Metro Hartford Progress Points Report Looks at Promise in Communities Amidst Considerable Challenges

First, the bad news.  The Metro Hartford region “has not produced meaningful job growth in the past 25 years, despite having advanced industries that offer a family-sustaining wage and having residents eager to work.”  The region’s spending on local schools continues to increase, even as enrollment declines, and the region “retains the fewest four-year graduates of any metro region in the country – with 60 percent of recent graduates citing jobs as their primary reason for leaving.”  Even in the region’s traditional strength in advanced industries, such as aerospace manufacturing and computer systems designs, “our competitive advantage may be eroding.” If the goal of the latest edition of the Metro Hartford Progress Points report, driven by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, is to push a region-wide conversation that spurs progress, the data highlighting five key issues impacting the region’s 38 communities may have just enough unsettling news and rays of hope to do just that.  “The need for systemic change,” the report indicates, “requires leadership and more regional coordination and integration.”

The third annual edition of the report is the result of collaboration between nine stakeholders representing local government, businesses, nonprofits, academic and philanthropic institutions and organizations committed to making long-term progress in the region.

The 2016 report focuses on five related themes: attracting and retaining a skilled workforce; better connecting people to opportunity; aligning workforce and economic development strategies; ensuring a quality education for all despite scarce resources and building collaborative leadership and civic engagement to create long-term progress.

The data suggests that the region may be poised for greater success, but not without accelerated efforts, noting flatly that “more is needed.”

The report notes that the beginnings of “meaningful change” is evident, with towns creating walkable areas near transportation through transit-oriented development along the CT Fasttrak corridor and the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line, expanding transportation options to meet the needs of today’s population and employers, an expanding presence of colleges in downtown Hartford, and regional collaboratives creating career pathways and bridging the divide among differing aspects of the education system from middle school through the workforce.

Local and regional organizations and associations, such as the MetroHartford Alliance’s HYPE, reSET, United Way’s Emerging Leaders and the Urban League’s Young Professionals “engage and connect millennials” and offer “business advisory services and other supports to help small businesses thrive,” the report explains, providing “a great start” on what needs to be done.

The report notes that “regional thinking is not new to Metro Hartford, even if successes have been intermittent. Without regional government, we must rely on informal, voluntary collaboration among leaders to address regional challenges.”

Among the findings:

• Most job openings in the future will be in either high-wage jobs that require advanced degrees (27 percent) or low-skill jobs with wages that cannot sustain a family (72 percent).
• While school enrollment in our region has declined by 7 percent since 2001, amounting to 29,000 additional empty seats in our region’s classrooms, education expenditures have increased 25 percent.
• Millennials are projected to be the largest workforce segment by 2025, but who are they? Nearly half (43%) of the region’s 18- to 34-year-olds live in households that don’t earn family-sustaining wages.
• Millennials and those aged 45-64 are moving out of our state in large numbers, along with those with post-secondary education, and are taking $912 million of their income with them. Overall, college graduates, individuals with advanced degrees and older residents are moving out of state, while younger and less educated people are moving in.

Regarding economic growth – or the lack thereof – the Hartford region ranks at the bottom of the list among Cleveland, Buffalo and New Orleans over the past quarter-century.  Topping the list are Austin, Las Vegas, Orlando and Raleigh.

The report includes a timeline of past efforts aimed at addressing the region’s long-standing challenges, “not to be disheartening, but instead to highlight where positive changes have been made” and how collaborative efforts can “create opportunities for all Greater Hartford residents.” The report also indicates that:

• While net job growth in our region has been flat, the region’s smaller and locally-owned businesses have increased employment by 23 percent between 1995 and 2013. Unfortunately, larger and employers headquartered out of state have decreased employment by 10 percent during this same time period.
• New and proposed rail, bus and highway projects offer the promise of access to jobs, housing and amenities that can spur economic growth.
• Many of the region’s residents – of all ages – would like to live where they can walk to shops, restaurants and other amenities, compared to where they lie today. That is true of 60 percent of those ages 18-20, and more than 40 percent of other age demographics.

The Metro Hartford region consists of 1 million people living in Hartford, New Britain and the 36 surrounding communities.  The partners in the initiative expressed the hope that the latest edition of the Progress Points report creates the “sense of urgency necessary to address shared regional challenges.”

