Highlights from Kentucky's Executive Leadership Forum

4-25-03

From improving public safety in Kentucky using wireless technologies to the economic implications of our aging population, the Kentucky Executive Leadership Forum touched on a wide range of issues with one common theme: Change is here to stay.

The forum, which took place in Lexington, Kentucky April 22 and 23, was titled Collaborating for Effective Service Delivery: The New Reality, and was sponsored by Government Technology Magazine. Participants shared challenges and opportunities facing government especially in the area of technology in these tough economic times. Aldona Valicenti, the Commonwealth's CIO, summed it up well when she said, "...our biggest challenge in state government isn't to skate to where the puck is,
it's skating to where the puck is going to be. What will Kentucky look like 10 years from now and what can we do today to prepare for that change."

Paul Taylor, the Chief Technology Strategist for the Center for Digital Government was the keynote speaker and shared some interesting and surprising data on Internet use and trends. The chart below shows that visits to government Websites has grown dramatically, now ranking 4th as the most visited sites in the U.S.:


Ron Crouch, the Director of the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville, discussed some census data. The chart below shows that the southeastern U.S. lead the nation in growth for the number of students completing high school from 1990 to 2000. According to Mr. Crouch, the United States and Kentucky are experiencing a major demographic revolution, attributed in part to immigration.

Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center reported that of those students now completing high school and intending to go to colllege, 87% have a home computer with Internet access. These demographic trends are important to state government and business as they help to shape the direction of services in the future.

Below, Mr. Crouch's data, taken from the 2000 Census, shows that Kentucky now ranks first nationwide in the amount of change we've made in educational attainment:

Percent of U.S. Residents 25 - 34 and 45-64
Completing High School by State (2000)
Age 25-34
Age 45-64
% point change
USA
83.9%
USA
83.2%
USA
0.7%
1. North Carolina
2. Minnesota
3. Hawaii
4. Vermont
5. Montana
6. New Hampshire
7. Wyoming
8. Maine
9. Alaska
10. Iowa


35. Kentucky
50. California		 94.8%












84.2%
75.2%		 1. Minnesota
2. Utah
3. Nebraska
4. Montana
5. Wyoming
6. Washington
7. Colorado
8. Alaska
9. Iowa
10. Kansas



49. Kentucky
50. Mississippi 		91.8%












75.2%
74.0%		 1. Kentucky
2. Mississippi
3. West Virginia
4. North Dakota
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Hawaii
8. Virginia
9. Arkansas
10. Alabama



48. California
49. Arizona
50. Nevada		 9.0%












-5.4
-5.5
-6.5
Source: Census (2000)



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April
2003