Creating New Governance Structures
(Fall 1994 Networkshop)
Elements of Governance
As states struggle to create a coherent vision of a comprehensive, integrated services system that will improve education and life outcomes for children and families, they confront a range of questions that must be resolved during the policy development and implementation processes. When the need for new collaborative relationships among agencies and between state and local entities is overlaid on this vision, the issue becomes one of governance.
Dorothy Nayles, Policy Analyst with New Futures for Little Rock Youth, moderated panel presentations by the speakers from Colorado, Kentucky, and California as they discussed learnings their states have gained related to three elements of governance in the education, health, and human services arena, respectively, local decisionmaking, funding, and accountability. During an evening session, former Deputy Commissioner Bryan Sperry of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission described the range of strategies Texas is using to enhance service delivery capacity.