State News
Ohio Extends Dependent Health Coverage to Age 28
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has issued an executive order requiring health insurance carriers to provide information to parents about expanded eligibility to cover adult dependents on family health plans. The executive order relates to recently passed state health care legislation requiring Ohio health insurers to allow coverage of adult dependents up to 28-years-old on their family’s plan by July 1, 2010. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires health insurance companies to allow coverage for dependents on family plans up to 26-years-old by September 23, 2010.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)
Rhode Island Offers New Community Care Option for Elderly
By: Josh Fangmeier
The Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services created a new Shared Living Program option for Medicaid-eligible elders and adults seeking long-term care services in a home-based setting, instead of an institutional setting. A person eligible for the program, who can no longer live independently, can live in a home-based environment, such as a caregiver’s home and stay at the same place as their health needs change over time.
Previously, similar shared-living programs were only available to persons with developmental disabilities. The expansion of the Shared Living Program makes the elderly and adults with disabilities eligible for the first time. Shared Living agencies will recruit host homes and provide oversight to make certain that caregiver homes are safe and caregivers are properly trained.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)
Illinois, Indiana Partner to Build Expressway
By: Kate George
Legislation has been approved in both Indiana and Illinois to pursue public-private financing options for the “Illiana” Expressway that would connect interstate 65 in Indiana with interstate 55 in Illinois.
Governor Mitch Daniels and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which says the two states agree to partner in the creation of the expressway. The new expressway is expected to reduce crashes and create infrastructure jobs. The next step will be completion of environmental studies, which will determine the specific route for the expressway.
(Contact: Greg Dierkers)
Delaware Earns Millions from Regional Carbon Auction
By: Rachel Escobar
Delaware earned $2.1 million from selling carbon credits at the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction. The auctions allow companies operating under the carbon cap to sell excess credits to other power plants with emissions over the limit. Although carbon prices have remained relatively low, trading at $1.88/ton, Delaware has been able to achieve cumulative earnings of $16 million. The majority of the money earned goes to the Sustainable Energy Utility for weatherization, low-income energy assistance and other energy-related programs.
(Contact: Greg Dierkers)
Mississippi STEPS Program to Sponsor Entrepreneurs
By: Lucas Pappas
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has expanded the Mississippi STEPS program to subsidize youth jobs and provide financial assistance to individuals seeking to open their own businesses. Starting this summer, the original Mississippi STEPS program, which began in December of 2009, will be augmented by two companion programs: STEPS New Start and Summer STEPS. The goal of these new programs is to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for low-income populations while simultaneously boosting employment.
Specifically, STEPS New Start will help entrepreneurs by offering eligible recipients $5,000 in grant funding to start new businesses. To qualify, applicants must have at least one child under the age of 18 and earn no more than 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Priority will be given to candidates who are prepared to open within 60 days of their application. The Summer STEPS program, which begins in June, will provide funding for jobs for youth between the ages of 18 and 24. Wages will be 100 percent subsidized for individuals working 32-40 hours per week and earning $8.00/hour.
(Contact: Erin Lamos)
Connecticut Governor Places Sanctions Against Child Predators
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed legislation to allow the state to seize the assets of criminals who exploit children and engage in human trafficking and use them to help fund the state’s criminal justice system.
The new law gives the state authority to seize any cash or property intended for or gained from promoting human trafficking or enticing a child into an obscene act. The assets of those convicted would help support the state’s criminal justice system in the following circumstances:
- Pay the balance due on any lien the court preserved;
- Pay any costs incurred for storage and maintenance of the property; and
- Pay for court costs, with any remainder deposited into the General Fund.
In addition, the bill also expands the definition of first degree child pornography possession.
(Contact: Blaire Jones)
Missouri Changes DWI Laws
By: Alisha Powell
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed legislation that reforms the state’s DWI laws by requiring repeat DWI offenders and those with higher blood alcohol levels to serve more jail time and requires law enforcement agencies to develop a DWI reporting policy to better track repeat offenders. The bill also:
- Limits municipal court jurisdiction in DWI cases by stating that if a driver has two or more previous intoxication-related cases or alcohol-related law enforcement contacts, the case must be handled in circuit court which carries tougher penalties;
- Requires each law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney and municipal court to adopt a DWI reporting policy with failure to certify adoption by law enforcement or prosecutors resulting in the loss of grant funds from the Department of Public Safety; and
- Requires all municipal court judges to complete a course on state drunk driving laws.
