Connecticut Commission on Children newsletter

Newsletter
March 19, 2008

In this issue:

The Playbook for Prevention is here!

Winners are made, not born. With that in mind, the Connecticut Commission on Children and its partners have put together Connecticut’s Playbook for Prevention, a “game plan” that parents, educators, care providers, and policymakers can follow to ensure all Connecticut children grow into happy, healthy, and productive adults.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Calhoun touts the Playbook in an intensive media campaign that’s reaching out to all Connecticut residents through television, newspaper, and Internet advertising.

The Playbook's 10 easy-to-read sections give parents, other family members, educators, health-care professionals, day care providers, towns and cities, state leaders, and the public ideas about what they can do to put our most important children’s issues squarely at center court. After all, as Coach Calhoun says, “It’s all about the kids.”

Visit www.KidsForCT.org to download the Playbook or order printed copies.

A celebration of Connecticut's immunization champions
Over the past 12 years, Connecticut has ranked among the top five states in the nation for on-time childhood immunizations. On Wednesday, April 23, officials of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will travel to Hartford to honor the state for its success. The state, in turn, will honor 16 "champions" -- doctors, nurses, office managers, and Immunization Action Plan coordinators from across Connecticut who've worked especially hard to ensure good health for our children.

The event begins with a continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m. in the second-floor atrium of the Legislative Office Building. The award ceremonies follow at 10 a.m., in Room 2-C of the LOB. For more details, download this flyer (PDF). If you plan to attend, please RSVP here.

Meet the latest addition to our staff
The Commission on Children has hired Mary Kate Lowndes for the new position of grant writer and accounts manager. She comes to the Commission after serving seven years as executive director of Holcomb Farm Learning Centers in West Granby. Prior to that, she led an extensive career in the Peace Corps, with postings in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Washington, D.C. She holds a bachelor of science degree in communications, economics, and government from American University in Washington, D.C.

You can contact Mary Kate by e-mail or by calling her at (860) 240-0017.

Infant-toddler proposals highlighted by national organization
Zero to Three, a national nonprofit group recognized as one of the nation's leading resources on the first three years of life, reported in its March 3 newsletter about the work of Governor’s Early Childhood Education Cabinet on “First Words, First Steps," a document that will provide specific policy recommendations for the healthy development of the state’s infants and toddlers. The work is being done by the Cabinet's Infants and Toddlers Planning Group, led by the Commission on Children and the Department of Social Services (DSS).

Check out the new PLTI brochure
This new brochure explains the mission of the Parent Leadership Training Institute^SM and how parents -- along with children, schools, and the entire community -- can benefit from it.

The legislature is in session, and we're blogging about it
Keep with developments on children's issues throughout the 2008 General Assembly session by regularly checking our Legislative Blog. In addition, here are some of the bills on which we've testified.

Bullying report issued
This 12-page document contains the key points made at last fall's "Stand Up to Bullying!" forum, sponsored by the Commission and the Office of the Child Advocate. Download the report (PDF, 12 pages) | More on bullying

About the Commission
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

The Connecticut Commission on Children
18-20 Trinity Street
Hartford, CT 06106-1591

Phone: (860) 240-0290
Fax: (860) 240-0248
Website: www.cga.ct.gov/coc

Commission members: James P. Cordier, Chair; George A. Coleman, Vice Chair; Josh Piteo, Treasurer; Mary Grace Reed, Secretary; Laura Lee Simon, Chair Emerita; Judith Busch; Representative Andrew M. Fleischmann; Mary K. Fox; M. Alex Geertsma, M.D., F.A.A.P; Senator Mary Ann Handley; Alison Hilding; Representative Michael Lawlor; Senator Jonathan Harris; Leslie Wolfgang; John Yrchik. Ex-officio members: commissioners of children and families, mental retardation, public health, education, social services, and correction; the secretary of policy and management; the attorney general; and the chief court administrator. More information

Commission staff: Elaine Zimmerman, executive director; Elizabeth C. Brown, legislative director; Thomas R. Brooks, director of policy and research analysis; Patricia Estill, special projects director; Dawn Homer-Bouthiette, Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) director; Kevin Flood, public information officer and webmaster; Mary Kate Lowndes, grant writer and accounts manager; Rachel Levy, executive secretary; Edie Luciano, legislative secretary. Contact information

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Newsletter editor: Kevin Flood