Childhood Disability Rate Increases Across U.S., Connecticut Slightly Higher

Childhood Disability Rate Increases Across U.S., Connecticut Slightly Higher

The childhood disability rate in the United States was higher in 2019 than in 2008, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau concludes that “disability does not appear to affect all children equally.” Connecticut’s childhood disability rate was slightly higher than the national average in the latest data, as was the Northeast region of the U.S.

Read More

State Receives Grant to Support Planning for Transition to 9-8-8 Mental Health Crisis Call Line

State Receives Grant to Support Planning for Transition to 9-8-8 Mental Health Crisis Call Line

The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) has received the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s (Lifeline) 9-8-8 State Planning Grant to develop a strategic plan for Connecticut in preparation for the nationwide rollout of the new 9-8-8 mental health emergency number next summer.

Read More

Drive-Thru Event Recognizes Foster Care Families, Particularly Amidst Pandemic

Drive-Thru Event Recognizes Foster Care Families, Particularly Amidst Pandemic

A first-time, drive-through event for foster families will be held at The Village for Families & Children in Hartford, as part of Foster Care Awareness Month. Participants include Village staff and dozens of foster care families participating in the Therapeutic Foster Care Program, which provides nurturing foster homes for children ages 6-18 who have been exposed to trauma. Village staff will distribute food, supplies and gifts to the foster parents and children.

Read More

Call for Comprehensive Reform of Childcare, Post-COVID

Call for Comprehensive Reform of Childcare, Post-COVID

Connecticut Voices for Children (CT Voices) released a report that examines the structural barriers to access, quality, and stability of early child care in Connecticut. The report, “The State of Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” offers six short-term and seven long-term recommendations Connecticut can use to reimagine the child care industry as an essential public service and infrastructure, in order to address the longstanding barriers to child care and industry stability that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More

Connecticut Is A Leading State in Children's Health

Connecticut Is A Leading State in Children's Health

In a new analysis of data ranking the states in children’s health, Connecticut had a number of bright spots, ranking 3rd in the highest percentage of children with excellent or very good health, 3rd in the highest percentage of children with recent medical and dental checkups, and 3rd in the highest percentage of children with excellent or very good teeth.

Read More

Effort Underway to Relocate Children's Museum from West Hartford to Hartford

Effort Underway to Relocate Children's Museum from West Hartford to Hartford

The West End Civic Association (WECA), a non-profit devoted to the improvement of Hartford’s West End Neighborhood, is seeking community support to bring the Children’s Museum, now located in West Hartford, to their adjacent Hartford neighborhood, less than two miles from the current location.

Read More

Connecticut Invention Convention Names New Leader; Prep Underway for 2021 Event

Connecticut Invention Convention Names New Leader; Prep Underway for 2021 Event

STEM educator Christine Lawlor-King has been named the new executive director of the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC), the nation’s oldest and largest continuously operating invention education program for student inventors. For 2021, student invention applications are now being judged over a period of several weeks via a virtual portal system. A virtual "award ceremony" will take place on May 23 at 6pm, via YouTube and Facebook.

Read More

Percentage of Children with Disabilities Increased in Past Decade, CT Higher Than National Average

Percentage of Children with Disabilities Increased in Past Decade, CT Higher Than National Average

Over three million children – a total of 4.3% of the under-18 population in the United States - had a disability in 2019, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The childhood disability rate in the United States was higher in 2019 than in 2008, up 0.4 percentage points. Connecticut was slightly higher.

Read More