State News
Online Crime Maps Provide Current Data to Citizens
By: Simon Minching
A new online crime map in Seattle, Washington has been deployed to streamline general neighborhood crime data with easily accessible police reports for citizens. Prior to the implementation of the new system, “My Neighborhood Map”, the average waiting period, from the time of request to receipt of a police report, was 12 days. Redacted crime reports, which protect sensitive information, will now be available for citizens instantly. A strong emphasis will be placed on ensuring serious crimes go live most quickly within the typical eight hour to two day timeframe estimated by the city. The total implementation cost of the enhanced mapping system was approximately $350,000, incurred by the Seattle Police Department.
(Contact: Carmen Ferro)

New iPhone App Offers Real-time 911 Information
By: Simon Minching
California’s San Ramon Valley is now offering residents the option of on-the-go emergency and disaster information through a new iPhone application. The program, designed by students from the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University, will give users the ability to:

  • View active incidents and photos on an interactive map; access a log containing recent incident information;
  • Request the specific types of incidents for which they would like to receive notifications; and
  • Listen to live emergency radio communications using their handheld phones.

The district, whose service area spans approximately 155 square miles with 167,500 people, will also use the application to communicate with its Community Emergency Response Team when traditional communication avenues are unavailable.
(Contact: Carmen Ferro)

Wisconsin Retrains Workers for Emerging Industries
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has launched grant programs to retrain workers in emerging industries as part of the state’s sector strategy using Workforce Investment Act (WIA) discretionary funds. The grants are targeted to help train workers in emerging industries such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, bioscience, construction and health care.

The sector strategies plan also includes funding to support manufacturing skill standards certification efforts, low-income individuals to pursue careers in emerging industries, pilot projects to build career pathways through apprenticeships in the health care sector, and entrepreneurial training for owners of start-ups to write business plans in emerging sectors.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)

New Jersey Considering Privatization to Save Millions for State
By: Justin Heineman
The New Jersey Privatization Task Force released a report identifying savings of more than $200 million through privatization of government. Governor Chris Christie formed the task force in March 2010 to develop a strategy that would reduce the size, scope and cost of state government through streamlining government operations. The report’s recommendations include:

  • Privatization of Housing and Uniform Construction Code enforcement within the Department of Community Affairs;
  • Exploring opportunities to privatize inmate medical health services and correctional facilities' food services within the Department of Corrections;
  • Entering into long-term concession agreements for the operation and management of all state parks within the Department of Environmental Protection; and
  • Full decentralization of passenger vehicle inspections and the outsourcing of manual toll collection.

(Contact: Erin Lamos)

Michigan Eases Regulations to Boost Local Agriculture, Small Farmers
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has signed a bill designed to boost small- and medium-sized farms, local farmers markets and entrepreneurs in Michigan by lifting regulatory barriers that excluded food products made in the home from being sold commercially. The law applies to “cottage food products” that do not require temperature control for safety including jams, jellies, granola, dried fruit and herbs, cereal, dry mixes, candy and baked goods. Specifically, cottage foods producers will no longer be subject the licensing and inspection provisions of the Food Law of 2000 if they have annual gross sales of $15,000 or less. All cottage food products will be required to be pre-packaged and properly labeled prior to sale. Product labels must include federally mandated information including ingredients, allergy information and the name and address of the cottage food operation.

The law prohibits Internet and mail order sales are prohibited and sales by consignment or at wholesale in an effort to protect the local food industry in Michigan.
(Contact: Greg Dierkers)

North Carolina Sets Goals for High School Graduation
North Carolina’s House and Senate have passed a bill directing the State Board of Education to set minimum goals for statewide high school graduation rates of 74 percent by 2014, 80 percent by 2016, and 90 percent by 2018, with a long-term goal of all students graduating from high school. The bill would require the Board of Education to report annually on:

  • High school graduation goals and benchmarks by local school administrative unit;
  • Strategies and recommendations for achieving goals;
  • Evidence and data supporting these strategies and recommendations, and;
  • The identity of individuals responsible for oversight of local administrative units in achieving goals and benchmarks.

The state’s Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation developed policy recommendations that informed this legislation. In 2009, North Carolina’s graduation rate was 71.7 percent.
(Contact: Amanda Szekely)

Tennessee Reforms Postsecondary Remedial Education
Under the Complete College Tennessee Act, signed by Governor Phil Bredesen earlier this year, four-year public universities are eliminating remedial education classes and overhauling curriculum to promote college completion in four years. By fall 2011, remedial coursework will be offered only at the community college level to serve as a gateway to four-year higher education institutions.

