The Council of State Governments

Founded in 1933, The Council of State Governments is our nation's only organization serving all three branches of state government. CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. This offers unparalleled regional, national and international opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships.

Regional by design, CSG is a national community with offices across the U.S.  The headquarters office is in Lexington, KY and the federal affairs office is located in Washington DC. Regional offices are located in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Sacramento.  All CSG members have the opportunity to participate on two levels - regional and national. This structure invites focused participation from members on a more intimate, regional level and also provides a national community to exchange information and ideas. The regional and national offices also invite international participation through partnerships with Canadian provinces.

The Justice Center is another division of The Council of State Governments.  The Justice Center has offices located in New York City, Bethesda, MD, Austin, TX and Seattle, WA. The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities. In general, the CSG Justice Center works closely with legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim advocates, and others to develop consensus on various, often highly politicized, criminal justice issues and to translate this consensus into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, state and federal legislation, model policies, and innovative programs. The CSG Justice Center not only develops written and web-based materials, but also provides on-the-ground technical assistance to cross-systems policymakers and practitioners from multiple systems (corrections, mental health, housing, etc.), in state and local jurisdictions.