State News

California Nursing Homes to Display CMS Rating
By: Brian O’Donnell
In an effort to educate consumers about nursing home quality, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law requiring all nursing homes certified for purposes of Medicaid or Medicare to display their rating information in a public and prominent location by 2011. The ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System. The ratings range from a low of one star to a high of five stars and are based on:

• Several quality measures;
• Nursing home surveys; and
• Staffing rates.

(Contact: Molly Voris)

Florida Launches Electronic Health Records for Medicaid Recipients
Florida has launched free personal health records for Medicaid recipients at no cost to taxpayers. Through a public-private partnership, the state’s 2.6 million Medicaid recipients will be able to track information about their health care visits, procedures, medications and more by using My Florida Health eBook and My Florida eBaby Book. Recipients will also be able to:

• Track family medical history and share this information with providers;
• Chart personal health information such as blood sugar levels, weight and blood pressure; and
• Enter emergency contact and key health information to print and carry with them.

Recipients can also view claims data from services paid. Florida will partner with hospitals, county health departments and community organizations to promote the use of the electronic personal health records.
(Contact: Jason Hsieh)

Michigan Limits Mercury Emissions from Coal Plants
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has finalized rules to limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the largest source of airborne mercury pollution in the state and nationwide. The rules state that coal plants currently operating in the state must complete a 90 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2015, and any new plants will have to adopt best available control requirements. Compliance with the new rules can be achieved through either an input-or output-based standard, or as part of an approved multi-pollutant reduction strategy. There is also flexibility in the rules to allow owners of multiple power plants to reduce emissions based on a pooled average of their units. The new rules make Michigan the 19th state to cap coal-related mercury emissions.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

Wisconsin to Require Recycling of Electronics
Governor Jim Doyle signed a law establishing a new program for recycling electronic devices in Wisconsin. The law requires manufacturers of computers, video display devices (such as televisions and monitors) and printers sold in the state to register with the Department of Natural Resources and arrange for the collection and recycling of those and other consumer electronic devices. Manufacturers will pay a yearly registration fee as well as provide documentation that all devices comply with hazardous materials law. To ensure that the devices are properly recycled, the law also includes a ban on the disposal of covered electronic devices in landfills or incinerators. The law achieves one of the recommendations set forth by the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

Colorado Launches Online Flu Self-Assessment
Governor Bill Ritter announced that the Colorado Department of Health will support a comprehensive patient flu self-assessment Web site to help citizens determine the severity of their illness and to share information with their personal physician. Users can also take the assessment anonymously. The self-assessment asks users for information such as:

• Body temperature;
• Chronic illness history; and
• Coughing symptoms.

Miami Opens High School with Security Focus
By: Alisha Powell
The Miami Police Department has unveiled a new integrated law enforcement training center and high school that will serve 500 students. The high school places an academic emphasis on homeland security, law studies and forensics. In addition to classrooms, students will have access to labs and a mock courtroom. The new $34.5 million facility received funding from Homeland Defense Neighborhood Improvement Bond, School Board of Miami-Dade County, Impact Fees and Sunshine State Financing Commission.
(Contact: David Henry)

West Virginia Holds Workplace Forum on Cyber Security
The West Virginia Office of Technology hosted a cyber security conference and webinar recently, aimed at educating the state workforce in computer and Internet safety. Cyber security experts stressed the insignificance of firewalls and other safeguarding technology if employees do not understand how to protect personal and sensitive information. Data breaches can be caused by human error, including lost and unsecured thumb drives, download of malicious attachments and the unwitting sharing of passwords to hackers. A combination of computer software, physical security features, effective agency policies and employee training programs can improve data and system integrity. The West Virginia Office of Technology focuses on three data and system requirements to help educate the workforce and prevent data breaches, including:

• Exposing data only to those with a need and right to use;
• Keeping data values accurate and allowing only authorized individuals to alter them; and
• Maintaining systems and communications to acceptable operational status.

(Contact: Will Ware)

Web Tool Matches Unemployed with Jobs
By: Kelsey McCoy
New York Governor David A. Paterson has announced a new Web-based Skills Matching and Referral Technology (SMART) 2010 program that will help nearly 875,000 unemployment workers in New York receive immediate job leads. The SMART program analyzes resumes for skills and work experience, then contacts unemployed workers via e-mail with job openings in their region based on their past work history, experience and skills.

The SMART program is administered through One-Stop Career Centers. After Labor Department counselors feed individuals’ electronic resumes into the SMART 2010 system, the job seeker will begin receiving daily e-mails containing up to 10 job matches from the department’s database of employment opportunities.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)

South Carolina Prepares Students for Green Economy
South Carolina has launched a green tech pilot program to prepare students for jobs in the green economy. The new GreenSTEM initiative is an innovative high school program focused on green technologies that is being offered in five of the state’s school districts.

The participating school districts that volunteered for the pilot are funded by federal technical and career education funds. Students participating in the program focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency theory while receiving hands-on lab experience. Projects range from producing clean electrons (electricity) with wind turbines to generating electricity using photovoltaic panel systems and creating hydrogen fuel cells.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)

Wisconsin Governor Proposes Education Reforms
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle released plans to reform the education system in the state. Governor Doyle proposed an overhaul of the state’s current testing system and improvement of the state longitudinal data system to incorporate teacher evaluations. Other proposed changes include:

• Create a mayor-appointed superintendent in the Milwaukee Public School District;
• Require three years of math and science for high school graduation;
• Provide financial incentives to teachers and principals for improving student performance; and
• Extend the school day and year.