This reform effort replaces a system in which students who are not prepared for university coursework pay full college tuition for remedial courses that do not carry college credits. Offering remedial coursework through less costly community colleges is expected to reduce expenses for both students and the state. Tennessee’s law allows four-year universities to coordinate with community colleges to address student needs.
(Contact: Amanda Szekely)

Indiana Schools and Universities Could Save by Transitioning to State Health Plan
Indiana’s public schools and universities could realize at least $450 million in savings annually by transitioning to the state’s employee health insurance, according to findings from a recently released report commissioned by the Indiana General Assembly in 2009. The Assembly called for the State Budget Agency to review potential savings realized by school corporations and public universities moving to the state’s health plans. According to the report, most health plans offered by Indiana’s K-12 schools and universities cover more than the state employee plans, but expect much smaller employee contributions. Additionally, the report showed a lack of competitive discounts and consumer-driven health plans for school corporations and public universities.

Five Indiana school corporations have already switched to state health insurance in response. The Department of Education estimates that these schools will save nearly approximately $3.5 million this year for approximately 600 employees. If every school and university employee made the move to the state health plan, about 125,000 individuals would be added.
(Contact: Lauren Stewart)

Rhode Island Sets Standards for Provider Contracting
By: Josh Fangmeier
The Rhode Island Health Insurance Commission has announced new regulations for health care provider contracts. In an effort to change the way that health care is delivered and organized, the Health Insurance Commission is setting forth six new regulations for hospital-insurer contracts. These regulations will apply to new health plans and entail the following requirements:

  • Efficiency-based units of payment for services;
  • Setting an annual maximum price increase for services;
  • Contracts with quality incentives;
  • Administrative efficiency standards;
  • Provider communication standards; and
  • Public access to contract terms.

Along with setting these new regulations, the Health Insurance Commission approved reduced rate increases for commercial insurance purchased to cover employees in 2011. The rate increase reductions ranged from 3.6 percent to 1.4 percent. The adjustments were based on analysis from the Commission and comments gathered from the general public.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)

 

Connecticut Strengthens Medical Error Accountability
By: Josh Fangmeier
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed a bill into law to increase the disclosure of medical errors and the sharing of this information with patients and policymakers. The new law provides whistleblower protection to those that report medical adverse events that take place at hospitals and surgical sites to the state Department of Public Health (DPH). DPH is then required to aggregate cases of medical errors for each hospital and submit them in an annual report to the legislature. DPH is also required to share this information with patients that have filed complaints of negligence, incompetence, fraud or deceit against a health care provider.
(Contact: Brad Finnegan)

Other News
Report Examines Role of Prisons in Radicalization
By: Simon Minching
A new report from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence examines the role prisons often play in radicalization of inmates. The report, Prisons and Terrorism: Radicalisation and De-radicalisation in 15 Countries, identifies best practices that can assist policymakers in creating new policies for correctional facilities. Convened in partnership with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism based at the University of Maryland, the report cites that the “security first” approach used in many countries is a root cause of missed opportunities to promote reform. Key findings and recommendations include:

  • While prisons are often fertile grounds where radical, religiously framed ideologies can flourish, innovative approaches to integration of inmates back into mainstream society can prevent recidivism and radicalization;
  • Emphasis should be placed on combating overcrowding and understaffing, as they magnify the conditions that lend themselves to radicalization;
  • The establishment of new social networks and vocational training can play a positive role in prevention of radicalization; and
  • Positive approaches to combating radicalization should complement a nationwide strategy for overall terrorism prevention.

(Contact: Carmen Ferro)

Early Withdrawers from Retirement Savings Often Low-Income
By: Lucas Pappas
A recent study by the Urban Institute has revealed important information about early withdrawals from retirement savings. The report found that a majority of withdrawals are linked to unexpected difficulties or major investment decisions such as poor health, job loss, home purchases and education expenses. The research also uncovered strong correlations between an individual’s income, level of education and race and his or her propensity to save. Wealthier whites with advanced degrees are considerably more likely to own retirement accounts and are less likely to draw upon them prematurely. Conversely, low-income minority groups with fewer years of education are unlikely to own retirement accounts; those that do tend to make early withdrawals more frequently.

The report concluded that these trends have created a particularly thorny policy challenge for lawmakers. Currently, the socioeconomic groups that have the greatest need for retirement planning are the ones most likely to dip into their savings early, if they have savings accounts at all. However, any measures that strengthen the penalties for early withdrawals run the risk of simply discouraging individuals from opening retirement accounts altogether. Researchers mentioned two potential solutions to this problem:

  • Encourage workers to save for other life events in addition to retirement. Some policies already achieve this through the use of individual development accounts and automatic deposit of earned income tax credit refunds into savings accounts.
  • Mandate increased savings through an add-on to Social Security rather than rely on voluntary savings plans.

