A new Vinson Institute initiative for the study of current issues important to county governments received the support of the National Association of Counties (NACo) at the group's recent legislative conference in Washington, D.C.

Vinson Institute and NACo representatives had previously been in discussions regarding possible areas of study for the center, which is the first university-based center of its kind in the United States. A range of applied and policy research, technical assistance, and educational activities will be carried out.

Find more detailed information about the National Center for the Study of Counties here.

One of the first products of the center, a national survey of county fiscal constraints done for NACo, has just been completed and published in report form. View a copy of Counties in Crisis: A Survey of Current Budgetary Situations Facing America's Counties here.