Clinton Foundation Launches Policy Institute to Advance Nonpartisan Health Solutions at the State Level
Key Insights
The Clinton Foundation (search) launched the Clinton Policy Institute (search) (CPI), its first new initiative in over a decade, to help state and local governments develop nonpartisan policy solutions for health outcomes, economic security, and democracy.
CPI has already demonstrated impact through a collaboration with New York state on school cellphone bans, which educators reported led to marked improvements in classroom behavior and engagement.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams is co-chairing CPI's National Leadership Council for the ACE Resource Network, bringing California's adverse childhood experiences (search) screening model to states including Utah and Georgia.
The Clinton Foundation (search) unveiled a new initiative Monday aimed at helping state and local governments develop and enact nonpartisan policy solutions to improve health outcomes, particularly for women and children, as well as economic security and democracy. The Clinton Policy Institute (search) (CPI) represents the foundation's first new initiative in more than a decade.
"Rising costs, economic uncertainty, rapid technological change, and growing pressures on our public institutions are making it harder for families to get ahead," former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement. "We created CPI because we believe there are still practical, evidence-based solutions that can improve people's lives."
CPI has already begun convening political leaders from both parties, research experts, and Americans affected by the issues being studied to create new approaches to long-existing problems. Zayn Siddique, former principal deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council, will serve as CPI's chief executive officer, while Jennifer Klein, former director of the White House Gender Policy Council under President Joe Biden, will serve as CPI's chair.
Early Success with School Cellphone Ban in New York
CPI is building on its foundational work with New York state in banning cellphones from schools during the past academic year. Although the institute did not technically exist when it partnered with New York Governor Kathy Hochul's administration on creating distraction-free schools, the Clinton Foundation (search) recognized the promise of this approach and decided to expand it before publicly announcing CPI's creation. This mirrors the strategy the foundation employed when launching the Clinton Health Access Initiative in 2004.
In New York, CPI helped establish the Teen Tech Council, enabling students to contribute to making the phone-ban program more effective. According to Hochul's office, educators observed a marked improvement in classroom behavior and engagement as a result.
"CPI is bringing together policymakers, researchers, business leaders, and community organizations to identify what works, build stronger policy networks, and help turn those ideas into policy," Hillary Clinton said. "We're taking a particular focus on states and local communities, where so much innovation is happening."
Bipartisan Engagement on Children's Health
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat serving in what she described as "a very red state," praised CPI's nonpartisan approach following a conference on improving children's lives earlier this month. "It was the best roundtable I've been involved with since becoming governor," Kelly said.
Kelly, who will leave office in January due to term limits after two consecutive terms, emphasized the necessity of bipartisan cooperation. "It became very clear to me that if I wanted to accomplish anything in my political life, I was going to need to do it in a bipartisan way," she said. "Every once in a while, you get people from both sides of the aisle who come together and crafted, maybe not sexy legislation, but something that really needed to be done. And they get it through."
Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences Across State Lines
Dr. Jerome Adams, former U.S. Surgeon General in President Donald Trump's first administration, has taken on a leadership role within CPI's efforts. Through the institute, Adams was asked in June to become co-chair of the National Leadership Council for the ACE Resource Network, an effort to expand California's work on adverse childhood experiences (search) (ACEs) to other states.
In 2020, California launched the ACEs Aware initiative to begin screening for ACEs—which include abuse, neglect, and household challenges—and treating them early to reduce long-term impact and state costs. Adams noted that CPI's evidence-based strategy has already led Republican-led states like Utah and Georgia to consider adopting elements of Democrat-led California's approach.
"I'm very interested in work that has proven and practical solutions," Adams said. "We bring in states and say, 'Hey, let's look at the best evidence in terms of what works around adverse childhood experiences (search) and state level policy and then try to implement it in your state.'"
Adams acknowledged the inherent political nature of health policy, noting that issues including healthcare coverage access, women's health, drug policy, and firearm safety are "inherently political issues." He added that the challenge is compounded because "we live in a country that is very binary, so every issue, no matter how nuanced, is, for purposes of elections, turned into black/white, yes/no, all or none." Despite this, he maintained that CPI's intentional nonpartisan approach has demonstrated a viable path forward.
"Too many people have lost faith that progress is possible," Hillary Clinton said. "But across the country, leaders are developing innovative policies that are strengthening families and communities. Those ideas deserve to be shared and scaled."