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Newsletter
July 21, 2008
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View this newsletter as a Web page |
 | | Connecticut's Playbook for Prevention is here!
Follow this link to visit KidsforCT.org, the website containing the winning game plan for kids and Connecticut. As Coach Jim Calhoun says, "It's all about the kids." |
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A new class of parent
leaders graduates from PLTI
The parents pictured above were among the nearly 150 from across
Connecticut who received diplomas on Wednesday, June 25, from
the Parent Leadership Training InstituteSM, a civics
initiative of the Commission on Children. The graduation
ceremony, held at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford,
included remarks by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and
Comptroller Nancy Wyman.
Read more |
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Children's Legislation of 2008
The 2008 session of the Connecticut General Assembly saw the passage
several important bills aimed at improving the health, safety, and
learning of Connecticut children.
Child poverty
On June 12, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law
a measure that directs federal matching funds from the Food Stamp
Employment and Training (FSET) program be used to support the state's
efforts to reduce child and family poverty. The legislation had been
passed unanimously by both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly.
Bullying
An Act Concerning School Learning Environment
(Public Act 08-160), requires—among other things—that every school board
implement a bullying prevention strategy, that the state Department of
Education develop model policies on bullying, and that bullying
prevention become an in-service training topic for school personnel.
Other Action
For summaries of other children's legislation considered by the General
Assembly,
see this report (PDF) by Commission
Legislative Director Elizabeth C. Brown. In addition, the legislature's
Office of Legislative Research has
issued this report on the legislation
sent to the governor for signing.
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Panel discusses
children of incarcerated parents
At a June 4 meeting hosted
by the Commission, the Coalition on Children of Incarcerated Parents
reviewed the latest research on how children are affected by their
parents' incarceration. The Coalition also identified challenges and
priorities for the coming year.
Watch the meeting on the CT-N website |
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Commission on
Children elects new
officers
At its June 10 meeting, the Commission on Children unanimously elected the following
as officers for 2008-2009:
Chair: M. Alex Geertsma,
M.D., F.A.A.P. Dr. Geertsma is the director of the Children's
Health Center at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury as well as
chairman of the hospital's Pediatrics Department.
Vice Chair: George A.
Coleman, deputy commissioner, Department of Education.
Treasurer: Alison Hilding
of Storrs.
Secretary: Judith Busch, attorney, of Southbury.
Visit the
Commission members
page of our website to view a complete list of members.
Visit the
Commission meetings
page to view agendas and minutes of past meetings, along with the
schedule of upcoming meetings. |
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Child Poverty and
Prevention Council requests proposals
The state Child Poverty and
Prevention Council, whose members include the Commission on Children,
has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to provide economic modeling.
Specifically, Council wishes to identify the individuals or firms
qualified to assist in creating models that would measure the economic
impact of Council proposals to reduce child poverty in Connecticut.
For details, visit the website of the state
Office of Policy and Management (OPM).
For more on the Council, visit its website.
The
deadline for submissions is 4:30 p.m., August 7. |
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Zimmerman to discuss
reading and parents
Commission on Children Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman will deliver
the keynote address at "Parents Empowered! Navigating the Process of
Effective Advocacy," a workshop to be held Monday, July 28, from 9 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m., at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. Her topic will be
"Parents: The Missing Constituency on Reading." The event is
co-sponsored by the Connecticut branch of the International Dyslexia
Association and the Haskins Literacy Initiative. For more information
and registration directions,
download this flyer (PDF). The
registration deadline is Tuesday, July 22. |
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Commission on Children in the news
Note: Most newspapers make their online articles available for only a short period before charging access fees.
- Commission Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman discussed reading
instruction in Connecticut for the May 14 edition of "Where We
Live," a public-affairs program on Connecticut Public Radio's WNPR-FM.
Listen to the program on the WNPR website (52 minutes)
- Prior to the June 25 statewide graduation ceremonies for the
Parent Leadership Training Institute's Class of 2008 (see
above), the local PLTI sites held their own ceremonies,
and several of those were covered by local newspapers, including the
Connecticut Post (for the Milford site), the Norwalk Hour, and the
Greenwich Post. To get copies of those articles -- since they aren't
available on the newspapers' website for very long --
send an e-mail to the Commission.
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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:
M. Alex Geertsma, M.D., F.A.A.P., Chair; George A. Coleman, Vice Chair;
Alison Hilding, Treasurer; Judith Busch, Secretary; James P. Cordier;
Representative Andrew M. Fleischmann; Mary K. Fox; Senator Mary Ann
Handley; Senator Jonathan Harris; Representative Michael Lawlor; Josh
Piteo; Mary Grace Reed; Laura Lee Simon, Chair Emerita; Leslie Wolfgang;
John Yrchik. Ex-officio members: commissioners of children and families,
developmental services, 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 |
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