The Metro Hartford Progress Points Partners are: Capitol Region Council of Governments, Capital Workforce Partners, City of Hartford, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Hispanic Health Council, MetroHartford Alliance, Trinity College Center for Urban and Global Studies, United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, and Urban League of Greater Hartford.

https://youtu.be/0zTQjsbNlw0

CT Has 3rd Lowest Teen Birth Rate in U.S.

Connecticut has the third lowest teen birth rate in the nation, and ranks among the states with the lowest incidence of low birthweight babies, preterm birth rate and percent of births to unmarried mothers, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data, reflecting statistics from calendar year 2014, indicate that Connecticut ranked  32^nd in Percent of Births to Unmarried Mothers, 30th among the states in Low Birthweight Rate, and 28^th in Preterm Birth Rate.  The state ranked 48^th in Teen Birth Rate, third lowest in the U.S.

The NCHS data also ranked Connecticut 12^th in the Cesarean Delivery Rate.

The Teen Birth Rate, determined by the number of births per 1,000 females age 15-19, was 24.2 nationally.  In Connecticut, it was 11.5.  The only states with a lower rate were Massachusetts at 10.6 and New Hampshire at 11.0.  Among the other states with low teen birth rates, well below the national average, were New Jersey, Vermont, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York, Maine and Maryland.

The highest rates were in Arkansas (39.5), Oklahoma (38.5), Mississippi (38.), Texas (37.8) and New Mexico (37.8).

Regarding the percentage of babies born to unmarried mothers, a statistic long tracked by federal health officials, three states saw more than half the children born in that category.  The highest percentages were in Mississippi (54.0%), Louisiana (52.7) and New Mexico (51.3%).

Connecticut ranked 32^nd, at 37.1 percent, slightly lower than the national average of 40.2 percent.  The state with the lowest rate was Utah, at 18.6 percent, followed by Colorado (22.4%), Idaho (27.8%), Washington (32.1%) and Minnesota (32.3%).

Entrepreneurship May be Boomer, Rather Than Millennial, Phenomenon

Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship among Boomers is strong when compared to younger age groups, including millennials, according to a new analysis from The Kaufman Foundation of national research into entrepreneurship. The Kauffman Startup Index reveals that nationally the rate of new entrepreneurs ages 55-64 has increased from 0.34 percent in 1996 to 0.37 percent in 2014. (This rate means that 370 out of every 100,000 adults in this age group became entrepreneurs in a given month.)

The same measure showed the age 20-34 demographic group, at 0.22 percent, was considerably below the rate for other age groups. (This rate means that 221 out of every 100,000 adults in this age group became entrepreneurs in a given month.) The data also indicates that the rate of new entrepreneurs for the age 20-34 group is down from the high point for this age group of 0.28 percent in 1996.

For Connecticut, which has increasingly focused economic development attention and resources on entrepreneurial start-up businesses, the demographic findings may inform the state’s approach.

Connecticut Innovations, for example, “helps innovative Connecticut companies, or those that want to move here, no matter what stage of the business life cycle you’re in.”  CI describes itself as “entrepreneur-friendly, trustworthy and collaborative,” without mention of the demographics of the individuals driving the start-up businesses.

Connecticut’s self-identified “innovation ecosystem,” CT Next, equips “startups and entrepreneurs with resources, guidance and networks to accelerate growth and success.”  CT Next recently launched the Entrepreneur Learner’s Permit Program, which cuts fees that start-ups in specific industries are required to pay to the state.

Other organizations around the state, such as Hartford Area Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE), focus on young people starting fledgling businesses.  The Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT) in New Haven has developed an Entrepreneurial Academy, a hands-on program that coaches interested and capable youth on business fundamentals and entrepreneurship skills. ON the other end of the demographic continuum, AARP has launched an initiative called Encore Entrepreneurs, focusing on supporting and encouraging businesses launched by individuals age 50 and older.

There are competing views as to whether “success or hardship” is driving the growth of entrepreneurship for older Americans, according to the Kaufman analysis. “On one hand, working and starting business late in life might be a result of increased debt levels especially for younger female Boomers. On the other hand, some researchers have found that growth of Boomer entrepreneurship may be an indication of financial strengths rather than weaknesses.”

The oldest cohort of Baby Boomers turned 65 in 2011, and the last cohort of Boomers will turn 65 in 2029, the analysis indicates, stressing that the peak age for entrepreneurs is “closer to 40 than 20.”

