As we welcome a new year, it is natural to reflect on the year that has passed. In the realm of information dissemination, this act of reflection takes on particular significance, as we examine the publications that resonated most deeply with policymakers.
Shorter: Let’s do a Top-Ten Twelve list.
Visitors to NGA.org viewed 391 different publications over the past year; and while we could never pick favorites, readers did, with a particular eye on wellness and workers—with a side of energy.
Let’s have a look.
Wellness
- Strengthening Youth Mental Health: A Governor’s Playbook – The Strengthening Youth Mental Health Initiative brought together close to 500 people, including youth, Governors and other experts, in four convenings held across the country, to discuss the current state of youth mental health systems and advance best practices and implementable, impactful solutions for states. Strengthening Youth Mental Health: A Governor’s Playbook is a culmination of those discussions as well as more than 50 learning calls with national experts.
- Tackling The Maternal And Infant Health Crisis: A Governor’s Playbook – Many states are already taking action to build more cohesive and aligned approaches to reducing poor birth outcomes. States can play a vital role in advancing and bolstering these efforts, and this report outlines 32 policy recommendations that are already in practice and feasible for state governments to implement.
- Resource Guide On State Actions To Prevent And Mitigate Adverse Childhood Experiences And Trauma – States are actively engaged in supporting trauma-informed best practices to mitigate the effects of ACEs and trauma and promote resilience for their communities.
- State Strategies To Address The Needs Of Justice-Involved Youth Impacted By Collateral Consequences – This publication documents a series of learning calls, and a roundtable, held by NGA on collateral consequences for youth involved in the juvenile justice system and highlights key policy strategies for Governors’ offices to consider addressing this issue.
- Implementing Best Practices Across The Continuum Of Care To Prevent Overdose – This Roadmap provides Governors with 17 specific, actionable recommendations to prevent overdose across five pillars of the Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care: foundations, prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.
Workforce
- Preparing The Next Generation Of The Healthcare Workforce: State Strategies For Recruitment And Retention – Through their work together, states have learned ways to strengthen their healthcare career pathways, strategies to attract and retain workers, and methods to coordinate these efforts effectively.
- Workforce Development In The IIJA, CHIPS And IRA – This toolkit draws on insight from federal officials to outline the most pertinent programs and opportunities for state workforce development policymakers to consider as they seek to play a proactive role in implementing IIJA, CHIPS, and IRA.
- How Governors Can Execute Their Vision For Workforce Development: Policy Levers Available Through The Workforce Innovation And Opportunity Act – This brief outlines the menu of policy options Governors have available to them when assessing how to optimize their public workforce system so that it responds to their state or territory’s priority needs and builds more sustainable talent pipelines for tomorrow.
- Advancing Apprenticeship: Opportunities For States And Business To Create And Expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs – This publication highlights the significance of Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) as one of several strategies and opportunities that employers and states can implement and offer to individuals as a viable path toward securing and prospering in a career.
- Service As A Pathway To Economic Opportunity: A Roadmap For Governors – This roadmap lays out five key elements with related policy options for Governors to consider as they develop and execute a vision for service-to-career pathways in their states
Energy
- Hydrogen As An Energy Source – This brief is intended as a short introduction to hydrogen as an energy source. It discusses the various types of hydrogen and a variety of hydrogen use-cases that are nearing market readiness, and summarizes recent federal support for hydrogen through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
- Green Banks: An Overview For Governors – As Governors plan to meet their decarbonization, grid resilience and energy affordability policy objectives, innovative financing approaches like state green banks can be leveraged to accelerate investments in energy and infrastructure projects.
