comprehensive plan. System components of an effective plan are discussed in detail--student education, parent/family involvement, social/economic services, health services, and professional development. Five general principles underlie success: philosophy, people, processes, promising practices, and partners. Recommendations for developing comprehensive service delivery programs include the following: (1) build on existing information; (2) consolidate knowledge; and (3) think long-term. Contains 11 figures and over 250 references. Appendices contain information on Arizona practitioners' views and an illustration of a side-by-side program analysis.

Fierce competition for workers is one of the top issues today in Arizona. Many people may be surprised to hear that anything related to the state’s economic situation is on a list of pressing issues. Arizona’s economy is and remains robust, the state is finding it difficult to supply workers in demand by industry. The result is a new but deep threat to our economic future. Businesses’ inability to find and retain the workers they need, where they will need them, may in fact be the spear that unexpectedly pierces the state’s prosperity.

Arizonans have been divided in their feelings about growth and what to do about it, especially during the past two decades. To complicate matters, the debate over the best responses to growth has been drawn along overly simplistic lines—the economy versus the environment. Arizonans who follow the myriad issues related to urban growth closely are becoming convinced that the discussion needs to be recast in a new light.

Scholar Leo Marx coined the phrase “the machine in the garden” in 1964 to describe the relationship between nature and technology. Considering much of the writing about Arizona’s growth, it seemed an apt title for this volume of Arizona Policy Choices. "The Machine in the Garden" presents growth policy choices for Arizona along a continuum: Yesterday’s Growth—the policies that have been used in the past; Today’s Growth—the “smarter” approaches from around the country; and Tomorrow’s Growth—cutting edge thinking about the economy and experiments in urbanism and governance.