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Council of State Governments awards 2 Washington state agencies highest honors

For Immediate Release: October 21, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced The Council of State Governments awards to Washington�s Government Management Accountability and Performance program and the Transportation Improvement Board.

�Washington state is being recognized again for our transparency, innovation and responsiveness to citizens. This is the result of holding ourselves accountable for delivering real results for Washington�s families,� Gregoire said.

The Council of State Government recognized GMAP with the inaugural Governance Transformation Award. Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Keon Chi, the award is given to a state program that comprehensively enhances a state�s capacity to govern effectively in the 21st century.

Gregoire established and uses GMAP to get better results from state programs through a rigorous, disciplined focus on performance.

Results include:

-Washington�s children are safer because of major improvements to social worker response to reports of abuse. Social workers now respond to reports of child abuse within 24 hours 96.5 percent of the time, up from 65 percent in 2004. As a result, repeat instances of child abuse have declined by a third.

-The state�s effort to contain costs for prescription drugs has saved more than $85 million since 2005. We�ve also contained growth in state health care costs, coming in well below national benchmarks for both the private and public sector, saving millions more for taxpayers.

-Our state highways are safer than they�ve ever been despite more people driving. In 2007, fatalities per vehicle mile traveled were at an all-time low of 1 per 100 million.

The Council awarded TIB with the prestigious 2008 Innovations Award for its performance management dashboard. Capturing the spirit of transparency, the online dashboard gives the public and decision makers real-time information about the state�s investment in high-quality street and sidewalk projects in 320 cities and counties statewide. The board recently received the Award for Excellence in Government Finance in 2008, the highest honor of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

The Council helps states increase efficiency by identifying the best new and creative approaches to significant state problems. Both programs will receive the award at a ceremony scheduled for Dec. 6 in Omaha, Neb.