CSG West commences its annual state capitol visits this week, beginning January 16-19 in Hawaii. State visits provide staff an opportunity to connect with legislative leaders, lawmakers, and legislative staff about 2024 CSG West programming and available resources and services. Among these is providing information about this year’s 77th CSG West Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, and encouraging eligible members to apply for the 2024 Western Legislative Academy.

Up next, CSG West will visit New Mexico’s Roundhouse from January 22-25. During the coming months, we look forward to visiting with members and legislative staff across our Western states.

CSG staff will visit Hawaii February 28-29, where Senator Sharon Moriwaki and Executive Office on Aging Director Caroline Cadirao will lead a two-day event supporting efforts to redesign the state’s long-term care system. During the event, CSG will provide technical assistance integrating state strategies on workforce development, multisector master plans for aging, national considerations, and policy initiatives and system overhauls identified during the organization's two-year-long efforts surrounding long-term care. Virtual participation from officials and stakeholders in Washington is also anticipated.

Western states seeking to leverage CSG's expertise to address long-term care workforce challenges – either during the 2024 legislative session or in the subsequent months – are encouraged to contact Sean Slone.

For more details, please visit the CSG Long-Term Care Workforce Policy website and explore the Long-Term Care Policy Guide.

The CSG West family mourns the loss of former New Mexico Senator Mary Jane Garcia, who dedicated 24 years to representing District 36 from 1988-2012. A valued member of the CSG West Border Legislative Conference, Senator Garcia leaves behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to public service.

Colleagues and community members alike remember Senator Garcia for her dedication to at-risk youth programs, historic preservation initiatives, border health concerns, welfare reform, and public safety. Throughout her distinguished legislative career, she championed bills criminalizing human trafficking, protecting animal rights, combating domestic violence, and advocating for missing children. Notably, during the Vietnam War, Senator Garcia served as a medical volunteer in Saigon and as an administrative assistant for the U.S. military.

CSG West extends heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of Senator Garcia. 

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center have announced that four corrections agencies have been selected to receive an embedded data analyst through the Resident Corrections Analyst (RCA) initiative. The purpose of RCA is to place data analysts in residence at state departments of corrections to help those agencies develop their data capacity and increase the utility of data for decision-making, while also building the corrections analyst workforce.

Following its launch last May, the initiative garnered significant interest from corrections agencies across the country, resulting in many applications and a competitive selection process. In all, the CSG Justice Center received 27 applications for the 4 available placements.

The four agencies selected to receive an embedded corrections data analyst are the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LDPSC), the West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WVDCR), and the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC). Both CDCR and WDOC will receive the support of an embedded analyst for one year.