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.

CT An Also-Ran Among States in Entrepreneurial Growth, Despite Some Gains

Connecticut ranks 13^th among the nation’s 25 smaller states – and 36^th overall - in the growth of entrepreneurship, according to a new study and state-by-state analysis by Kauffman Foundation.  A year ago, the state ranked 17^th among the smaller states, slightly improving its ranking in the latest data.  The rate of start-up growth in Connecticut increased to 45.5 percent in the 2016 report, compared with 23.6 percent the previous year. The “share of scale-ups” also increased, from 1.29 percent in last year’s analyses to 1.33 percent this year.  Scale-ups measures the number of firms that started small but grew to employ fifty people or more by their tenth year of operation as a percentage of all employer firms ten years or younger.

One metric that dropped slightly measured high-growth company density – the number of private businesses with a least $2 million in annual revenue reaching three years of 20 percent annual revenue growth normalized by total business population.  Connecticut moved from 55.1 a year ago to 48.8 in the 2016 report.  Both researchers and entrepreneurs have suggested density as a key indicator of vibrancy in entrepreneurial ecosystems, and there is high variation on this indicator across U.S. states, according to the report.

The Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship, released this week,  is an indicator of business growth in the United States, “integrating several high-quality sources of timely information into one composite indicator of entrepreneurial business growth.”

In rankings by industry, Connecticut ranked in the top five among the 25 smaller states in two five categories – 3^rd in Business Products & Services and 3^rd in Software.  The state was ranked outside the top five in high-growth companies in the IT Services, Advertising & Marketing and Health industries.

Overall, the Growth Entrepreneurship Index rose in 2016 in thirty-nine states in the last year, indicating a continued return of broad-based business growth, the report concluded.

• Among the twenty-five largest states, the five states with the highest Growth Entrepreneurship Index were Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Texas.
• Among the twenty-five smallest states, the five states with the highest Growth Entrepreneurship Index were Utah, New Hampshire, Delaware, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. (Connecticut ranked 13^th)

While most states experienced an increase in growth entrepreneurship activity, changes in state rankings— which measure relative yearly performance across states, as opposed to performance relative to a state’s own growth entrepreneurship rates in the previous year—were different. Twenty-three states ranked higher than they did last year, seven experienced no changes in rankings, and twenty ranked lower, the report pointed out.

"Growth entrepreneurship directly contributes to the economy through creating jobs, innovation and wealth," said Arnobio Morelix, senior research analyst at the Kauffman Foundation, which conducts the annual study.

Virginia took first place in growth entrepreneurship activity among the 25 largest states, followed by Maryland, Arizona, Massachusetts and Texas. Kauffman researchers said it is no coincidence that two of the top states include the highly entrepreneurial Washington, D.C., metro area. Among larger states, 12 ranked higher than they did last year, four experienced no change in rankings and nine ranked lower.

Among the 25 largest states, the five that experienced the biggest increase in rank from 2015 to 2016 were North Carolina (15 to 8), Alabama (13 to 9), Ohio (16 to 12), Tennessee (18 to 14) and Arizona (6 to 3).

The five large states that saw the greatest decrease in rank in 2016 were, with a tie for fifth place, New Jersey (8 to 20), Pennsylvania (10 to 16), Illinois (14 to 17), Wisconsin (20 to 23), Louisiana (4 to 6) and South Carolina (11 to 13).

Among the 25 smallest states, Utah led growth entrepreneurship activity, followed by New Hampshire, Delaware, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Eleven states ranked higher than they did last year, three experienced no change in rankings and 11 ranked lower.

The five small states that saw the biggest increase in rank were Mississippi (22 to 10), Wyoming (23 to 15), North Dakota (11 to 4), Nevada (15 to 8) and Connecticut (17 to 13).

Most CT Residents Concerned About Loss of Jobs, Access, Care in Aetna-Humana Merger, Poll Shows; Missouri Decision Points to Adverse Impact

The State of Missouri raised a red flag today, waving it directly into the headwind that is the pending merger between health care giants Aetna and Humana.  Missouri’s action came just as a public poll was released in Connecticut by consumer advocates opposing the merger which indicated a general lack of public awareness about the merger plan and substantial concern about potential job losses and adverse health care affordability and choices here if the merger goes forward. The Missouri Insurance Department issued an order banning Aetna and Humana from selling certain types of insurance in the state if the companies’ planned $37 billion merger comes to fruition. The order states that Aetna and Humana should “cease and desist from doing business” throughout Missouri with respect to individual and small group insurance and the group Medicare Advantage market if Aetna’s acquisition of Humana is completed.

