Medical professionals outline efforts to improvement to wellness during a discussion at the annual meeting of the National Governors association in Atlantic City. Speakers also weigh in on childcare, equity and training people in the field of Mental Health. [inaudible conversations] welcome to the National Governors association 2023 here to open the session is executive director of the National Governors association, bill mcbride. [applause] good morning. So happy to see so many of you after the wild night we had last night. Maybe some of your it here yet. I dont know. On behalf of all of us at the National Governors association, a very warm welcome to all of you. We are so excited that so many people made the journey to Atlantic City for our annual summer meeting. Since 1908, this was the bipartisan price of the leaders of 55 states, commonwealth and territories in the United States and we are so happy to be here in Atlantic City for the 2023 annual meeting which is our 150th annual meeting this year. [applause] i would like to thank new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, first Lady Tammy Murphy and leaders from Atlantic City for hosting us. Lets hear it for them. [applause] they have been so friendly. I would also like to thank our nga partners for your ongoing support, efforts to make this years meeting a success. We have a Great Program over the next two days for you. As we all know, nga chair governor phil murphys decision to focus on Youth Mental Health for his initiative is extremely timely. Mental Health Challenges among young people have been climbing for years, even before the pandemic. In 2,019, the American Academy of pediatrics reported, quote, Mental Health disorders have surpassed physical conditions as the most common issues affecting adolescents. Since the start of the pandemic the situation only grew worse and more serious. Since governor murphy launched the Initiative Last year, under his leadership, weve made tremendous progress. Im pleased to welcome him to the stage to provide an update for all of you on what weve accomplished in the last year. Lets give a warm welcome to the governor of new jersey, our host, governor phil murphy. [applause] thank you. Thank you, bill. Lets hear it from bill mcbride and Extraordinary Team of the National Governors association. [applause] welcome to the iconic Atlantic City, new jersey, for the National GovernorsAssociation Annual meeting. I am honored to call this meeting to order. If we have proven nothing else between last night and this morning, in new jersey, we can say. [applause] governors from across america are gathered in new jersey this week to further the worthy goals of the National Governors association. I want to give a shout out to the great governor of the empire state, governor kathy hochul, great to have you. And the governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts, the state in which i grew up in, this gets me know votes in new jersey, i remember im a member of the red sox nation. Joanna is with us. The nga thanks you all and all the other governors who were introduced last night. An incredible honor to have each of you here. It means a lot that you would make the trip to Atlantic City. The nga is committed to leading Bipartisan Solutions that improve americans lives through State Government, ngas annual meeting serves as an ideal forum for governors to come together to work on the most urgent issues impacting our states, our territories and our country. As governors, we have to solve problems that affect each and every one of our states, there are no democratic or republican problems, only issues that affect real people, the residents of our state. I often tell people when governors get around the table to talk we can find consensus because our residents depend on us to do just that. Weve worked to address our nations crumbling infrastructure, we offered best practices on keeping our schools and communities safer, and collaborated on critical priorities Like Public Health and economic recovery. The nga annual meeting offers another opportunity for all of us to share best practices and Work Together to solve the challenges our states are facing. This mornings first Plenary Session which will kick off in a few minutes will focus on my nga chair initiative as bill alluded to, strengthening Youth Mental Health, as well as the companion effort that my wife, first Lady Tammy Murphy, has been championing to address maternal and infant health. I am eager to unpack the Youth Mental Health initiative as we know this topic transcends party lines, too many young people are struggling right now. Before we delve into this topic i would like you to help me welcome our host, the chairman of hard rock international, the ceo of seminal gaming, jim allen. We are committed to grateful a. [applause] jim is a dear friend, we are to medically grateful to him in the entire team at the Hard Rock Hotel for the work they have done to prepare for this weeks meeting and to showcase the beauty and charm of Atlantic City. Folks, please help me welcome jim allen. Jim . Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Atlantic City hard rock. I had the fortune to work with governor murphy for six years or so but now i see that we have our first disagreement. I am a yankees fan. All kidding aside, sincerely welcome to the first lady, all the other governors in the audience, just a few moments on behalf of hard rock and my local partners. Michael and joe, joe you met last night, and jack barnes. Even more significant, the seminal tribe of florida, the super majority owner of hard rock on a global basis is real quickly, hard rock is not a casino company. We are one of the Largest Entertainment Companies in the world. This year we are approaching 9 billion in revenue and we are going to be in 70 countries. We employ over 50,000 individuals. I have heard some comments this morning about what you noticed, it is the Worlds Largest collection of music memorabilia. We now do over 40,000 Live Music Events on a global basis. New jersey has our own Bruce Springsteen and the east street bland, they played the london festival last weekend in hyde park. We build these relationships on a longterm basis. Also, i am chairman of the American Gaming Association on a global basis. I think this slide, theres only two of them. I wont belong. Is very relevant. When i started my career back in december of 1979, further down the boardwalk, it was a real question when governor burns signed into law the casino act for Atlantic City. If we look at the business today, it is not casinos as its sole initiative. It is entertainment destinations. Theres 991 of them in the United States. 