2013 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Welfare & Poverty

Pat Quinn: Hardest Hit program: Keep 6,550 families in their homes

In our Illinois, we do not forget about our hardest hit families during their time of need. That's why we've helped 6,550 families in 92 counties stay in their homes through our Hardest Hit program. And more than half a million families received counseling and other resources through the Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network that I launched last year.

Steve Beshear: We face a heavy sword: public pension unfunded liability

• A tax system that works against us, not for us.
• A workforce that isn't as trained and skilled as it needs to be.
• An education system that isn't as efficient and rigorous as the world demands.
• A population whose health ranks among the worst in the nation.
• And a heavy sword called the public pension unfunded liability that dangles by a thread above us.

John Kitzhaber: Beware uneven, unequal "recovery" without rural & minorities

We cannot settle for an uneven, unequal & hesitant "recovery." The word "recovery" loses any useful meaning if it describes a state where the Portland metro area returns to pre-recession employment levels, while much of rural Oregon continues to suffer the economic and social consequences of double-digit unemployment, outdated infrastructure and an aging workforce. The word "recovery" is warped if it is used at a time when the unemployment rate for white Oregonians is falling, but for African Americans & Latino Oregonians it continues to rise. We still have much work to do. Oregon will not be a great place for any of us to live until it is a great place for all of us to live.

John Hickenlooper: One Congregation-One Family: churches mentor homeless

One Congregation-One Family: churches mentor homeless We continue to work closely with religious and community partners in metro Denver to bring this successful program to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Fort Collins and other communities.

Andrew Cuomo: CORe initiative: support community-based services

The Community, Opportunity, Reinvestment (CORe) initiative will better align state support with local need, while supporting successful community-based efforts, so that together we can make measurable and sustained progress in improving the outcomes in these communities.

The CORe initiative will link up to ten State agencies across several issue areas, including health services, juvenile justice, labor, public safety, child welfare, substance abuse, and economic development. The CORe initiative will operate primarily at two interconnected levels:

1. State COReStat: regular review of outcomes from a comprehensive inventory of existing programs
2. Neighborhood COReStat: CORe is being piloted in two communities in 2012, and additional communities will be added in 2013.

Jack Dalrymple: $15 million in our Housing Incentive Fund and FlexPace

Two years ago we challenged the taxpayers of North Dakota to invest $15 million in our Housing Incentive Fund in exchange for state income tax credits. This will result in the construction of 739 housing units valued at $104 million. Despite this good progress, the need for affordable housing is so great that we recommend increasing the Housing Incentive Fund in the coming two years to $50 million.