Additionally, the law expands the ability of prosecutors to bring evidence of prior DWI offenses through the use of criminal history records. It also closes a loophole that previously allowed a DWI offender with a single prior offence to have it expunged from the record even if a new DWI charge was pending.
(Contact: Blaire Jones)
States Selected as “Top Picks” in Bond Investor Relations
California, Delaware, Florida and Massachusetts have been recognized by the municipal research center, MuniNet, as superb examples of municipal investor relations. Over the past year, MuniNet conducted research on states’ investor relations by examining states’ bond issuance portals. The study resulted in evidence that municipal investors are being increasingly treated like corporate bondholders, with broader access to financial reports, management commentary, as well as performance and accountability measures.
Effective state portals are important because of the potential to engage the investment community and stimulate the bond market. At the same time, they provide a service to taxpayers who can use the portal’s information to gain a clearer understanding of their state or local government’s financial condition. The four states selected as “Top Picks” demonstrated excellence in the type of content provided by issuers of state and municipal bonds. To qualify as a Top Pick, the portal’s information had to display several key indicators, such as bond ratings and financial disclosure materials, and had to be easy to find and understand.
(Contact: Lauren Stewart)
Illinois Helps Community Colleges Manage Cash Flow
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently signed legislation to help the state’s community colleges manage their budgets in a challenging fiscal environment. The law will allow community colleges to borrow additional funds while they wait for already-authorized state funding. Specifically, Illinois will double the amount of bonds that community colleges are permitted to issue for the next three years and allow community college districts to establish a line of credit.
(Contact: Amanda Szekely)
Indiana Creates Online University
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels recently signed an executive order that establishes WGU Indiana, a partnership between the state and Western Governors University (WGU). WGU Indiana will be a nonprofit, online, competency-based university that operates as a branch of WGU. The competency-based model allows students to move through courses based on their specific needs. For example, students with relevant prior work or academic experience may move quickly through overlapping content to focus on areas of weakness. WGU Indiana will offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in:
- Business;
- Teacher education;
- Information technology; and
- Health professions.
Startup funding for the University is provided by the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Moving forward, the University will be self-sustaining based on revenue generated from tuition.
(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)
Other News
Percentage of High School Graduates Declines
Education Week released its annual report on nationwide high school graduation trends. The report found that the 2007 graduation rate (the most recent year for which data is available) dropped four-tenths of a percentage point to 68.8 percent. This equates to 11,000 fewer high school graduates nationwide.
The report also found a persistent gap in educational attainment amongst the different demographic groups. For example, over 75 percent of Asian students graduated from high school in 2007. The same is true for only 51 percent of Native American students. What’s more, of the 11,000 school systems across the country, 25 city- and county-wide school districts produce one of every five high school dropouts, or over 250 million dropouts.
(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)
Great Lakes Region Could Play Important Role in Energy Innovation
By: Justin Heineman
The Brookings Institute released a new report giving recommendations for expanding high-intensity energy research and innovation centers in the Great Lakes Region. The report focuses on using the federal government to systematically accelerate national clean energy using themed research and commercialization centers. To accomplish this goal, the report recommends: increasing energy research funding overall; adopting more comprehensive approaches to research and development that address and link multiple aspects of a specific problem, such as transportation; and leveraging existing regional research, workforce, entrepreneurial and industrial assets in the region.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)
Survey Finds Methods for Improving Care in Community Health Centers
Formalized hospital partnerships, improved office systems, adoption of the medical home model and increased use of health information technology (HIT) were indicative of strong care delivery in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), according to a recent survey. The survey was conducted by The Commonwealth Fund in 2009 to assess the capacity of FQHCs to deliver efficient and coordinated care.
According to the survey, 60 percent of health centers without a hospital affiliation reported difficulty getting off-site specialty care for their Medicare patients, compared to 46 percent with hospital partnerships. The survey also found that 40 percent of centers had electronic medical records. However, many centers lack the advanced HIT necessary to maintain patient registries, order prescriptions or provide alerts. There are an estimated 1,000 health centers operating at approximately 6,000 sites across the U.S. In 2010, these centers will serve an estimated 20 million patients.