In Connecticut, the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice coalition released results of a recent poll which found that most Connecticut voters “didn’t know that the five major national health insurance companies – UnitedHealth, Anthem, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana - are attempting to merge down to three companies from five. The new research found that only 27 percent of respondents were aware of the plans.

After they were given more information about the consequences of the mergers among the five national health insurance providers (Aetna-Humana and CIGNA-Anthem), 71 percent of Connecticut voters were opposed to State Insurance Commissioner Katherine Wade approving the mergers in Connecticut.

Nine in ten state voters (91 percent) think that it’s either very or somewhat important that Commissioner Wade “considers the impact of these mergers on the affordability of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and their potential to limit health care choices, in her decision making process.” And those surveyed were overwhelmingly concerned that the proposed mergers will lead to job losses in Connecticut.

The Connecticut survey, conducted earlier this month by Public Policy Polling, found that 89 percent of Connecticut voters are either very or somewhat concerned that the proposed mergers will lead to job losses in Connecticut. Additionally, 89 percent of those polled believe it’s either very or somewhat important that the impact of these mergers on job losses in Connecticut be considered by state regulators.

Missouri is the first state regulator to release findings against the proposed deal, announced last year, published reports indicated. The deal is being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as state regulators and antitrust authorities, who are also reviewing competitor Anthem’s plan to buy Cigna Corp. Aetna has filed for regulatory approval in the 20 states where Humana is domiciled and of those, 15 have approved the deal thus far, including Connecticut.  Because of Humana's limited footprint in Connecticut, the review was more form than substance.  The Cigna-Anthem merger, however, is to receive a much fuller review, according to state insurance officials, as Cigna is a state-domiciled company.

Regarding Aetna-Humana, the Missouri Insurance Department “found that in its current, unmodified, form – as to a few specified lines of insurance – that the proposed acquisition would violate the competitive standard set forth in Missouri law, meaning that as to those lines the acquisition would substantially lessen competition in this state.”

The Missouri Insurance Department stressed that the decision “is not a final order. The statute provides that Aetna and Humana may submit a plan to remedy the anticompetitive effect of the merger as to those specified lines.”  If that step is taken, the department “would evaluate the plan and may modify or vacate” the order issued today banning the merged company from certain lines of insurance in the state.

"The Missouri order does not impede the Department of Justice approval process," Aetna said in a statement. "We're disappointed, but expect to have a constructive dialogue with the state to address their concerns."

In addition to the public poll, Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice – a coalition that includes the Universal Health Care Foundation, Connecticut Citizen Action Group and Connecticut State Medical Society -  released a letter to Commissioner Wade signed by 17 state legislators calling for multiple public hearings on the merger, intervenor status for interested consumer advocates, and a study that would “analyze the potential impact on cost, access, and the Connecticut economy, including jobs” and warning that if the merger is approved, “the resulting mega-insurer will cover 64 percent of covered lives in Connecticut, with an even greater concentration in some regions of our state.”

The Missouri decision comes following a public hearing held on May 16.  In testimony provided as part of the public record, Consumers Council of Missouri expressed “profound concern,” warning that the merger would result in a “significant reduction in competition (that) will most certainly result in increased cost to consumers,” adding that “the results will be catastrophic and we will have no power to undo it.”

The Missouri Hospital Association, in offering a detailed 21-page analysis, indicated that “Consolidation will affect the ability of hospitals and other health care providers to bargain competitively for contracts containing appropriate fees for medical services. In turn, such providers are less able to invest in the resources to maintain and improve the quality of care. An anticompetitive suppression of healthcare payments will suppress innovation, to the detriment of consumers.”