The Kaufman review indicates that today’s millennials are “starting businesses at lower rates than other cohorts did when they were the same age.” Possible reasons suggested include growing student debt, timing of entry to workforce with the Great Recession, change in risk-taking attitudes, housing costs, among others. A poll by Young Invincibles, cited by the Kaufman presentation, found that Millennials identified student debt and lack of retirement savings as barriers to entrepreneurship.

Pay to Play Worsens Widening Economic Gap Evident in America's Schools, Putnam Says in Hartford

The growing number of public schools that require students to pay a fee to participate in after school activities, such as sports or music, is exacerbating the economic class disparities in America’s schools, and diminishing opportunities for students from families of limited financial means. “Play to play must end,” said social scientist Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, and author of the best-selling book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, appearing in Hartford in a special event sponsored by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

Putnam, who rose to cultural prominence in 2000 with his book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of the American Community,” mixed riveting stories of the vastly different life experiences of the nation’s children, depending upon the financial wherewithal of their parents, and the dangers to every aspect of society - rich and poor - of permitting the growing disparities to continue unchecked.

According to his data, 86 percent of students from the highest-income families participate in extracurricular activities — slightly higher than during the 1970s — but participation among the lowest-income families is down about 15 percentage points, to 65 percent.

“No one talked (50 years ago) about soft skills, but voters and school administrators understood that football, chorus, and the debate club taught valuable lessons that should be open to all kids, regardless of their family background,” Putnam writes in the book.

Pay to play policies have been evident in Connecticut, as elsewhere across the country, for some time, as reflected in data compiled by the state Office of Legislative Research (OLR) in 2012.  The OLR report included information from 116 school districts. Of these, “44 charged a participation fee for high school athletics. The fees range from $25 per sport to $1,450 for ice hockey. Twenty nine school districts include a maximum amount that a student, family, or both can be charged during a single school year. Schools without a cap are generally those that charge the lowest fees.”

Following that report, legislation that would have prohibited local and regional boards of education from charging any student activity fees to students who are unable to pay such fees was considered in 2013 but not approved by the state legislature.

Last month, education officials in Norwalk proposed requiring student athletes to pay $100 each to participate athletic programs. Published reports indicated that students who participate in high school musicals in the city pay about $200 as a participation fee.

Putnam noted that although many school districts that charge such fees provide for waivers for financial need, those tend not to be used because students would rather drop a sport than be stigmatized as  poor and needy.  And he emphasized that dropping out of participation in after school activities worsens development and lessens chances to break away from a life of diminished opportunities.  The absence of such extra-curricular participation adversely impacts both future circumstances and physiological developmental, Putnam said.

The OLR data indicated that in Trumbull, for example, a family could pay as much as $750 (or $900 including hockey) for students’ participation in sports; in South Windsor the payment was capped at $500 per family, or $800 including hockey.  In Region 10, which includes the towns of Burlington and Harwinton, there was a maximum of $450 per family for participation in sports.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Handbook for 2016-17 includes reference to the organization’s “strong opposition to the local board of education policies which establish a fee system for students who wish to participate in co-curricular or extra-curricular activities, athletic and/or non-athletic.”

Among the organizational policy positions included in the handbook, the Administrators of Health and Physical Education “feel a direct assessment on the individual families of athletes is contrary to the educational philosophy so deeply rooted in our nation, and is wrong because it places an undue tax on selected members of the community.”

“Athletics as an extra-curricular activity is unique in that it provides a possible predictor of student success in later life; and affords adolescent boys and girls an opportunity to establish a physical and social identity along with the intellectual identity they develop while in the classroom,” the Administrators of Health and Physical Education policy statement says.

The handbook section on “pay to play” continues, indicating that “In support of that notion is a pair of studies conducted by the American Testing Service and College Entrance Examining Board. The former completed a study comparing four factors thought to be possible predictors of student success: achievement in extracurricular activities, high grades in high school, and high grades in college as well as high scores on the SAT. It was found that the only factor which could be validly used to predict success in later life was achievement in extra-curricular activities.”

Adds the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents: “Free public education includes the student’s right to participate in activities offered by a school district. The student should not be denied participation because of lack of funds or the refusal to pay a fee.”

