America needs great skilled workers - and a lot of them. The Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) story shows that it is possible for governors to work collaboratively with industry, with community colleges, and with each other to provide people with the opportunity to build their technical skills and ensure both America's future prosperity and their own economic security.
Throughout the decade, states have launched initiatives to improve energy efficiency, promote alternative energy sources and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these state efforts to transition to clean energy are highlighted in this report.
The NGA Center engaged six states—Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York and Washington—in a technical assistance project focused on interoperable communications governance. The project revealed that a remaining hurdle to effective statewide governance is the governing body’s formal authority to act.
States cannot easily ensure the security of cyber systems owned and operated by the energy sector, or by any other sector of the economy. The majority of the infrastructure is privately owned, and legislative or other mandates often are strongly resisted.
The United States is rapidly aging. These demographic changes could pose major challenges for state economies by increasing the burden on public health programs, reducing tax revenues, and lowering the pool of skilled workers.
Through the Healthy Kids, Healthy America program, the NGA Center supported 15 states as they worked to develop policies to prevent childhood obesity. The recognizable progress of each of these states is detailed in this report.
Specialized knowledge of how young children develop and learn is critical for members of the early childhood workforce. All members of this workforce need access to preparation programs and opportunities for ongoing education and development.
This analysis describes state homeland security organizational structures that governors established subsequent to September 11, 2001. Homeland security entities were created to ensure states are preparing for a wide range of terrorist attacks.
Foreclosure levels in the United States remain high and the housing market remains weak as we enter 2010. The economic recession and unemployment have created new issues for states to deal with in addition to the existing challenges related to foreclosure. This Issue Brief summarizes new state laws enacted during 2009 to address foreclosure. It serves as an update to the NGA Center’s 2008 report, State Actions to Tackle the Foreclosure Crisis.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves approximately 31 million lunches each day. Because of its size, the NSLP presents an unparalleled opportunity to improve the nutritional quality of foods served to our nation’s students and ultimately improve their health.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allocated $120 million to states for evidence-based prevention and wellness strategies that address chronic disease rates.
More than a million legal immigrants enter the United States every year. Increasingly they are settling not only in “gateway” locations such as Texas, California, and New York, but in communities across the nation. While there are significant numbers of unauthorized immigrants in the United States, this paper focuses primarily on legal immigrants. These immigrants contribute significantly to states socially, culturally, and economically, particularly where their integration into the community is successful.
Variations among states' laws, and differences between states' laws and federal law, are one of the most significant obstacles to interstate health information exchange (HIE). A new report prepared for the State Alliance for e-Health looks at the potential advantages and disadvantages of alternative policy strategies to reduce this "variations barrier" and advance interstate HIE.
Achieving Graduation for All recommends actions governors should take to reduce the incidence of students not completing high school, including: promote high school graduation for all; target youth at-risk of dropping out; reengage youth who have dropped out of school; and provide rigorous, relevant options for earning a high school diploma.
A number of states have anti-predatory lending laws, but many states found that during the housing boom, predatory lenders found ways to sidestep existing laws with new mortgage instruments. Hence, several states already have amended existing lending laws or enacted new statutes that address directly problems that contributed to the housing bust.
A number of states have anti-predatory lending laws, but many states found that during the housing boom, predatory lenders found ways to sidestep existing laws with new mortgage instruments. Hence, several states already have amended existing lending laws or enacted new statutes that address directly problems that contributed to the housing bust.