CT Has Nation's 11th Lowest Adult Obesity Rate, Survey Says

One quarter of Connecticut’s adult population is obese, according to data compiled by Gallup, the 11^th lowest rate in the nation.  The state-by-state analysis indicates that at 18.5 percent, Hawaii has the lowest adult obesity rate in the U.S., closely followed by Colorado at 19.8 percent. They are the only two states in which the obesity rate is below 20 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia has the highest adult obesity rate, at 37.0 percent. In addition to West Virginia, at least one in three adults are obese in Mississippi, Delaware, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The obesity rate exceeds 30 percent in 18 states.

Of the 18 states with obesity rates of at least 30.0 percent, all but one are located in the South or Midwest. Meanwhile, all 11 states with obesity rates below 25.0 percent are located in the Northeast or West.

These data, from daily interviews conducted January through December 2015 as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, are based on U.S. adults' self-reports of their height and weight, which are then used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) scores. Americans who have a BMI of 30 or higher are classified as obese.

The national obesity rate reached a new high of 28.0 percent in 2015, up significantly from 25.5 percent in 2008, when Gallup and Healthways began tracking obesity. Fourteen states had statistically significant increases in their obesity rates from 2008 to 2015, while no state registered a statistically significant decline. Maine, West Virginia, Idaho and Oklahoma experienced the sharpest upticks in obesity.

Gallup calculated the incremental cost of healthcare per year for each state by multiplying the estimated number of obese people in the state's population by the annual incremental $1,573 cost of obesity per person.

In the five most obese states, the annual incremental cost of obesity per 100,000 residents averages $54 million. By contrast, the average cost is $34 million in the five least obese states. In other words, per capita medical costs attributable to obesity are about 1.6 times higher in the five states with the highest obesity rates than in the states with the five lowest rates.  The cost in Connecticut for the obese adult population was estimated at $39 million, for the entire adult population, $1.07 billion.

Public Supports Action to Protect Youth From Weight-Based Bullying

Parental support for enactment of laws and policies to protect youth from weight-based bullying is “present, consistent, and strong,” according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. All 50 states currently have anti-bullying laws, but only three states – New York, Maine and New Hampshire - include body weight as a characteristic that places youth at risk of being bullied.

Many school districts have anti-bullying policies, yet body weight is often overlooked, stating that “evidence from students, parents and teachers indicates that weight-based bullying is one of the most prevalent forms of peer harassment towards youth in the school setting.”

The study found that support for including weight-based bullying in anti-bullying laws has grown during the past two years, stressing that “the omission of body weight in existing policies has important implications for youth who face weight-based bullying.”

“Parental voices can be influential in mobilizing advocacy efforts, and enacting policy change affecting children’s health,” said Rebecca Puhl, a study author, professor in UConn’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and deputy director of the Rudd Center.

The study findings, published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, can inform policy discussions about remedies for weight-based bullying among youth as increasing national attention is being paid to this issue.  The study indicated that “parental support is an influential catalyst motivating political will for policy decisions affecting youth, but has received limited research attention.”

Specific findings of the study include:

• Parental support has been consistently high (at least 81 percent) over the past two years for policies to address weight-based bullying among youth at the school, state, and federal levels.
• Support appears to have increased over the past two years for measures to better protect youth from weight-based bullying through improvements to state anti-bullying laws (87.9 percent – up from 84.7 percent) and through enactment of federal legislation (86 percent – up from 81 percent).
• While previous research has shown that mothers express more support than fathers for similar types of policies, this new study found no gender difference, suggesting that fathers’ support for these measures may be increasing.

“As a next step, it will be important to communicate with policy makers and school officials to identify interest and feasibility of viable policy initiatives,” said Puhl, “and to examine potential avenues for enacting change through law.” Puhl told CT by the Numbers that Connecticut’s law includes “physical appearance” but not body weight. There is, therefore, room to strengthen the state law, she pointed out, because physical appearance is a broad category that can include everything from clothing style to hair color, and body weight could easily slip through the cracks if it is not specifically enumerated.

The study involved online questionnaires of diverse national samples of parents in 2014 and 2015, totaling 1,804 parents over the two years. The research was funded by a donation from Rudd Foundation and a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The study co-authors include Young Suh and Xun Li of the UConn Rudd Center. The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity is a non-profit research and public policy organization devoted to promoting solutions to childhood obesity, poor diet, and weight bias through research and policy.

