The National Governors Association (NGA) will invite gubernatorial advisors and policy leaders from 32 states and five territories to the annual Health and Human Services (HHS) Policy Advisory Institute, August 28-29 in Atlanta, Georgia. I welcomed you. The NGA Best Practices Center hosts this annual HHS Institute to provide a unique opportunity for governors’ health and human services advisors to connect, share best practices, and explore ways to address their most pressing policy challenges. . The Institute provides a space for advisors to delve into health and human services policy, learn from subject matter experts, network with colleagues, and share successes and challenges.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen opened the HHS Institute with a keynote address. Dr. Cohen brings a national perspective and health care delivery background to his role, emphasizing the importance of bringing everyone to the table when addressing “thorny” population health issues. She said tackling emerging population health challenges as a team starts with having strong data systems in place to help everyone understand the situation. Dr. Cohen said that, like visibility, public health is invisible when it’s working well, and that getting advocates on board and demonstrating the value of investment in prevention and emergencies requires “visibility.” He said that it is often necessary to “make the invisible visible.” Be prepared. She shared that states and territories can expect to see changes in how CDC communicates to increase transparency and timeliness. She also said the CDC will also invest in state data systems, build partnerships to improve mental health, and support healthy pregnancies, young families, and programs that build resilience and give children a strong start. reported that they are prioritizing upstream prevention.
The institute’s first plenary session focused on family and child welfare, exploring the role that families’ social and economic needs can play in children’s involvement in the child welfare system. Dimple Patel of Casey Family Program moderated a conversation with Katie Rollins of Chapin Hall, Connelly-Anne LaGree of the South Carolina Department of Human Services and Jill Yordy of the National Conference of State Legislatures. These experts discussed the need for proactive upstream prevention, the power of collaboration, and policy opportunities to support families’ economic stability and prevent children from becoming entangled in the child welfare system. . The conversation will discuss recent policies and strategies available to states, including the Families First Preventive Services Act, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pilot, state child welfare laws and definitions of neglect, community prevention efforts, and input from people with disabilities. Opportunities were highlighted. Living expertise.
“Families must have their economic and social needs met before they enter the child welfare system. That’s not just the job of child welfare, it’s the job of the entire health and human services sector.”
Institute participants also delved deeper into emerging health and welfare policy challenges through three breakout sessions and a roundtable discussion. These panel sessions will cover topics such as the state of state cannabis policy, addressing the cost of paying for health-related social needs, and models for creating healthy workplaces that address workforce shortages and employer needs. It was featured. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion on housing, where participants will engage in discussions about supply-side policy tools to increase affordable housing and their own state solutions to address and prevent homelessness. Contributed.
The institute’s first day concluded with a plenary focused on disease prediction and emergency preparedness, moderated by Brittney Roy, director of health programs at the NGA Center for Best Practices. Three panelists — Jackie Bray and Zaida DeDolph of the New York State Department of Homeland Security; Piecolo from Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ office and Jackie Shawnee from the Oklahoma State Department of Health will be working on critical coordination for emergency response, first responder mental health, heat-related emergencies, and emergency response decisions. Several topics were touched upon, including the governor’s preparations for the upcoming disaster and communication regarding emergency response. Emergency preparedness and response.
“Sometimes I’m a fan of silos…I want to have good centers and be good at what they’re good at. And I want them to have systems and people to tie it all together. You want relationships to be in place. Sometimes it’s breaking down silos, sometimes it’s building connective tissue between silos. That’s the job of emergency managers.”
On the second day, NGA welcomed the return of the Governor’s Health and Human Services Advisor with an opening plenary on mental health featuring Dr. Allison. Arwady, Director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Cody Kinsley, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Jen Davis, Senior Policy Advisor to Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. Jay Chaudhary, director of the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addictions, moderated the conversation, highlighting challenges such as defining behavioral health and building enough provider capacity to meet demand. Dr. Arwady discussed the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and CDC’s priorities, including community-based prevention, crisis and treatment, surveillance, data and research, and health equity. Mr. Kinsley and Mr. Davis shared the state’s perspectives and strategies, focusing on incentivizing health care providers, leveraging colleagues to expand the workforce, and integrating care. Panelists also discussed the need for intentional, strategic, and equitable investments that create sustainability, and the importance of involving affected community members. Panelists also shared a message of hope for the future, about opportunities to provide interventions and support, increase visibility of behavioral health, and change mindsets to chip away at stigma.
“Adding more money to the system is not enough. We need to do more than just do more. We need to do more and do better, not just do better.”
The second day featured three breakout sessions, a workshop, and a roundtable discussion for policy advisors. Breakout sessions addressed states’ use of technology and private sector partnerships to improve benefit delivery and coordination. State-level strategies to reduce health care costs, including examples from Utah and Connecticut. Supply-side solutions to help families access child care. The Johns Hopkins Center for Infectious Disease Response Innovation will conduct research and development programs to learn from states and territories about their decision-making processes and what resources and information can help them communicate with leaders during infectious disease outbreaks. We also hosted workshops.
The 2024 NGA Health and Human Services Institute concluded with an advisor roundtable discussion that provided gubernatorial health and human services leaders with an opportunity to reflect, share, and dig into their policy priorities, strategies, and challenges. Participants will improve data governance, help redesign the behavioral health system, ensure the longevity of governor-led initiatives, develop open communication and build trust with stakeholders, expand the local workforce, and more. He shared some of the governor’s priorities. The new top priorities for participating health and human services leaders include:
Strengthening emergency preparedness, reviewing cannabis policy frameworks, redesigning behavioral health systems, supporting whole-of-government approaches to housing, promoting upstream prevention of criminal legal system involvement, health workforce development, and Medicaid 1115 Implementation of exemptions.
The participating advisors also noted several challenges in working across government departments, including communicating and bridging language differences, mismatching traditions and new concepts, and gaining buy-in for new initiatives.
NGA thanked the many health and human services leaders who participated for openly and proactively connecting and problem-solving around common policy issues and a shared goal of helping improve the lives of their constituents. Thank you. NGA also recognized the many partners in attendance, program funders, invited guests, and experts who provided expert perspectives, shared information with state leaders, and enriched the conversation across the Institute. Thank you very much. The NGA team is looking forward to next year’s Institute and supporting governors and policy advisors during that time. To learn more about how the NGA Center can support states and territories, please visit our website.
