Author Archive
Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
Health & Human Services
More Crucial Than Ever, EMS Agencies Are Short Staffed and Overworked
COMMENTARY | Adequately staffing emergency medical services has been a problem for some time, potentially putting lives at stake. The pandemic threatens to make shortages worse.
Tech & Data
Can Better Data Fix America’s Policing Crisis?
COMMENTARY | As society debates law enforcement reform, far better data is necessary to provide a road map for needed changes.
Finance
The Draining of State Rainy Day Funds
COMMENTARY | At least 10 states have already tapped their emergency reserves, even as budget experts expect the worst revenue declines caused by the coronavirus pandemic to come in the months and years ahead.
Public Safety
Why We Need to Pay Attention to Police Officers’ Mental Health
COMMENTARY | A new study found that as police are under more scrutiny than ever, their mental health struggles remain profound.
Tech & Data
Shrinking State and Local Government Office Space
COMMENTARY | With states and local officials searching for ways to cut budgets, many are looking to reduce how much real estate they occupy.
Infrastructure
What Happens Next With Affordable Housing?
COMMENTARY | States and local governments already haven’t been investing enough to help build housing that poor families, and sometimes even middle-class people, can afford. And now funding could be yet another victim of the coronavirus.
Management
The Escalating Crisis in Police Hiring
COMMENTARY | As revenues drop and passionate debates over police mission, budget and purpose continue, cities still face the arduous task of recruiting top-notch candidates.
Management
The Poor Performance of Performance Contracts
States and local governments have embraced “performance contracts,” requiring contractors to meet certain objectives. Too often, however, they don’t actually check on the success in meeting these goals.
Public Safety
Can Civilian Oversight Change Police Behavior?
COMMENTARY | Cities across the country are looking at creating police oversight bodies. That makes questions about their efficacy and value more important than ever.
Management
Kansas City Government Employees: 'Please Don’t Rush to Reopen'
COMMENTARY | What are public sector employee concerns about the return to work? Kansas City has a better idea than many other local governments based on multiple employee surveys.
Finance
Pandemic Aid: What Can We Learn From the 2009 Stimulus?
COMMENTARY | As state and local leaders wait to see if they will get more federal aid to deal with their growing revenue shortfalls, fiscal stability will be more attainable by paying heed to experts who helped the country out of the Great Recession.
Featured eBooks
Health & Human Services
The Hidden Crisis: Caring for Vulnerable Adults at Home During the Coronavirus
COMMENTARY | Faced with fears of contagion and shortages of personal protective equipment, home and community care workers and providers struggle to serve a vulnerable population.
Management
‘There’s Never Been Anything Like This:’ Managing the State Employee Workforce
An interview about the challenges faced by human resource directors as they figure out leave policies, hazardous duty pay and countless other workforce issues during the coronavirus crisis.
Tech & Data
The Coronavirus Cyber Safety Challenge: 'New Opportunities for the Bad Guys'
COMMENTARY | State and local governments confront multiple technology security issues as they deal with proliferating attacks and a disease-transformed work environment.
Management
Lessons from States that Embraced Telework Before the Coronavirus
COMMENTARY | How to avoid certain pitfalls now that many—or most—employees must now work from home.
Management
How ‘Ghosting’ Afflicts Public Sector Recruitment
COMMENTARY | Too often, that perfect candidate just disappears.
Tech & Data
The Human Cost of Missing Data in Prisons
COMMENTARY | Nowhere is good information about operations more critical than in prisons and jails. But too often states simply lack the kind of data that holds officials accountable.
Finance
Do Older Taxpayers Balk at Supporting Schools?
COMMENTARY | In certain places, opponents to new school taxes are finding success by courting older voters.
Management
Whistleblowing Isn't Just a Federal Issue
COMMENTARY | An interview about the first comprehensive study of state whistleblower laws and how states protect—or don’t protect—people who report wrongdoing.
Management