West Hartford’s Newly Developed Complete Streets Policy is #2 in the Nation for 2015

West Hartford’s Complete Streets policy, adopted in 2015, has been named the second best new policy in the nation by Smart Growth America and the Complete Streets Coalition. The coalition highlighted 16 communities nationwide for their outstanding new policies, among 82 communities that adopted Complete Streets policies during the year.  Nationwide, there are now a total of 899 Complete Streets policies in place in all 50 states, the organization announced this month. A Complete Streets approach creates an integrated transportation system that supports safe travel for people of all ages and abilities. This approach redefines what a transportation network looks like, which goals a public agency sets out to meet, and how communities prioritize their transportation spending. A Complete Streets policy is one of the best ways to set this approach into motion, Smart Growth American emphasized.

The U.S. Surgeon General and Secretary of Transportation both spoke out for more Complete Streets last year and Congress passed a transportation bill that included Complete Streets language for the first time ever.

The Complete Streets laws, resolutions, agency policies, and planning and design documents establish a process for selecting, funding, planning, designing, and building transportation projects that allow safe access for everyone, regardless of age, ability, income or ethnicity, and no matter how they travel.

Across the country, 32 state governments or agencies, 76 regional organizations, and 663 individual municipalities have all adopted such policies to create safer, multimodal transportation networks.

West Hartford’s policy is the result of a process that began in 2009 with the adoption of the Town’s 2009-2019 Plan of Conservation and Development,” according to town Deputy Mayor Shari Cantor.  She said the plan “promote[s] an integrated and balanced “complete street” transportation system which provides the best possible service, mobility convenience and safety while reinforcing a positive social, economic, and environmental influence on West Hartford.

“Utilizing a comprehensive public participatory process, guided by the leadership of the Town Council; the advocacy efforts of various community groups in West Hartford including our Bicycle Advisory Committee, and the work of our Town staff; we were able to develop and adopt this tremendous Complete Streets Policy,” said Mrs. Cantor in response to the national recognition.

Each year, the National Complete Streets Coalition analyzes newly passed Complete Streets policies. The Coalition examines and scores policy language using the guidelines laid out in our ideal policy elements. Ideal policies state a community’s vision for transportation, provide for many types of users, complement community needs, and establish a flexible project delivery approach. Different types of policy statements are included in the Coalition’s review, including legislation, resolutions, executive orders, internal policies, and policies adopted by an elected board.

The Coalition ranks new Complete Streets policies to celebrate the people who developed exceptional policy language and to provide leaders at all levels of government with examples of strong Complete Streets policies.

Sixteen agencies led the nation in creating and adopting comprehensive Complete Streets policies in 2015. Topping the list, with the first-ever score of 100, was Reading, PA, followed by West Hartford, Park Forest, IL and South Bend, IN.  Four of the next seven slots went to communities in Massachusetts:  Longmeadow, Weymouth, Ashland, Natick and Norwell.  The others were Omaha, NE and Incennes, IN.

Of the 663 municipalities with Complete Streets policies, 239 (or 36 percent) are suburban communities. Small towns, often in rural areas, have passed 111 policies, or 17 percent of all municipal policies. On the other end of the spectrum, 12 of the 15 most populous cities in the country have committed to Complete Streets with a policy, according to the organization’s 2015 report. 

“A Complete Streets approach is about helping everyone stay safe on the road—no matter if they’re walking, biking, taking transit, using an assistive device, or driving,” said Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. “Passing a Complete Streets policy is one of the best actions communities can take toward achieving these goals.”

Connecticut became the 10^th state in the nation to adopt a Complete Streets law, in 2009.  The law mandates “accommodations for all users shall be a routine part of the planning, design, construction and operating activities” of all state highways. Connecticut’s Complete Streets law has evolved, and now (Conn. Gen. Stat. §13-153f) requires pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users to be routinely considered in the planning, designing, construction and operation of all roads.

In 2014, Bike Walk Connecticut released a first-of-its-kind ranking of the state’s cities and towns on how bike- and walk-friendly they are. Simsbury (1), New Haven (2), New Britain (3), Glastonbury (4), and Middletown (5) claimed top honors as the five most bike- and walk-friendly communities.

