Connecticut Commission on Children: Early Childhood Conference

School Readiness and Success: Improving Children's Social and Emotional Development

On May 17, 2007, Commission on Children Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman gave a presentation for an audio and Web conference entitled, "School Readiness and Success: Improving Children's Social and Emotional Development."

Sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, the conference explored ways of addressing children's behavioral and emotional problems before they result in the children falling behind at school.

Listen to a 59-minute recording of the conference, via the Chapin Hall website

View Ms. Zimmerman's PowerPoint presentation as a PDF

View the documents and other resources she cited

I. Early Care and Education

Early Childhood Consultation Partnership - A collaboration between Advanced Behavioral Health Inc. and Connecticut's Department of Children and Families (DCF). Funded by DCF and the state Department of Education.

Overview (PDF)

PowerPoint presentation (PDF)

Contact information:
                              Liz Bicio, LCSW
                              Program Manager
                              Early Childhood Consultation Partnership
                              Advanced Behavioral Health
                              213 Court Street
                              Middletown, CT 06457
                              Phone: 860.704.6198
                              Fax: 860.638.5302
                              e-mail

The Child Health Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI)

"Reducing Behavior Problems in Early Care and Education Programs: An Evaluation of Connecticut's Early Childhood Consultation Partnership," a report by Walter S. Gilliam, PhD, assistant professor of child psychiatry and psychology, Child Study Center at the Yale University School of Medicine (PDF)

II. Pediatric Care

The Children's Trust Fund - Recognizing a need for coordinated efforts and funding for programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect, the state of Connecticut created the Children's Trust Fund in 1983.

Help Me Grow - Ensures that Connecticut children and their families have access to a system of early identification, prevention, and intervention services. It also links child health providers, parents and service providers with existing community resources through a toll-free phone number.

Ages & Stages - Helps families keep track of their children's development.

III. Most At-risk

Child FIRST - A model program to reduce the incidence of serious emotional disturbance, developmental and learning problems, and abuse and neglect among high-risk children in and around Bridgeport, one of Connecticut's largest and poorest cities.

Child FIRST summary (PDF)

More about Child FIRST (PDF)

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