Putnam, speaking at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts to a nearly filled Belding Theater audience, recalled attending Yale University in Connecticut, and speaking in Hartford 16 years ago, when Bowling Alone was published.  He stressed that there are fewer mixed-income neighborhoods than there were 50 years ago, and as a result children are less likely to go to school with people of a different social class.  

The top third of US society – whether defined by education or income – are investing more in family life, community networks and civic activities than their parents, while the bottom third are in retreat, as families fracture and both adults and children disengage from mainstream society, he pointed out. That is evident in a range of statistics,  he said, proceeding to share a series of graphs and charts that underscored his thesis.

Putnam identified causes of the widening opportunity gap for the current generation of young people as the collapse of the working class family, a substantial increase in single-parent homes among the poor, economic insecurity among growing cadre of working class people, and a cultural change of people no longer looking out for other people’s kids in a way that happened in the past.  The definition of “our kids,” he said, has narrowed for a community’s children, to the biological children of individual families.

This gap amounts, Putnam emphasizes, is a “crisis” for the American dream of equal opportunity. Advantages pile up for the kids born to the right parents, all but guaranteeing their own success in life – in stark contrast to the fates of those struggling at the bottom.

Among the statistics of concern raised by Putnam: affluent children with low high-school test scores are as likely to get a college degree (30%) as high-scoring kids from poor families (29%).  And he called for a focus less on the costs of community college and more on helping students unfamiliar with the bureaucracy and processes of college work their way through it.  “We need navigators to help these students navigate the process,” he said, making a comparison to health care, where newly diagnosed cancer patients, unfamiliar with the world they have just entered, increasingly have “health care navigators” assigned to them as guides to deal with the uncertainty they face.

Despite the preponderance of evidence showing stark disparities, Putnam says he is optimistic that the trends can be reversed.  “American did it once before, after the turn of the last century,” he explains, and can do so again.  He suggests that the remedy will more likely be driven from the grassroots, in individual communities, than from policies adopted by the federal government.

Student Loans Grow; Home Ownership Pushed Back 5 Years, on Average

An analysis on the cost of student loans and home-buying nationwide finds that it takes graduates with the average student loan debt of $28,950 about 5 years longer to save a 20 percent home down payment. Thereafter, these graduates have almost $50,000 less in home equity 15 years after graduation compared to debt-free graduates, according to an analysis by GoodCall, The Real Cost of Student Loans. In Connecticut, where 62 percent of students graduate with debt averaging $29,750, above the national average, and home prices tend to be higher than in most states, the challenge is particularly acute.  Delaware has the highest average student loan balances, at $33,808. Utah has the lowest, with $18,921, according to data compiled by the Institute for College Access & Success and included in the report.

Nationally, average debt for new bachelor’s degree recipients rose at more than double the rate of inflation from 2004 to 2014, but in some states it grew even faster.  In Connecticut, the percentage of graduating students with debt rose from 57 percent in 2004 to 62 percent in 2014; the average amount of debt increased by 57 percent (20^th highest increase among the states), from $18,906 to $29,750.

Homeownership has generally fallen over the past decade, and for college graduates with student loan debt, the downward trend is even more marked, according to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the report indicates. What is clear, the report notes, is that after college, graduates with student debt must use part of their income to pay down loans. This means less income is available for saving compared to debt-free graduates.

It also means that graduates with student loan debt will have to save at a higher rate than their debt-free counterparts to buy a home sooner. This points to another challenge student loan borrowers face: making tough decisions over whether to pay student loans off as quickly as possible or save for big purchases like a home, the report explains.

Waiting longer to buy a home can mean missing out on accruing home equity, an important part of building wealth and financial security over the long term. Home equity is how much of the home’s current value is owned by the homeowner. This is calculated by taking the current market value, which typically grows year over year, and subtracting any remaining mortgage payments.

A recent Harvard study noted in the report revealed the consequences for wealth building that these financial decisions can have over the long-term, where college-educated households with student loan debt were found to have significantly less in assets, cash savings, and net wealth compared to college-educated households without student loans.

Among the report’s key findings regarding the home buying timeline:

• A 23-year-old debt-free college graduate today will be ready to buy a home with a 20 percent down payment in 2021 at age 28. That’s five years earlier than the 33-year-old average home buyer today.
• Graduates with $12,000 in student loan debt can expect to save until 2022 before they’re able to put a 20% down payment on a median price home.
• A 23-year-old graduate with $28,950 in student loan debt today will be saving until 2026 before she can make a 20% down payment on a home, at age 33 – the current average age for home buying.
• Graduates with $50,000 in student loans will be saving until age 36 in 2029 before they’ll have enough for a 20 percent home down payment.

