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JSGC Podcast — Government
JSGC Podcast

The Joint State Government Commission (JSGC) is the primary non-partisan public policy and statutory research organization that serves the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We issue reports on a wide variety of public policy topics. Our episodes feature staff discussions highlighting recently released reports. To learn more about us and access full reports, please visit our website: http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Copyright: © 2026 JSGC Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Voting Rights of the Formerly Incarcerated Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, the JSGC Podcast team interviews Yvonne and Bryan about the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people and clear up confusion over who is eligible to vote in Pennsylvania. We also discuss barriers to voting, and what we learned from collecting data on the voting habits of people released from prisons. A full report as well as a summary are available here.
For an overview of voting rights of current and former prisoners please see the following link from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections:
https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/cor/resources/rights-laws-regulations-and-acts/voting-rights.html
More information on our elections can be found at the Pennsylvania Department of state website: https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/vote.html

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services: Part 2 Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

In today’s episode, the JSGC podcast crew continues our discussion on disability services with Yvonne and Steve.

Among the topics discussed include: the importance of transportation, post-secondary school transition plans, the difficultly in retaining direct service personnel, and reducing waiting lists for services. The content of this episode is based on the report “Services to Individuals with Intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability, or Autism Through the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs”whichisavailable on our website along with a one page summary.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services: Part 1 Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

In Today’s episode, the JSGC podcast crew interviews Yvonne to discuss how Pennsylvania provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Among the topics discussed include definitions of disability, how the troubled past of state-run institutions influences modern policy, and an explanation of Medicaid waivers. The content of this episode is based on the report “Services to Individuals with Intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability, or Autism Through the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs”which isavailable on our website.

Please stay tuned! Part two of our discussion on disability services will be released next week as we shift our focus to the importance of transportation, direct support personnel and waiting lists.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Nuclear Energy & Small Modular Reactors May 09, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, the JSGC podcast team interviews policy analyst Bryan DeWalt on the subject of nuclear technology in Pennsylvania. Among the topics discussed include an overview of how nuclear fission works, why nuclear power plants are difficult to build, and emerging alternatives to make nuclear power safer and more affordable. The content of this episode is based on the report "Benefits of Nuclear Energy and Development of Small Modular Reactors," released in February of 2024. This report was authorized by House Resolution 238 of 2022. The full report and a summary are available on the JSGC website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

School Truancy Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Today the JSGC podcast team interviews Glenn Pasewicz, Susan Elder, and Allison Kobzowicz to discuss truancy in Pennsylvania schools. Among the topics discussed include important definitions, the penalties truant students face, and the changes brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Recommendations for reducing truancy in schools are also discussed. The content of this episode is based on the report "The Truancy Process: The Challenge of Improving Attendance in Pennsylvania Schools," released in April of 2024.This report was created due to a requirement in Act 138 of 2016. More information, including a previous 2015 report on truancy, can be found on our website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Snyder and Stairs: Higher Education Data Reporting Apr 05, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, the JSGC podcast team interviews Bryan DeWalt and Allison Kobzowicz about two of our reports relating to higher education transparency. These report are the "Instructional Output and Faculty Salary Costs of the State-related Universities" and "Information Disclosure of the State-related Universities" also known as the Snyder and Stairs reports.
The Snyder report focuses on the cost to provide education and University performance metrics while the Stairs report centers around contract information of these institutions. Among the topics discussed in this episode are the origins and development of these reports, a bit more about what type of information each one contains, as well as insights from this year's reports.
Data for the 2022-23 school year can be found on the JSGC website for both Snyder and Stairs as well as data from previous years.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Raising Fatherhood Involvement Feb 01, 2024

Show notes

In todays episode, the JSGC policy podcast team interviews Yvonne Hursh on the subject of Fatherhood. The contents of this episode are based on the report “Greater Father Involvement: Fostering Engagement of Fathers in Improving the Well-being of their Children"” released in January of 2024. The episode discusses the creation of a Fatherhood Involvement Institute, a permanent government body that would promote fatherhood and coordinate state approaches. The episode also covers potential barriers preventing fathers from being more involved, the role courts can play, and existing programs that encourage and support fathers. For access to the full report and summary please click here or find it in the publications tab of the JSGC website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Advances in Diabetes Advocacy and Treatment Dec 19, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we return to our biannual topic of diabetes by interviewing Helen Khanzhina about advances in treatment and advocacy of the disease since 2021. The JSGC Policy Podcast previously covered diabetes in our 11th episode. In this episode, our conversation covers updated statistics, how state departments and advocacy groups work toward prevention and awareness of the disease, and recommendations on how Pennsylvania could improve Diabetes care. For more information see the full report, "Diabetes in Pennsylvania: Prevention and Maintenance Programs - Sixth Biennial Report," available on the JSGC website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Training Election Directors Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, the JSGC Podcast team convenes to discuss election reform, one of the Commission’s ongoing projects. Guest Yvonne Hursh returns to update listeners on new developments for the Election Law Advisory Board (ELAB) over the last year and proposals for training election directors within Pennsylvania. The content of this episode is based on “Election Law in Pennsylvania: Third Annual Report of the Election Law Advisory Board” published in August of 2023. Both the full report and a summary are available on our website. More information on ELAB can be found by listening to the two-part series we did on this podcast in 2022 or clicking the Election Law Board tab on our website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

Recycling Strategies Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

In this episode the JSGC Podcast Team discusses recycling in Pennsylvania with project manager Grant Rosul. Among the topics discussed are challenges faced by communities that recycle, new ways of using recycled material, and recommendations for how to improve recycling throughout the Commonwealth. The content of this episode is based on the report “Recycling Strategies in Pennsylvania,” which was released in June of 2023. Both the full report and a summary are available on our website.

Music by Joseph McDade. Visit us at http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/

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