States Of Transition: Tackling Government's Toughest Policy And Management Challenges

Americans expect more from government in a post 9-11/Katrina world, but they trust it less. This credibility gap between government institutions and Americans presents a big challenge for today's state leaders. States, after all, are directly responsible for many of the most important services and programs government provides. Often in partnership with local governments, states provide education, build and maintain the roads that enable commerce, enforce the law and house criminals, fund social services, deliver Medicaid, organize disaster responses and undertake a host of other critical activities which directly affect people's lives. Citizens see longstanding problems in some of these areas - runaway Medicaid costs, poor education, inadequate and under-maintained infrastructure - and wonder why improvement seems so slow in coming.