The report also highlights the impact of student loans on the age at which people decide to get married, their job choices, starting salaries and retirement savings – and the impact those choices have on their ability to pay off student loans.

Best Bargain for Retirees? Waterbury Ranks 10th in the USA

Headed towards retirement?  Keep Waterbury in mind.  A new ranking of the best bargains for retirees has the Brass City holding down the final slot on the top ten list.  The list, developed by the website GO Banking Rates and running on the CBS Moneywatch website, ranks Waterbury as the 10^th best town in the country for retirees. The site said of Waterbury: “Waterbury is in New Haven County on the Naugatuck River, close to Hartford and New York City. Waterbury has a colonial history with historic houses, and the downtown is clean and has many trees. You will find art and cultural events, and great health care facilities.”

A 2015 report by the Government Accountability Office found that about half of households led by people ages 55 and older have no retirement savings at all. Among households with retirement savings, the median amount of those savings is just $104,000 for households ages 55-64, and $148,000 for households ages 65-74. Such modest savings make it difficult to keep up with expenses during retirement. Americans 65 years of age or older average nearly $44,686 in annual expenses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And Waterbury, apparently, can make those dollars go further.  The GOBankingRates website ranking considered several local factors, including:

• Housing — rental prices for a one-bedroom apartment, rounded to nearest dollar.
• Percentage of retirees — in the local population as of April 1, 2010.
• Walkability — scores ranging from 25 for Montgomery, Ala., to 65 for Allentown, Pa.
• Safety factors — scores ranging from 6 for Rochester, N.Y., and Louisville, Ky., to 30 for Boise, Idaho.

Each city was given a weighting for each of the criterion and was ranked based on the overall score.  The top 20:

1. Boise, Idaho
2. El Paso, Texas
3. Allentown, PA
4. Grand Rapids, MI
5. Champaign, IL
6. Charlottesville, VA
7. Lincoln, NE
8. Bloomington, IN
9. Cedar Rapids, IA
10. Waterbury, CT
11. Colorado Springs, CO
12. Missoula, MT
13. Rochester, NY
14. Greensboro, NC
15. Fort Worth, TX
16. Billings, MT
17. Phoenix, AZ
18. Lexington, KY
19. Omaha, NB
20. Columbus, OH

The City of Waterbury’s website highlights “the sense of neighborhood identity and pride is so important that Waterbury has some of the most active neighborhood associations in the state.”  The site explains that “their efforts focus on protecting the small-town character and livability of their communities as they plan neighborhood block parties, concerts and beautification projects.  And with over twenty distinct and diverse neighborhoods-- many with their own commercial center, park, school, and sports associations-- there is truly a place for everyone in Waterbury.  These well-preserved and diverse neighborhoods are often recognized as one of the city's greatest assets.”

The original settlement of Waterbury – the 9^th largest city in New England - dates back to 1674 and the city's name is reference to its proximity to the Naugatuck River and its many tributaries which flow through the heart of the city.

https://youtu.be/4MZDO2vFPjA

Connecticut to Join The Boston Fed's "Working Cities Challenge" to Help Communities Improve Economic Outcomes

Connecticut will be the latest state participating in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge competition, an economic development effort that builds cross-sector collaboration and leadership to solve challenges affecting urban communities. Businesses and organizations from the private sector throughout the state, along with state government, have played a significant role as a catalyst in bringing the Working Cities Challenge to the Land of Steady Habits. As part of this initiative, cities in Connecticut will have the ability to apply for competitive funding to be used toward addressing local issues in a sector of their choosing, be it education, workforce development, small business development, or other areas that can improve economic outcomes for residents. This summer, the Boston Fed will begin conducting meetings across Connecticut to provide more information about the Working Cities Challenge. Cities will be able to apply for design grants in the fall of 2016.

The Boston Fed will lead the competition, providing technical support and staff resources.  A steering committee composed of local and national partners will determine the cities in Connecticut that will be eligible to apply.  An independent, expert jury that does not include the Boston Fed will select winning cities.

