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 share innovations and best practices for serving the complex needs of children and families. This network serves as a monthly check-in for updates, content, peer-to-peer exchanges, and networking; this call series is the Children and Families Program’s primary space for convening policy advisors to discuss multidisciplinary policy considerations.
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 share innovations and best practices for serving the complex needs of children and families. This network serves as a monthly check-in for updates, content, peer-to-peer exchanges, and networking; this call series is the Children and Families Program’s primary space for convening policy advisors to discuss multidisciplinary policy considerations.
Members
Governors’ policy advisors with human services-related portfolios. Most commonly, this role is housed within the Governor’s office; however, personnel from state agencies such as human services, child welfare, and early childhood education may also join.
Activities
- Monthly call series
- State-specific technical assistance available on an ad hoc basis
- Consultation on NGA published materials
HSPAI Sessions
Human Services Workforce Recruitment & Retention
Speakers: Fairfax County, Virginia Alycia Blackwell, Deputy Director of Programs & Services, Fairfax County Department of Family Services Sandi Slappey Brown, Child Welfare Assistant Division Director for Operations, Children, Youth and Families Division, Fairfax County Department of Family Services Summary: Fairfax County ...
State Discussion on Policy Priorities
Summary: During the August HSPAI monthly call, the Children and Families team welcomed Governor’s human services policy advisors for an off-the-record discussion about their current portfolios, priorities, and challenges going ...
Whole Family Well-Being: Upstream Home Visiting
Speakers Oregon: Cate Wilcox, Maternal and Child Health Section Manager and Title V Director, Public Health Division, Oregon Health Authority Ohio: Alicia Leatherman, Administrator, Early Childhood Home Visiting and Maternal and Infant Wellness, Bureau ...
Combatting Childhood Hunger in Summer 2022
Speakers Share Our Strength Bernadette Downey, Associate Director for Government Relations and Advocacy Carolyn Vega, Associate Director of Policy Analysis, Center for Best Practices Maryland Augustin Ntabaganyimana, Deputy Executive Director of Programs, Family ...
Meet Them Where They Are: Identifying and Addressing Gaps in Child Care
Speakers Kentucky: Lesa Dennis, Deputy Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Community Based Services Iowa: Liesl Seabert, Rural Community Revitalization Program Manager, Iowa Economic Development Authority Summary Kentucky: 79 of Kentucky’s 120 ...
TANF & SNAP Pipelines to Address Workforce Shortages
Speakers Wyoming: Jen Davis, Policy Advisor for Governor Gordon Katie Hogarty, CEO of CLIMB Wyoming Michigan: Algeria Wilson, Policy Advisor for Governor Whitmer Joe Billig, Division Administrator, MI Department of ...
Please contact Jess Kirchner (jkirchner@nga.org) with any questions about the network.
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
- Eli McCabe, Policy Analyst
- Ekaan Ahmad, Policy Coordinator
NGA Resources
Governors Launch Youth Mental Health Initiative
Salt Lake City – National Governors Association (NGA) Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox met with those on the frontlines of youth ...
States Convening to Discuss Improving Economic Mobility
From coast to coast, Governors are committed to improving economic mobility outcomes for families in their states and are investing in innovative programs—including in fields traditionally underutilized for economic security—and ...
Advancing Economic Mobility for Low-Income Families: Policy Options for Governors
As we look to post-pandemic recovery, it will be critical to ensure that individuals have access to resources and supports that not only help them meet basic needs but also ...
Letter Urges Congress to provide a one-year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program
The Honorable Ron Wyden ChairmanSenate Committee on Finance 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Richard E. NealChairmanHouse Committee on Ways and Means 2309 Cannon Building Washington, ...
State Efforts to Address ACEs and Trauma and Build Resilience
States are working to prevent and mitigate ACEs and trauma, and have an opportunity to advance trauma-informed care with the implementation of the 988 hotline. By Anna Heard Adverse childhood ...
Governors Meet with Dolly Parton at the NGA Summer Meeting
Governors met with Dolly Parton for a discussion about early child literacy efforts, including Parton’s Imagination Library program that mails free books to children. Dolly Parton made a virtual appearance ...
Governor Murphy Introduces Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health Care
At the closing session of NGA’s Summer Meeting 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy accepted the NGA Chair’s gavel from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and underlined the importance of Governors’ ...
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Elected Chair of National Governors Association
Utah Governor Spencer Cox Elected Vice Chair Portland, Maine – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was elected chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) as the bipartisan association works alongside ...
NGA 2022 Summer Meeting
The National Governors Association's 2022 Annual Summer Meeting was held was July 13-15, 2022, in Portland, Maine. Governors met to collaborate on bipartisan solutions to leading policy issues including computer ...
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 ...