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2 Our Challenging Environment The Coming Age of Austerity ■ Stimulus funding to states for IV-E and Medicaid ending ■ State budgets to worsen Largest Scale Political Transitions in our Lifetimes ■ Biggest changes are in state legislatures and governorships ■ New commissioners/secretaries/directors will be dealing with multiple challenges on many fronts

3 Our Challenging Environment THE SMART PERSON ACCEPTS, THE IDIOT RESISTS. - Sign in Greek Monastery This is the secret of success for anywhere in the world. - Father Arsenios First rule of any collaborative enterprise: - Take what you have and build on it.

4 Our Challenging Environment How Do We Survive ─ Thrive ─ in This Environment? ■ Give voice to our young people – engage them in authentic ways ■ Nurture partnerships ■ Identify and seize opportunities ■ Build a constituency that is a force – a national movement ■ Pay close and strict attention to communication and data These are the Jim Casey Strategies

5 Our Challenging Environment The Art of Communication is the Language of Leadership. - James Humes What Are Our Messages: ■ Cost of bad outcomes: $6 billion per year is not tolerable in age of austerity ■ Policy is driven by stories, by anecdotes. But the plural of anecdotes is not data. We must have both stories and data. ■ We are – legally and morally – the parents of these young people ■ Successful strategies, and data to back them up, with youth voice overcomes the perception of bottomless pit

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