The Boston Fed launched the program in Massachusetts in 2013, building on research that identified cross-sector collaboration and leadership as the key ingredients in resurgent smaller cities across the county. The State of Rhode Island has also joined Massachusetts as a participating site of the Working Cities Challenge.

Funding for the competition prize awards will be provided both by the State of Connecticut, which has committed $1 million, and an additional $2 million commitment from private partners.  The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Living Cities, NeighborWorks America, The United Illuminating Company, Stanley Black & Decker, Boehringer Ingelheim, Travelers Companies, Inc., The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Webster Bank, Eversource Energy, Liberty Bank Foundation, Hartford HealthCare, Barnes Group, Hoffman BMW of Watertown/Hoffman Auto Group, United Technologies Corp., Charter Communications, and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation have all committed to participating in the challenge.

“This Working Cities Challenge is about delivering collaborative, transformative projects that will improve the economic outcomes in our cities, creating strong, resilient, and inclusive communities,” Governor Malloy said.  “To build a stronger Connecticut, we must build upon the strengths of our urban areas, and I commend the Boston Fed for their leadership on this effort.  We look forward to working with them in support of Connecticut and cannot thank our private partners enough for their participation.”

“We are pleased to bring the Working Cities Challenge to Connecticut and are thankful to Governor Malloy for his support of the effort, as well as the Hartford Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, Living Cities, The Kresge Foundation, and many others,” Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said.  “The partners have come together to make it possible to bring the competition to Connecticut – precisely the model of cross-sector collaboration that forms the basis of the Working Cities Challenge.  This competition focuses on the residents of the state’s postindustrial cities – places with unique assets that taken together can help to build civic leadership infrastructure, which our research shows is a key component of economic resurgence.”

“Collaboration among the nonprofit, private, public and philanthropic sectors and residents is fundamental to ensuring our communities thrive,” Linda J. Kelly, President of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, said.  “We are proud to support the Working Cities Challenge as a proven approach for the coordination across multiple systems and stakeholders that is necessary to strengthen our urban centers and benefit the entire state.”

 “It’s gratifying to see the strong support from Connecticut companies, foundations, and the Malloy administration for the Working Cities Challenge under the thoughtful  leadership of the Boston Fed,”  James C. Smith, Chairman and CEO of Webster Bank, said.  “By encouraging the development of civic infrastructure as a prerequisite to physical infrastructure, the Working Cities Challenge promises to revitalize Connecticut’s smaller cities economically and transform the lives of inner city residents.”

“Across the country many, many communities lack cohesive leadership to make use of their disconnected assets,” Rip Rapson, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, said.  “The Working Cities Challenge offers a short-term incentive for smaller communities to come together for a prize.  But its true value will be felt when those communities find the long-term benefits of collaborations that engage citizens to right economic wrongs and provide for widespread opportunity.”

 Working Cities video

Encore Entrepreneurs Look to Start New Businesses in CT

To paraphrase a commercial phrase from years ago, it isn’t your grandfather’s entrepreneurship.  In fact, the new version isn’t only for twenty- and thirty-somethings.  The fifty- and sixty-somethings are, in increasing numbers, looking to launch what AARP describes as “encore entrepreneurship.”  And the infrastructure to give those new entrepreneurial notions a boost is growing too, including in Connecticut. The most recent gathering, at the reSET business factory in Hartford, brought solid attendance and an array of experts to work with individuals with a full career under their belt, but nonetheless looking to start their next career. 

AARP and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) hosted the free educational and networking “Boot Camp” seminar for Connecticut entrepreneurs and small business owners.  reSET, usually populated by a predominantly younger set of entrepreneurs, indicated that age and entrepreneurship are not mutually exclusive, and Community Developer Brandon Serafino went on to explain the availability of working space, expert mentors and consultants is areas ranging from law to accounting to marketing on hand to provide guidance.

Nora Duncan, state director of AARP, led the program presentations and described a strong portfolio of services available – and some surprising numbers that reflect the strength of encore entrepreneurship nationwide.

It turns out, she said, that there is research to show that not only do more older people start businesses but also that businesses started by older people are actually more successful on average.

A study by the Kauffman Foundation found, for example, that the average and median age of U.S.-born tech founders was thirty-nine when they started their companies. Twice as many were older than fifty as were younger than twenty-five.

