Tennessee earns an average score in a new ranking done by the Pew Center for the States.
The Project evaluates how well states manage employees, budgets and finance, information and infrastructure. A focus on these critical areas helps ensure that states’ policy decisions and practices actually deliver their intended outcomes.
While the state gets good marks for financial controls, it needs remedial help when it comes to personnel.
Tennessee's personnel process still operates on an antiquated register system that agency managers find painful to use. They're required by statute to hire from among the top five people who say they're interested in a position, leaving little incentive to invest in recruiting strategies. "You spend a lot of time trying to recruit people and then you can't hire them anyway," complains William Haynes, human resources director in the Department of Children's Services.
The report also says the state lacks a strong planning effort.
Program operations are highly fragmented. When the state wants to deal with issues of the elderly, for example, the lack of a central planning office prevents a clear look across agency lines to leverage the various efforts on which money is being spent.
The score of B- puts Tennessee right at the national average with 13 states outperforming us. Utah, Virginia and Washington state made up the top tier with a grade of A-. Rhode Island and New Hampshire were at the bottom with a C- and D+ score, respectively.
-- Jim Grinstead
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