Commission on Children newsletter

April 27, 2011

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Speaker’s Task Force on Children in the Recession meets Monday, May 2

The work of the task force led to 2010 legislation that made Connecticut the first state to take a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of children harmed by the recession. Now the panel will reconvene to get status reports on the legislation and gather information on the latest crisis for families devastated by the recession: the looming expiration of their unemployment benefits. Agenda (PDF) | Task Force home page

Home Visiting: A New Opportunity in Federal Funding

The Commission held a panel discussion on Tuesday, April 12 to explore the opportunities and challenges presented to Connecticut by the federal government's provision of $1.5 billion to states for high-quality, evidence-based early childhood home visiting programs.

Reading: The Engine for School Success

With Connecticut facing the largest reading gap in the nation, a panel discussion was held in Hartford on April 5 to identify what changes need to be made in the way we teach our children how to read. The Commission was one of the partners in the event, which was sponsored by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Literacy How and hosted by the legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. Watch video, download documents, and more

Tuesday, May 10 Commission meeting to focus on 'Nuclear Challenges and Family Safety in Connecticut'

How safe are Connectict families from nuclear emergencies like the one in Japan? With the help of our partner, the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, we will pose that question and others to experts at a forum that begins at 10 a.m. in Room 2-D of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Watch our home page for an agenda and more details

The 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

About the Commission: Created in 1985 by the Connecticut General Assembly, the 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

Commission members (all volunteer): M. Alex Geertsma, M.D., F.A.A.P., Chair; George A. Coleman, Vice Chair; Mary Grace Reed, Secretary; James P. Cordier, Treasurer; Laura Lee Simon, Chair Emerita; Mary K. Fox; Robert Francis; Andrew Gibson, Ph.D.; Jordan E. Grossman, Ed.D.; Alison Hilding; Josh Piteo; Justine Rakich-Kelly; Barbara J. Ruhe; Ron Ward; and Valeri Cade Whitmer. 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; Thomas R. Brooks, director of policy and research analysis; Dawn Homer-Bouthiette, Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) director; Kevin Flood, public information officer and webmaster; Mary Kate Lowndes, director of development; Edie Luciano, legislative secretary. Contact information

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Newsletter editor: Kevin Flood