Children and Families
Governors and state leaders play a critical role in the protection and support of vulnerable children, families, and individuals. The Children and Families team provides timely and individualized state-focused technical assistance to governors, their human services policy advisors, and state agency leadership, so they can improve policies and systems that will allow children, families, and communities to reach their full potential. With an emphasis on helping states develop equitable opportunities and support for all communities, the Children and Families team aids and enables governors to advance and fulfill their vision for the children and families. Issue areas include child welfare, economic mobility, housing, juvenile justice, child care, and poverty alleviation.
Our Focus Areas
- Whole-family Approaches to Serving Children and Families
- Early Childhood Education and Care
- Juvenile Justice
- Human Services Data and Delivery Systems
- Housing and Homelessness
- Food Insecurity and Hunger
- Family Economic Security
- Anti-Poverty Solutions
- Foster Care, Kinship Care, and Adoption
- Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
- Empowering Families and Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Opportunity and Equity
Meet The Team
- Jordan Hynes
Program Director - Jess Kirchner
Policy Analyst - Ekaan Ahmad
Policy Coordinator
Children and Families Library
Governors Urge Quick Action on the Bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act
National Governors Association’s Community Renewal Task Force Co-Chairs Governors Mike Parson and Albert Bryan, Jr. released the following statement on the bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act, introduced by Senate Agriculture ...
Briefing on Infant Formula Shortage
On Tuesday, May 17, 2022 NGA hosted a briefing for Governors’ offices with the White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...
Human Services Policy Advisors Institute
The Human Services Policy Advisors Institute is a series of monthly calls that bring together governors’ policy advisors and state leaders from social services and children and family-serving agencies to ...
Help Wanted: Building a Pipeline to Address the Children’s Mental Health Provider Workforce Shortage
There is no silver bullet for the mental health crisis but reducing workforce shortages of these critical providers can go a long way to solving the problem. by Jessica Kirchner ...
Governors’ Top Priorities for Supporting Children and Families In 2022 State of the State Addresses
Across states, Governors’ cited their commitment to strengthening families and communities. By Isabella Cuneo In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governors across the country are keenly focused on growth ...
National Governors Association Welcomes 10 States to Join Children and Families Core Advisory Board
The National Governors Association today announced its new Children and Families Core Advisory Board members for 2022. Each year, a small group of governors’ human services policy advisors and agency ...
2021 Child and Family Well-Being Governors’ Summit
The 2021 Child and Family Well-Being Governors’ Summit featured State presentations and a panel of Governors’ Policy Advisors on Governors’ plans and priorities to holistically improve the lives of children ...
State Innovation for Strengthening Families
Governors have developed ambitious initiatives to improve the lives of children and families. by Isabella Cuneo Governing a state is a bit like flying an airplane: You must know how ...
SNAP E&T Action Lab
This Action Lab focused on leveraging Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) to expand access to and support student success in education and training programs that lead ...
Case Study: California’s ACEs Aware Initiative
California’s ACEs Aware initiative takes an innovative, evidence-based approach to addressing adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress by educating and training health care providers who are directly interacting with the ...
Promising Practices to Reduce Maternal Mortality in New Jersey
Nurture NJ is an umbrella that breaks down silos between stakeholders, bringing them together to tackle issues related to maternal and child health. (View/Download) Background According to the Centers for ...
8 States Join Learning Network Supporting Child and Family Well-Being Throughout the Pandemic
As families and communities face continued uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eight states have joined a network that will bring together Governors’ offices, child welfare leaders, state human services ...