2 billion employees. And revenues over 260 million in annual tax and revenue shares of 40 one billion dollars. We as an industry or your partner. We look as we come into states at how we can educate, create jobs for people in all walks of life. We think that is something very important. The industry has one hundred billion dollars in annual revenue. This is a study out of the American Gaming Associations. This year alone four of ten individuals either has or is planning to be in a casino environment. I leave you with two thoughts. Number one. We as an industry, whether it is myself as chairman and ceo of hard rock, caesars or mgm, draft king, we are unified one hundred that the biggest challenge we have in the United States is the topic of illegal gaming. Whether it is offshore, whether it is in strip centers with hybrid games and we want to work with you as the leaders of your state to eliminate these games. Bill miller, ceo of the American Gaming Association, and i are working at the federal level, specifically the department of justice and working with other Law Enforcement agencies. When you see these numbers, we know factually that we are in excess of 500 billion a year on and offshore gaming bets are occurring that are not regulated and all of us, as operators, us leaders of states, we are always looking to see how we can create more revenue. I said to the speaker of the house of the state of florida, it is right in front of us. It to tremendous Revenue Source and we as an industry are one hundred embracing the Regulatory Environment to do it right. Thats something thats very important not just on behalf of hard rock but on behalf of the association. I leave you with hard rocks motto, we are a company that has been around for 52 years. In todays world, the National Governors association should focus on things like mental awareness and how we can help our youth, those things are so important, our mottos help in that particular conversation. Our mottos can help because this is the National GovernorsAssociation Summer meeting. Dollars won. Love all, serve all, save the planet and take time to be kind. When michael, joe, jack and i looked at the first years numbers in the hard rock Atlantic City, we bought this building, we all know who used to own it. More than one billionaire used to own it. They closed it, they laid off 3000 people. I kept nothing to do with the ownership. I kept our Hard Rock Cafe open, 268 jobs, the governor and i were just referring to. We care. Our first year, we said we want to do something for the employees. We are not going to just give bonuses to the exempt employees but to all employees, union, nonunion, all walks of life. Our diversity programs are the best in the industry. Im the only chairman and ceo that ever, my 12 board members, i have six females, four people of color, we are diversified. Its not all white males. It used to be. I think as we look at today as we move forward not just as Business Partners but coming together, all is one means something. My only request today before you leave Atlantic City, before you leave the hard rock, go down the big escalator and you will see behind it the original handwritten lyrics of john lennons imagine. I stand here this morning imagining if we as individuals of all walks of life, all parties of political belief can come together and accept the lyrics of that song and accept our mottos of hard rock. Thank you so much for allowing me a few moments to welcome you to the legendary hard rock Atlantic City. Please enjoy. Well done. Thank you. Jim mentioned he started in this industry in 1979. Those who dont know, gambling was legalized in the first state outside of nevada in new jersey in 1978. When i say jim has seen it all that is literally the case. Let us dive into our agenda. As i mentioned, the Plenary Session on Youth Mental Health serves as culmination of our yearlong nga chairs initiative, they serve as the culmination of the yearlong focus on maternal and infant health. I want to welcome the governor of the great state of connecticut who joined us. When we kick off the addition of last july hosted by janet mills, we knew this would be a hot topic. Ive been blown away by conversations, meetings and site visits weve had in the past year and we have worked across the aisle to raise awareness of Youth Mental Health and develop a playbook to help our nations youth. We are honored to unveil strengthening Mental Health in the governors playbook which is intended to serve as a resource, governors, states and other policymakers used to take actionable steps to address Youth Mental Health challenges. We know this playbook is needed. The cdc released data showing suicide rates among 24 age group, in 2,020 one. Earlier this year the cdc issued a study on Mental Health trends over the past decade among schoolage youth that found 1 3 of teen girls considered attempting suicide which was an increase from 19 in the prior decade. Faced long wait lists for an appointment. If theres even a pediatric therapist in their area. Emergency rooms are overwhelmed. The painful truth, we all heard the stories and we all know too many examples from our own lives and communities, these stories harden our resolve to address the Mental Health crisis facing our countrys youth. The playbook we are releasing today stands, the governors and states, Effective Policy Solutions that strengthen Youth Mental Health. The playbook over the past year with the series of roundtable events held across the country where we brought to gather 500 parents and educators and Mental Health professionals, policy makers, Community Leaders and other experts in the Mental Health field. The playbook unpacks the four pillars that guided our cares initiative. Addressing prevention and resilience building, increasing awareness in reducing stigma. Ensuring access and affordability, quality treatment and care and finally training and supporting caregivers and teachers. The playbook breaks down those four pillars into 13 areas, with 35 specific policy opportunities for governors and states to focus on including ways to out locate funding, support legislative initiatives, and engage with stakeholders. The playbook shares numerous examples of effective policies implemented by states. The examples can serve as a roadmap for other states so policymakers can rip out the pages of somebody elses playbook, replicate ideas and benefit from the knowledge of what is happening and what is working in other states. If i may, i want to share two of the many examples taking place across the country. My friend to my left there arent many people who can get to my left, nga vice chair, utah governor spencer cox, here with first lady abby cox. He has worked with policymakers in utah to implement the safe apps which connects students at the touch of a button to licensed counselors, providing immediate emotional support and a safe place to report bullying and threats of violence. Counselors logged 1 million interactions in the last year, saving an estimated two lives every single day. In colorado, the governor is working on bipartisan policies to improve Behavioral Health system and give young people the tools they deserve to help manage their Mental Health including the innovative i matter colorado. Org which offers six Mental Health consultations for students. Those are just two of many powerful examples contained in the pages of the playbook. Importantly, the playbook is meant for all american states. It has been developed by experts to provide actionable ideas that can make a positive difference. Forum here on out we are focused on spreading the word about this new resource, the work of this initiative to continue after todays meeting concludes. Part of the ongoing work will be discussed momentarily as we welcome a group of distant wished panelists to speak more about the playbook and a broader work to address Youth Mental Health. I would like, if i may, to take a moment to share the latest video in a series we created over the past year to raise awareness about Youth Mental Health and the work governors and states, to face this challenge. Thank you for previewing this new video. When you are chairman of the National Governors association you get an initiative. Our initiative is strengthening Mental Health among our youth. The issue of our time has not gotten enough attention. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is focusing on Mental Health. s chairs initiative is so incredibly important to. This initiative reflects how americans are coming together to prioritize the Mental Health of our youngest