(Contact: Erin Andrew)

Report Highlights State Policy Strategies to Promote College Readiness
A new report highlights state policy strategies to address the college readiness gap, a major impediment to increasing the number of college students who complete certificates or degrees. According to the report, published by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and the Southern Regional Education Board, nearly 60 percent of first-year college students are not academically prepared for postsecondary studies. The report identifies several factors in the college prep curriculum that leave students unprepared for college. For example, the report finds that currently P–12 and postsecondary expectations are disconnected and current student assessments do not accurately measure college readiness. Furthermore, the report finds that schools and teachers are not accountable for teaching to college readiness standards and colleges are not accountable for degree completion. The authors recommend states should adopt college readiness academic standards and use these standards to correct for these failures. Specific recommendations for governors include:

  • Call for legislation that sets forth a framework for a comprehensive and systemic college readiness agenda;
  • Ensure that a P–16 council, if one exists, is charged to develop and advocate for a comprehensive and systemic college readiness agenda;
  • Communicate often and clearly about the importance of setting college readiness standards that truly signal readiness;
  • Set clear expectations that the broad-access postsecondary sectors (all two-year and less selective four-year institutions) work as equal partners on a college readiness agenda; and ensure that readiness standards are adopted as a core component of state P–12 standards.

(Contact: Amanda Szekely)

Gasoline Consumption Rising in the Northwest
The Sightline Institute reports that while gasoline consumption across the U.S. has steadily declined during the last decade, consumption in Idaho, Oregon and Washington rose in 2009. Gasoline consumption in Idaho showed a four percent per capita increase and consumption in Oregon and Washington increased roughly one percent.

These three states showed a steady decline in gasoline consumption over the previous decade so the sudden increase in the last year is unexpected. The Sightline Institute suspects that the recent drop in gasoline prices may have contributed to the increase. The Institute recommends policy options to combat the increase, including pollution fees or a gas tax if the decrease in gas prices is to blame for the sudden increase in consumption.
(Contact: Greg Dierkers)

Report Finds Challenges to Offering Medicaid Coverage to Uninsured Adults
By: Josh Fangmeier
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a report that examines the characteristics of the uninsured adult population that will be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 and identifies policy implications for state governments as they plan to enroll this population.  The researchers found that 38 percent of uninsured adults at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty limit (the eligibility line for Medicaid in 2014) have not utilized medical care during the past two years of being uninsured.

These findings could present several challenges to state governments, since this population may have little knowledge of the Medicaid program, may not know how to navigate the health care system, and is difficult to reach and enroll, since they utilize few other public services.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)

What's New
NGA Webcast will Highlight State Child Welfare Financing Strategies
The NGA Center will host a Web cast, State Child Welfare Financing Strategies, to bring together national and state experts to discuss strategies for flexible child welfare financing within states. The webcast will provide an overview of financing strategies across the country and focus in on the efforts of both Iowa and Massachusetts. In Iowa, the Decategorization Initiative pools state funds, providing them to localities and allowing local boards to create plans to invest these funds to safely reduce the number of children in foster care. In Massachusetts, child welfare funding is a broad appropriation that includes a wide range of family support and permanency services, providing flexibility in spending and reinvestment opportunities.

The State Child Welfare Financing Strategies webcast will be held on Wednesday, August 4, 2010, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT. To view the webcast, go to: http://ww.nga.org/webcast.
(Contact: Jody Grutza)

Twenty-Five States have Adopted Common Academic Standards
As of July 15, 2010, 25 states have either begun or completed the process of adopting the Common Core State Standards. Those states are: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The NGA Center and the Council of Chief State School Officers released the Common Core State Standards in June. The standards define the knowledge and skills students should gain in K-12 education to graduate high school fully prepared for college and work.
(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)

NGA Center Releases Report on Health Care Delivery Reform
During the 2010 NGA Annual Meeting, the NGA Center released State Roles in Delivery System Reform, a new report that provides tools and levels to states to create a more efficient and effective health care system. The report was written by NGA Center staff members and other experts in the health care policy field. The release of this report is part of Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas’s Chair Initiative Rx for Health Reform: Affordable, Accessible, Accountable, which focused on devising and implementing steps at the state level to make the American health care system more cost-effective, efficient, and quality-focused.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)