(Contact: Brad Finnegan)
Study Examines Public Behavior During the H1N1 Outbreak
A new study conducted by Harvard University finds two key reasons for the limited number of people receiving the H1N1 influenza vaccine: low perception of risk and safety of the vaccine. A significant number of survey respondents indicated that they believed they were not at risk of contracting, or having serious complications from, H1N1. A majority of parents surveyed reported that they were concerned about the vaccine’s safety for use by children, and as many as 35 percent of adult respondents indicated that they did not believe the vaccine itself was safe for their own use. The survey responses raise concerns about public willingness to vaccinate for future pandemic events. From this survey, public health officials will be able to better address effectiveness and safety concerns about vaccines during public health events.
(Contact: David Henry)
Renewable Energy Credits Help Green Power Market
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a report that explores factors that influence the developing market for green power. The primary factors expected to be influential as the market develops include: climate policies, renewable portfolio standards (RPS), renewable energy prices and consumers’ interest. According to the report, the Renewable Energy Credit (REC) markets are key drivers of growth, providing a mechanism for green power producers to get a return on their power generated. Supportive policies for REC markets and on-site solar generation will have the greatest effect in the growth of the voluntary market.
(Contact: Greg Dierkers)
What's New
States Continue to Adopt Common Academic Standards
As of June 16, 2010, nine states have either begun or completed the process of adopting the Common Core State Standards. Those states are: Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia, Hawaii, Utah, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Michigan.
The NGA Center and the Council of Chief State School Officers released the Common Core State Standards earlier this month. These 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 Webinar: NGA STATE ALLIANCE LEARNING FORUM
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming webinar “Health IT and Health System Reform” on Monday, June 21, 3:30-4:30 pm Eastern Time. This webinar will feature David Lansky, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Business Group on Health who will discuss the role of Health IT in transforming our health care delivery system. Kathleen Nolan, MPH, Director of the Health Division, NGA Center for Best Practices will discuss using state policy levels and Health IT to transform our health care system. This will be followed by an opportunity for participants to discuss key questions facing states as they move towards e-prescribing.
The webinar will take place on Monday, June 21, 3:30-4:30 pm Eastern Time.
Conference Call Information:
1 (800) 303-0442 (alternative: 1 (847) 413-3733)
Confirmation Number : 27224163
Host Name: 110-450-4561 HHS eAlliance
Web-based call access (see attached instructions):
Attendee URL: https://portal.nga.org/meeting/00574897
Password: pY0n8dcZ
(Contact: Brad Finnegan)
Apply Now: Policy Academy on Standardization of Justice Information Sharing
The NGA Center invites states to apply for the Policy Academy on Interagency Standardization of Justice Information Sharing. Up to five state teams of senior-level state policymakers will be competitively selected to develop a policy leveraging Justice Reference Architecture, a framework for implementing a standardized information sharing infrastructure, which will help improve how states share information and services across systems. Selected states will receive up to $25,000 to complete project work. Selected states will host site visits, attend two policy academy meetings and receive ongoing, specialized technical assistance from NGA Center staff and national experts. Proposals are due Wednesday, July 7, by 5:00 pm EDT.
(Contact: Allison Cullin)
Apply Now: Learning Lab on Improving Postsecondary Credential Attainment by Adult Workers
The NGA Center invites states to apply for The Pacific Northwest Learning Lab: Improving Postsecondary Credential Attainment by Adult Worker, August 11-13, 2010, in Seattle, Washington. The meeting will highlight how Washington and Oregon have adopted innovative policies and programs to provide the resources adults need to obtain postsecondary credentials, while also meeting the needs of employers. During the two-day learning lab, participants will hear from experts in both states about issues such as: leadership and goal setting; support services for the working adult; performance-based funding; and cross-institutional data to track performance. The NGA Center will reimburse hotel and travel expenses for up to five officials per state from six states. States will be chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis and on the strength of their responses to questions listed in the application. Applications are due Monday, June 28, by 5:00 pm EDT.
(Contact: Linda Hoffman)
NGA Webinar on Legal Immigrants: State Immigrant Integration and Citizenship Strategies
The NGA Center invites you to participate in a web conference related to Legal Immigrants: State Immigrant Integration and Citizenship Strategies. This web conference will provide an overview of legal immigrants in the United States (workforce participation, citizenship status, children of immigrants) and the impact the economic downturn has had on immigrants. It will also highlight initiative in Illinois and Massachusetts that that are assisting immigrants in the citizenship process. Presenters will discuss the advantages of citizenship to both individuals and the state.
Conference Call Information:
Call-In Number: (877) 261-8991
Pass Code: 7543084#
Web-based call access (see attached instructions):
Click on the following link - https://portal.nga.org/meeting/54066124. Enter your name and this password: zgUVvOie to enter the web portion of the call.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)