Earlier this year, the University of Connecticut released a study that shows how shared space, a design concept that encourages all users to share street space, can provide much greater vehicular capacity than conventional intersections and increases pedestrian convenience. The study found that by redesigning streets and intersections as human-scaled places and incorporating shared space concepts, communities of all sizes have successfully encouraged active transportation, stimulated their local economies, reduced accident severity, and lessened their environmental impacts. The study compared actual user delays at six shared space intersections to expected user delays using standard U.S. traffic modeling software.  The state Department of Transportation issued a policy document in 2014 consistent with the law.

The criteria used in the Complete Streets evaluation include:

1. Vision: The policy establishes a motivating vision for why the community wants Complete Streets: to improve safety, promote better health, make overall travel more efficient, improve the convenience of choices, or for other reasons.
2. All users and modes: The policy specifies that “all modes” includes walking, bicycling, riding public transportation, driving trucks, buses and automobiles and “all users” includes people of all ages and abilities.
3. All projects and phases: All types of transportation projects are subject to the policy, including design, planning, construction, maintenance, and operations of new and existing streets and facilities.
4. Clear, accountable exceptions: Any exceptions to the policy are specified and approved by a high-level official.
5. Network: The policy recognizes the need to create a comprehensive, integrated and connected network for all modes and encourages street connectivity.
6. Jurisdiction: All other agencies that govern transportation activities can clearly understand the policy’s application and may be involved in the process as appropriate.
7. Design: The policy recommends use of the latest and best design criteria and guidelines, while recognizing the need for design flexibility to balance user needs in context.
8. Context sensitivity: The current and planned context—buildings, land use, transportation, and community needs—is considered in when planning and designing transportation solutions.
9. Performance measures: The policy includes performance standards with measurable outcomes.
10. Implementation steps: Specific next steps for implementing the policy are described.

The National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, is a non-profit, non-partisan alliance of public interest organizations and transportation professionals committed to the development and implementation of Complete Streets policies and practices. A nationwide movement launched by the Coalition in 2004, Complete Streets is the integration of people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks.

CT Ranks As 7th Greenest State in the Nation, Analysis Says

Earth Day 2016 – celebrated on April 22 – will be observed in communities throughout Connecticut this weekend, against the backdrop of a new state-by-state analysis that ranks Connecticut as the 7^th “greenest” state in the nation. WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Environmental Quality, 2) Eco-Friendly Behaviors and 3) Climate-Change Contributions, including 17 key metrics that “speak to the health of the current environment as well as the environmental impact of people’s daily habits.”

Topping the list were Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, Minnesota, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire and New Jersey.  The data set ranges from “Total Municipal Solid Waste per Capita” to “Energy Efficiency Score” to “Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Capita.”

Connecticut’s highest ranking in the individual categories was in Water Quality, where the state ranked first.  Other top finished include Energy-Efficiency (6^th), Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Capita (6^th), and Gasoline Consumption per Capita (12^th).

The state ranked in the middle-of-the-pack in Percent of the Population Not Driving to Work (22^nd), Air Quality (24^th) and Percentage of Recycled Municipal Solid Waste (25^th).

In the three overall categories, Connecticut ranked 2^nd in Climate Change Contributions, 5^th in Environmental Quality, and 23^rd in Eco-Friendly Behavior.

At the bottom of the WalletHub ranking were Oklahoma, Nebraska, West Virginia, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Gary Ginsberg Receives Public Communications Award from the Society of Toxicology

Dr. Gary Ginsberg, a Senior Toxicologist with the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has been awarded the “Public Communications Award” by the Society of Toxicology, an international organization dedicated to enhancing the impact and relevance of toxicology. Dr. Ginsberg was recognized by the organization for his efforts in explaining complex toxicology issues to the public, with the conference program noting that “Dr. Ginsberg is able to consolidate vast amounts of science into easily digestible useful information to help protect consumers from potentially hazardous situations.”

At DPH, Dr. Ginsberg regularly prepares educational material for citizens on emerging contaminant issues, such as arsenic in pressure treated wood, the hazards to children from mothballs, and chemicals in children’s products and toys.  He has represented DPH in the media on numerous topics ranging from mercury in fish to chemical spill emergencies. He has also appeared on television shows such as the Dr. Oz Show and had his own radio program covering environmental issues of the day.

