Observations of Leaders Driving Changes in State Government: Leadership Tools and Lessons from Two Work Support Strategies States

This report from the Work Support Strategies (WSS) initiative describes leadership among state health and human services officials implementing large-scale systems reform. The WSS initiative is a multi-state demonstration that offers six states the support needed to integrate and streamline delivery of work support benefits, like SNAP, Medicaid, and child care. The report offers lessons based on surveys of staff and leaders in WSS states, including communicating a clear vision for serving clients, promoting shared accountability for achieving goals, and making progress on those goals.