Newsletter
February 14, 2007

Next issue: February 28

View this newsletter as a Web page

• The Legislative Log
  This page provides a day-to-day account of events surrounding children's issues at the Capitol.
   
• Policy Direction in 2007
  This PDF document spells out the Commission's policy goals for the session.
   
• 2007 Bills
  Thousands of bills have been introduced this year. Which ones does the Commission support?  Here's the latest list. Please note that a bill's content may change, which in turn may affect the Commission's support.

Forum on children with special health-care needs, co-sponsored by the Commission on Children. When: 10 a.m., Tuesday, February 20. Where: Room 1-C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
Flyer  Directions

Connecticut Family Support Council reception to announce the Council's legislative agenda.
When: 9 to 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 8.  Where: Second-floor atrium of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. (This event originally was scheduled to be held Wednesday, February 14, but had to be rescheduled due to inclement weather.) Directions

Connecticut Commission on Children regular meeting. When: Tuesday, March 13. Where: TBA.

For more events, visit the Events page of the Commission's website.

February declared Parent Leadership Month in Middletown

The Parent Leadership Training Institute ^SM is a Commission initiative that trains parents to become advocates for children. Its success in Middlesex County led Middletown Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano to declare this Parent Leadership Month in the city. In his proclamation, the mayor noted that in Middletown alone, PLTI "has been the conduit for over 70,000 volunteer hours, 12 Parent Teacher Association presidents, five School Readiness Council members, one Inland Wetlands Commission member, one council member for the Citizens’ Action Committee, and many other valued positions throughout the City."

"The City of Middletown believes that if parents, grandparents, and guardians understand the tools of democracy," Mayor Giuliano said, "they will actively engage in civic life."
 

View the proclamation (PDF)  Learn more about PLTI

Parent Trust Fund update

PLTI is one of the parent initiatives funded by the Parent Trust Fund, a program of the Children’s Trust Fund. It is administered in collaboration with the Commission and the Connecticut Center for School Change. For the latest update on the Fund, visit this page of the Commission website.

Catching up on the news
The News page of the Commission website is updated nearly every day. If you haven't checked it lately, here are some highlights:

• Connecticut hospitals report that their emergency departments (EDs) are being called upon to serve increasing numbers of children and youth with primary psychiatric diagnoses. The Child Health Development Institute (CHDI), in the first of a series of reports, has examined ED visits for psychiatric purposes by children and youth enrolled in HUSKY A between 2002 and 2005.
   
• "This past November, the Greenwich High School principal, Alan J. Capasso, greeted an early morning assembly of more than 800 freshmen about to begin a mandatory anti-bias, anti-bullying program called 'Names Can Really Hurt Us.' He told them, 'This is the most important day of your school year.'” -- New York Times article, January 29.

Created in 1985 by the Connecticut General Assembly, the 25-member Commission on Children brings together the three branches of government--legislative, executive, and judicial--as well as the private sector to promote public policies in the best interests of children. More

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