(Contact: Ryan Reyna)

Texas Expands STEM Initiative
Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced he wants to improve and expand the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) academies and the nationally recognized UTeach program. The T-STEM initiative was established in 2005, and nearly 90 percent of T-STEM academies are exemplary or recognized. The UTeach Program focuses on recruiting university students earning math and science degrees into teaching.

Governor Perry proposed the following enhancements to existing STEM programs in the state:

• A $160 million initiative to expand the number and scope of T-STEM academies, doubling the number of T-STEM academies from 46 to 92;
  
• A $100 million T-STEM Challenge Scholarship for students at universities, community colleges and technical colleges pursuing degrees and certifications in the science, technology, engineering, math or medical fields; and
  
• Greatly expand the UTeach Program to five additional higher education institutions and expand the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program to 50 additional high schools.

(Contact: Angela Baber)

Other News

Massachusetts Study: Electronic Health Records Improves Quality
By: Brian O’Donnell
A Commonwealth Fund study of more than 300 primary care practices in Massachusetts found a strong association between clinicians’ frequent use of multifunctional electronic health records (EHRs) and higher practice performance on quality-of-care measures. More specifically, frequently using multifunctional EHRs was associated with higher performance on three measures of screening (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and Chlamydia) and two measures of diabetes care (eye exams and nephropathy monitoring).

Despite the findings that multifunctional EHRs can improve quality, the study found that only 33 percent of practices reported frequent use of multifunctional electronic health records. Rather, practices more often reported using more basic systems that were not similarly associated with an increase in quality.
(Contact: Molly Voris)

Report Details Energy Efficiency Lessons from Other Countries’ Practices
A new report by the RAND Corporation outlines how the United States can improve energy efficiency in buildings using lessons learned from the European Union (EU) and Australia. The report focuses on five areas in which the EU and/or Australia have made progress on improving building energy efficiency that would also apply to the United States:

• Building codes;
• Energy efficiency ratings;
• The role of public buildings;
• The training and certification of experts; and
• The issuance of tradable “white certificates,” similar to a cap-and-trade program.

The report also discusses how the United States can improve on shortcomings in EU or Australian programs. For example, both the EU and Australia have ratings and display requirements for public buildings based on energy efficient design features; the report recommends that, if adopted in the United States, the ratings be based on measured energy performance rather than design.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

National Adoption Day Scheduled for November
National Adoption Day (NAD) is a collective national effort to raise awareness of children in foster care waiting to be adopted. NAD’s efforts align with and support the six states participating in the NGA Policy Academy to Safely Reduce the Number of Children in Foster Care as adoption and permanency for children is a critical strategy for states moving toward safe reduction and improved outcomes for children. NAD has led to more than 20,000 finalized adoptions throughout the United States since its inception in 2000.

National Adoption Day is scheduled for November 17, 2009, and governors can participate in a variety of ways. Governors can support NAD by writing letters to their state courts, issuing related proclamations, writing letters to be read at NAD events or personally attending local NAD events. 
(Contact: Jody Grutza)

Institute Launches Criminal Justice Cost-Benefit Tool
The VERA Institute of Justice has launched a knowledge-bank for cost-benefit analysis in criminal justice. The knowledge-bank is an online clearinghouse for expert resources designed to help policymakers understand the economic outcomes of their criminal justice investments. For example, policymakers can access information about the cost implications of using evidence-based policies; state responses to the fiscal crisis in corrections; and social service programs designed to prevent entry into the juvenile justice system.
(Contact: Blaire Jones)

Certain Fields Boost Community College Graduates’ Earnings
A new report from the Economic Mobility Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that high school graduates with lower grades who attended community colleges can earn more than their peers who had higher high school grades simply by pursuing “high-return” fields of study, which include business, computer science, engineering and health care. Although a community college education boosts post-college earnings for all students, those who choose “low-return” fields such as humanities or the fine arts typically earn less on average.

The report offers a number of recommendations to states around increasing the numbers of community college graduates in high-return and economically competitive fields of study, including:

• Improve the academic preparedness of students to increase participation in high-return fields of study;
• Invest additional resources to boost capacity in these programs;
• Provide career counseling and assessment to ensure students know the available options; and
• Increase financial aid available to students to support their transfer into four-year colleges.

Over half of low-income, high-achieving high school students transfer from a community college to a four-year college, further increasing their earning potential and economic mobility.
(Contact: Rachel Demma)

What's New

Report Offers Guidance on Reducing Dropout Rates
States can use expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), such as afterschool, summer learning, extended day and extended year programs, to reduce student dropout rates, according to a new issue brief released by the NGA Center.

Reducing Dropout Rates through Expanded Learning Opportunities recommends that states identify likely dropouts early and provide targeted intervention through ELOs; increase access to and the availability of ELOs for students at risk of dropping out; and establish statewide systems to ensure ELOs are effective and are tied to dropout reduction goals.
(Contact: Laura Harris)

Brief Examines Policies to Improve Teacher Development
The NGA Center released an issue brief, State Policies to Improve Teacher Professional Development, that outlines approaches states can take to improve the quality of teacher professional development and ensure the investments made in professional development aid student learning.

The brief details ways governors can lead efforts to develop new models of professional development to improve both quality and impact, including:

• Gather and use student achievement data to assess the effectiveness of professional development;
• Use teacher evaluations and student learning data to create individualized professional development plans for teachers;
• Establish research-based state standards to create a vision for high-quality professional development; and
• Create an incentive-driven professional development initiative for teachers to acquire advanced skills.

(Contact: Tabitha Grossman)