The organization’s annual conference, attended by 6,500 toxicologists and 350 exhibitors from across the country, and held in New Orleans last month, honored Ginsberg, who has been employed by DPH for over 20 years and regularly communicates with the legislature, local health departments, the general public and other state agencies on a wide variety of toxic exposure issues.

The recognition comes as Connecticut and the nation mark National Public Health Week, April 4-10.

Conference organizers pointed out that “his dedication to toxicology is evident though his tireless endeavors to educate the public and other health care professionals with accurate and practical knowledge.”  Also noted were his regular contributions to a Yale University blog on toxicology issues, and his website, www.whatstoxic.org, as well as writing on toxicology issues in state and national publications. Dr. Ginsberg evaluates human exposures to chemicals present in the air, water, soil, food, and in the workplace, and provides risk assessment expertise to state agencies in standard setting and site remediation projects.

Dr. Ginsberg was featured in a recent “Wastebusters” video produced by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and CT DPH on the importance of selecting green cleaning products in schools and homes.  He has drafted numerous fact sheets on chemical hazards in consumer products, such as sun screen and chemicals in hand sanitizers. In 2006, Dr. Ginsberg co-authored a book called “What’s Toxic What’s Not” (Berkeley Books, 2006).

“We are extremely proud of Dr. Ginsberg and congratulate him on this prestigious and well deserved award,” said Ellen Blaschinski, DPH’s Regulatory Services Branch Chief.  “His expertise in toxic exposures and ability to consolidate vast amounts of science into easily digestible, useful information helps protect and inform Connecticut’s citizens.”

A resident of East Granby, Dr. Ginsberg received his PhD from UConn in 1986. In addition to working at DPH, Dr. Ginsberg is an assistant clinical professor at the UConn School of Community Medicine, an adjunct faculty member at Yale University and has served on a number of US EPA advisory committees and on the National Academy of Sciences.

The Society of Toxicology is a professional and scholarly organization of scientists from academic institutions, government, and industry representing the great variety of scientists who practice toxicology in the US and abroad. The Society’s mission is to create a safer and healthier world by advancing the science and increasing the impact of toxicology.

https://youtu.be/l1MIcvoWGMo

Paid Family Medical Leave Has Broad Support in CT, Survey Shows

Eighty-two percent of registered Connecticut voters age 45-plus and a similar majority of voters age 25-plus, 83 percent, support a paid family medical leave plan now being considered by the state legislature, according to a recent survey by AARP Research. The large majority is also present across the ideological spectrum, with 94 percent of registered Democrats, 79 percent of independents and 68 percent of Republicans indicating their support for state paid family medical leave to support Connecticut workers and family caregivers.

One-thousand state voters age 25-plus were asked two questions about the paid family medical initiative, whether they supported such a plan, and whether they would support political candidates who did.

Among the 83 percent over age 45 who said they supported a paid family medical leave plan, 65 percent indicted they strongly supported such a plan, which would give employees an opportunity to contribute to and utilize a limited amount of paid leave from work to care for themselves or a loved one who is recovering from a serious medical condition.

“Connecticut voters overwhelmingly support paid family leave for workers,” said Nora Duncan, AARP CT state director. “We urge lawmakers to give serious consideration to passage of SB 221, An Act Concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave, in the remaining weeks of the 2016 legislative session. Voters are clearly interested in this policy and will make it a part of their considerations at the ballot box this fall.”

Asked if they would support a candidate for state elections who worked to implement a paid family leave plan that included working caregivers, 74 percent indicated their support, with half saying they would strongly support such a candidate. 

SB 221 would create a statewide system of paid family and medical leave for workers needing time off to care for themselves, an ill loved one or a new baby. The system that’s being suggested would be fully funded by employees with no employer contribution. According to The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the cost to Connecticut employees would be very low at just about one half of one percent of someone’s income.

Nearly half (46 percent) of registered voters in Connecticut ages 45-plus say they are currently providing or have provided unpaid caregiving to an adult loved one.  Among them, two in three (63 percent) say they have been employed either full or part time while providing that care, the survey found.

Versions of paid family medical leave laws have been approved in California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington.  California's law took effect in 2004, New Jersey's in 2009 and Rhode Island's in 2014.  Washington's has yet to take effect.