Washington earns top rating for managing public resources

For Immediate Release: March 3, 2008

Washington, D.C. � Washington state has earned a prestigious A- ranking by The Pew Center on the States for its performance in managing public resources.

Washington is tied with two other states, Utah and Virginia, for first place. The three were the only to earn A- grades. Washington�s ranking is up from B+ in 2005, and is a full letter grade higher than the national average of B- in the �Grading the States 2008� 50-state report card published by Pew in partnership with Governing Magazine.

�Washington has been well managed during challenging economic circumstances, delivering strong services to the public and effectively managing the state�s dollars,� said Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, of which the Government Performance Project is a part. �Washington has long been a standout in using data to drive strategic decisions. And now Governor Gregoire has opened up discussion of those decisions through public meetings where agency leaders can be held accountable for results.�

Within the overall A- grade, Washington earned:

• A- in how it manages money;


• A- for recruiting and retaining high-qualified employees;


• A for how it manages and provides information to the people; and


• B+ for its infrastructure planning and maintenance.

�That�s the kind of report card about which any parent would be proud!� Gregoire said in response to the latest ratings. �Although we are very proud of this success, we will keep striving to improve how we deliver results to the people of the state. Next time, we want to receive nothing but A�s.�

Pew attributed the improved results to the governor�s use of the Government Management Accountability and Performance project to set meaningful goals for state agencies and measure their progress toward achieving them.

Gregoire said this process has helped the state improve its efficiency and effectiveness, and a good example is the elimination of the long waiting list at the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).

Since January 2007, DVR, a division of the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), has eliminated a waiting list that was once 14,274-people long � a feat that DSHS initially thought to be impossible � while steadily improving its success rate of putting people back to work.

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