A recent report in Business Insider indicated that one in three new businesses in the U.S. were started by an entrepreneur age 50 or older.  Describing “running a business as the new retirement,” the news report cited an infographic in easylifecover that highlighted those aged 55-64 in the U.S. have actually had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in the last 10 years, noting that the founders of McDonald's, Coca Cola, and Kentucky Fried Chicken – among others - were all over 50 when they established their businesses.

The interactive “Boot Camp” event at reSET – open to people of all ages with a special focus on the 50 and over –included short presentations from local resource organizations, networking opportunities and valuable information on the programs and tools available to potential business owners.  Attendees were updated on the necessary steps and tools to launch a business, and had opportunities to talk one-on-one with local mentoring organizations, lenders, small business advisors and community leaders for advice and assistance.

AARP state offices and U.S. Small Business Administration District Offices are in the midst of hosting events for Encore Entrepreneurs specifically designed for those age 50 and older who want to start or grow a small business.  Summer of Encore Mentoring events are being conducted during June, July and August, in Connecticut and around the country.  (Next event is June 29 at CCSU)

Among those on hand at the reSET event in mid-June were representatives of the Office of Secretary of State (where new businesses are registered), Hartford Economic Development Corporation, and the Connecticut Small Business Development Center.  SBA Connecticut District Director Anne Hunt outlined the businesses expertise available at offices throughout the state to support business start-ups and help navigate the hurdles that new businesses face.

The SBA-AARP strategic partnership is designed to jointly counsel, train, and mentor encore entrepreneurs on small business creation. For many 50+ individuals, officials say, entrepreneurship training is the toolkit that empowers them to use their experience, knowledge, and skills to become business owners and job creators. Since the partnership began in 2012, the SBA and AARP have educated more than 300,000 existing and budding potential encore entrepreneurs nationwide.

reSET serves all entrepreneurs, but specializes in social enterprise ― impact driven business with a double and sometimes triple bottom line. In addition to providing co-working space and accelerator and mentoring programs, reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges. The organization’s goal is to “meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level.”

Connecticut Is 2016’s 2nd Best State for Working Dads; Two Norwalk Businesses Earn Spot Among Nation’s Top 50 for New Dads

Working fathers in Connecticut are in a great place, according to a newly released analysis.  Connecticut is ranked only behind only Minnesota as the 2^nd Best State for Working Dads, a glimpse of good news as Father’s Day approaches. Nearly 93 percent of dads with kids younger than 18 in the labor force, according to the personal-finance website WalletHub, which conducted an in-depth analysis of the Best & Worst States for Working Dads.

The top 10 states were Minnesota, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Virginia and North Dakota.  At the bottom of the list were Mississippi, West Virginia, Alaska and Nevada.

WalletHub analyzed the work-life balance, health conditions, financial well-being and child-rearing environments for working dads in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, using 20 key metrics, which range from day care quality to male life expectancy.

To identify the best and worst states for working dads, WalletHub analyzed the various factors in the work-life balance that affect paternal roles in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, focused on four key dimensions of fatherhood: 1) Economic & Social Well-Being, 2) Work-Life Balance, 3) Child Care and 4) Health.  Among the 20 factors included were parental leave policy, commute time, day care quality, pediatric services, median income, unemployment rate, and mental health.

Leading to its overall ranking of second in the analysis, Connecticut was 13^th in “economic and social well-being,” third in “work-life balance,” eighth in “child care,” and third in “health.”  Among the sub-categories, Connecticut was:

• 2nd – Male Life Expectancy at Birth
• 2nd – % of Kids Younger than 18 with Dad Present Living in Poverty
• 2nd – “Parental Leave Policy” Score
• 6th – Access to Pediatric Services
• 6th – % of Men Who Report Adequate or Any Physical Activity
• 7th – Male Uninsured Rate
• 14th – Average Freshman Graduation Rate for Men
• 16th – Mortality Rate due to Heart Disease per 100,000 Men
• 17th – Mean Hours Worked per Day Among Males
• 19^th - Median Income for Families (Dad Present) with Kids Younger than 18 Years, Adjusted for Cost of Living

Among the nation’s top businesses for new dad, an analysis by the website Fatherly, determined that two Connecticut-based companies – alcoholic beverages producer Diageo and financial data and analysis provider FactSet, earned slots in the top 50.  Fatherly is a digital lifestyle guide for men entering parenthood.

