A new report examining the social health of the state can serve as a tool "to substantially improve the quality of life in Nevada," Gov. Kenny Guinn said Tuesday.

But the Social Health of Nevada Report, which compiled statistics on a range of social issues, needs to be updated annually to provide lawmakers with the framework to prioritize state spending, Guinn said.

Guinn commented on the report, which is billed as the first of its kind for the state, during his keynote address to the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture's forum on Civility in Public Discourse.

The social health report, a collaboration of the faculty of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and state officials, is another report card on the state's social problems, from teenage pregnancy to problem gambling.

"When I came into office, it was not uncommon to be on the bottom of every list you want to be on the top of," Guinn said during the forum at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Guinn said he has worked during his seven years in office to improve Nevada's standing on everything from graduation rates to services for the mentally ill.

"Nevada is now moving in the right direction," he said.

Several of the sections of the report do highlight positive movement in various social issues.

For example, the report notes that Nevada's high school dropout rate has been improving. In 1996, 17 percent of Nevada high-schoolers dropped out. By 2001, that number dropped to 14 percent.

Guinn said when he first took office just 37 percent of high school graduates in Nevada were going on to college. A former school superintendent and former UNLV president, Guinn said he made it one of his priorities.

Although he did not mention his signature program, the Millennium Scholarship, by name during his keynote address, he said steps he took have improved the rate of high school graduates going on to college.

Now half of high school graduates go on to college, he said.

The report still contains a lot of statistics and rankings that reflect badly on Nevada.

In a section on affordable housing, the report states that a person working a 40-hour week would have to earn $16.92 an hour to afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value.

A section on suicide notes that Nevada has the second highest suicide rate in the nation.

After his speech, Guinn said the state has made dramatic improvements to mental health services and prisons, but still lags behind in Medicaid reimbursement to hospitals and education.

He also said that despite record increases in funding for mental health services, including funding for a specialized hospital, the state is essentially treading water on the topic.

"Look where we are today with mental health," Guinn said. "It's not me that's been inefficient, it's that you still have more and more of the cases coming in."