National Governors Association Selects Maryland as Model State for Improving Well-Being of Children and Families

NGA Comes to Annapolis to Learn Lessons from Governor’s Office for Children

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland has been selected by the National Governors Association (NGA) to serve as the model state for an NGA best practices learning lab. The learning lab—“Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Address the Health and Success of Children and Families”—is an opportunity for states to learn from key staff in another state that has already made significant strides on its policy priorities. In Maryland, the Governor’s Office for Children and Children’s Cabinet have been working to promote the well-being of children, youth, and families since 1978.

“I want to congratulate the staff at the Governor’s Office for Children on the honor of being selected by the NGA as a model for the rest of the nation,” said Governor Hogan. “The Office for Children plays a big part in our administration’s goal to change Maryland--especially the lives of children and families--for the better, and I’m pleased they will have the unique opportunity to share their best practices with other states.”

Today and tomorrow, the Governor’s Office for Children will host officials from the NGA and other states at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis. The Office will showcase what it and the Maryland Children’s Cabinet are doing to help achieve Governor Hogan’s priorities of making Maryland a better state for families and children to thrive, including getting the most vulnerable kids and families on a pathway to economic stability and opportunity.

The NGA will provide nine months of technical assistance to teams from Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa, who are interested in learning from Maryland and fostering cross-sector collaborations to address educational, social, economic, and environmental factors that improve the health and overall success of children and families in their respective states.

About the Governor’s Office for Children

The Governor’s Office for Children works with State agencies and Local Management Boards to promote a stable, safe, and healthy environment for Maryland’s children, youth, and families.