Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

While no federal statute explicitly mandates the implementation of the BRFSS, it is authorized under Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 241) and is deeply embedded in federal and state public health practice and federal funding expectations. BRFSS serves as the nation's primary source of state- and territorial-level data on health behaviors, chronic disease prevalence, preventive service use, and health risk factors. There is no existing substitute for BRFSS; while other national surveys collect some overlapping information, they generally do not provide the annual, state-representative estimates or the geographic granularity necessary.

From FY2024 to FY2026, CDC lost about 30% of its workforce. Within the CDC Division of Population Health, which provides oversight and operational support for BRFSS, staffing reductions were substantial: more than 80% of staff in four of the division’s five branches were affected by the 2025 Reduction in Force. Although the branch directly responsible for BRFSS was largely spared, these workforce reductions reduced the division’s overall capacity to support and sustain core surveillance functions.

The CDC BRFSS website has a banner posted indicating that content may be modified or removed in the future. While the scope of any changes is uncertain, ongoing policy priorities and executive actions indicate there is potential for future changes to the data collection or its associated documentation.