Just a handful of states had companies on the list:  California (18), New York (9), Oregon (4), Massachusetts (3) and Georgia, North Carolina, Washington DC, and Connecticut, with two each.

Norwalk’s Diageo ranked 34^th, and was praised for policies that include “employees receive up to 8 hours of school activity leave (up to 40 hours per year) so you won’t have to miss your kid’s big game or school play.”  FactSet, headquartered in Norwalk, ranked 46^th.  The company was praised because it “recently upped it’s paternity leave from one week to 4.”  FactSet has 8,000 employees in 21 countries.  Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with iconic brands in spirits, beer and wine, producing well-known brands from more than 200 sites in over 30 countries.

The top companies were Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, Patagonia, Bank of America, Pinterest, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Airbnb, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, MasterCard, Intuit and Intel.

In addition, nine small businesses described as “leading the way,” were change.org (San Francisco), Laughing Planet Café (Portland), Upworthy (New York), Blue Corona (Maryland),  Badger Balm (New Hampshire), Square Root (Austin), Able Lending (Austin), Happy Family (New York) and ustwo (New York).

When Fatherly’s 50 Best Places To Work For New Dads was a year ago, nearly half the companies featured offered between one and 2 weeks of paid leave to fathers. Twelve months later, 7.5 weeks is the average, 35 percent of companies offer between 6 and 8 weeks, and another 12 companies offer between 10 weeks and a full year, the website pointed out, attributing much of the increase to tech companies, which make up nearly a third of companies on the top 50 list.

Data used to create the WalletHub report were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Council for Community and Economic Research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Partnership for Women & Families, the American Urological Association, the Social Science Research Council, Child Care Aware of America and WalletHub research.

Nine in Ten CT Residents Have a Usual Source of Care, But 3 in 10 Haven’t Seen Doctor in Past Year

A new federal report finds that all but 10.1 percent of Connecticut residents had a usual source of medical care during 2014 – tied for the sixth lowest percentage among the states.  The same report found great variation among states but, on average, 17.3 percent of Americans lacked a usual source of care. Vermont led the country with only 2.8 percent of residents reporting they do not have a regular care site, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, followed by Delaware at 6.8 percent.

Even in Connecticut there remains room for improvement as nearly 3 in 10 – 29.6 percent - of Connecticut residents had not seen or talked to a general doctor during the last year, slightly better than the national average. Vermont also led the country in that statistic, with 84 percent having seen or spoken with a physician during the previous year.

The percentage of adults without a usual place of medical care ranged from 2.8 percent in Vermont to 26.7 percent in Nevada.  The percentage of adults who did not have a general doctor visit in the past 12 months ranged from 15.9 percent in Vermont to nearly have the state’s population - 48.1 percent - in Montana.

The federal data indicated that nine states (Nevada, Idaho, Texas, Oregon, Wyoming, Kentucky, Arizona, Alaska, and Florida) had a higher percentage of adults without a usual place of medical care compared with the national average (17.3%).

Conversely, Vermont, Delaware (6.8%), Massachusetts (7.5%), Wisconsin (9.5%), Hawaii (10%), Connecticut (10.1%), Rhode Island (10.1%), New Hampshire (11.6%), North Dakota (11.9%), South Dakota, New York, Alabama, Iowa, Maine, and Pennsylvania had a lower percentage of adults without a usual place of medical care compared with the national average.

Eleven states (Montana, South Dakota, Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Texas, Florida, and California) had a higher percentage of adults who had not seen or talked to a general doctor in the past 12 months compared with the national average (34.0%).  Vermont, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Ohio had a lower percentage of adults who had not seen or talked to a general doctor in the past 12 months compared with the national average.

Connecticut, at 29.6 percent, ranked just outside the top 10 states in the second quartile, but just below the national average.

Also of note, the study found little impact on these metrics of states’ decisions to expand Medicaid or create a state-based health insurance exchange. The federal analysis concluded that “continued state-specific monitoring will be helpful in identifying and tracking state and regional disparities in health care utilization over time.”

The National Health Interview Survey is a multipurpose health survey conducted continuously throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Interviews are conducted in person in respondents’ homes, but follow-ups to complete interviews may be conducted over the telephone. The federal report was authored by Lindsey I. Black and Jeannine S. Schiller, with the National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Interview Statistics.