PERSPECTIVE: Eliminating Transcripts Draws the Shades on Government a Little More

by Michele Jacklin and Jeffrey Daniels Continuing their effort to draw the shade over the window of government accountability and transparency, General Assembly leaders have abandoned the longstanding practice of routinely transcribing the testimony presented at hundreds of public hearings held during legislative sessions.

The decision, made without the benefit of public input, marks the latest setback for Connecticut’s 43-year-old Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which was once the strongest in the nation and a model emulated by other states and countries.

To the surprise of many, transcripts of the vast majority of public hearings held during the recently adjourned 2018 legislative session don’t exist. Officials from the Office of Legislative Management and the House and Senate say transcription services have fallen victim to budget cuts.

The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, the state’s preeminent guardian of the FOIA, and other open-government advocates, strongly condemn this action, and believe it marks the continued erosion of the public’s right to know about goings-on at the State Capitol and in state government.

Most bills, including spending and tax proposals, are subject to public hearings at which state officials, special interests, lawmakers and, most importantly, Joe and Jane Q. Public are able to voice their opinions.

Although written testimony still will be available on the legislature’s website, the give-and-take between those testifying and committee members will be known only to the people in the hearing room. That’s unfortunate because the commentary provided by lawmakers is often used to ascertain legislative intent. Moreover, not everyone who testifies submits written copies.

Colleen Murphy, executive director of the state Freedom of Information Commission, says transcripts are important because public hearings provide the first cut of history and the first glimpse of the impetus for proposed bills. Testimony also offers insight into what the tensions and concerns are, as well as the initial impressions of the legislators who will later vote on the measures.

“As such, public hearing transcripts, which preserve the dialog and lines of inquiry, are a valuable component of legislative history and serve an important historical and archival function,” said Murphy.

Murphy was a member of a task force that met in 2010 and was charged with making recommendations regarding the conversion of legislative records from paper to electronic form. According to the group’s final report, “the task force was presented with an overwhelming amount of testimony opposing elimination of public hearing transcriptions.”

Among those testifying were members of the legislative, judicial and executive branches, including the offices of the attorney general, chief court administrator, chief public defender and the Division of Criminal Justice. Others included the Connecticut Bar Association and the Southern New England Law Librarians Association. Ultimately, the vote to oppose elimination of the transcripts was unanimous.

Opposition has not abated and open-government advocates, including CCFOI, view the decision by legislative leaders as yet another step in limiting accountability and curtailing transparency.

“The people of Connecticut deserve open and accountable government and this is leadership in the wrong direction,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause Connecticut. “It has the practical effect of further isolating citizens from those in Hartford who are supposed to be acting on our behalf. We need more information — not less — about issues being debated in the General Assembly. It is unacceptable for decisions related to access to information be made in the dark, without public input.

Quickmire, Murphy and CCFOI President Zachary Janowski are among those who are urging legislative leaders to reverse their decision.

“Legislative leaders need to restore public access to their public hearings,” said Janowski. “Why invite citizens to testify if that part of the process isn’t going to be available to them or to citizens who, in the future, are trying to understand why certain decisions were made? Making open government an option instead of a requirement will ensure that Connecticut residents won’t get transparency when it’s needed most: when lawmakers have something to hide.”

The elimination of most transcripts comes in the wake of the legislature’s move to restrict the public’s ability to observe their state government in action via CT-N, the cable channel owned by the legislature. For 18 years, cameras operated by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN) were focused on all three branches of government, giving TV viewers unfiltered access to state government operations.

However, legislative leaders failed to renew the contract in late 2017 and wrested control of the operation from CPAN, halting the airing of activities by the executive and judicial branches and training the cameras exclusively on themselves. The move was seen as a public relations ploy designed to give lawmakers more exposure. The seizing of editorial control by legislative leaders also halted coverage of press conferences, state nominating conventions, the program “Capitol Reports,” which summarized the weekly activities of the legislature, and Election Night results.

Of this latest action, Murphy said: “Eliminating transcriptions from the public sphere is essentially like eliminating the corner piece of a puzzle. Lawyers, judges and members of the public often search for that piece to completely understand the topic they are researching — the puzzle’s picture. If the legislative hearing piece no longer resides in the puzzle box, legislative history and legislative intent, like the puzzle, will forever be incomplete.”

_______________________________

 Michele Jacklin and Jeffrey Daniels are the legislative co-chairs of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.  This article first appeared on CT Mirror's Viewpoints. 

PERSPECTIVE: Building a Foundation to Reduce Reliance on Social Welfare

by Martha Guidry According to Forbes, an individual on social welfare in Connecticut collects on average $25/day, which equals over $9,000 a year.  A 2013 Hartford Courant article stated that a mother with two children participating in seven major welfare programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, food stamps, WIC housing assistance, utility assistance and free commodities) could receive a package of benefits worth $38,761 (untaxed $106/day), the fourth highest in the nation behind Washington, DC, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.

Social welfare is not taxed, while wages are. Using the Connecticut state tax calculator for 2017-18, a mother with two children in Connecticut would have to earn $48,500 ($23.32 per hour) for her family to be better off than they would be on welfare. That's more than double the current minimum wage of $10.10 and more than 14 percent higher the $42,494 starting wage of a teacher in Connecticut.  Even scarier, that mother would have to hold 2.3 full-time jobs at minimum wage to reach this salary. Bear in mind, this does not include the cost of daycare, wardrobe, transportation or other expenditures required to hold a job 40 hours per week. 

Sadly, in Connecticut, welfare makes more sense financially in the short term than having a job.  Unfortunately, this will likely hurt an individual in the long term as having a job is one of the many important steps to ultimately breaking the cycle of poverty.

How can we help stop this cycle of social welfare reliance?  Two potential solutions exist:  1) policy changes and 2) provide children with the opportunity to learn how to work to improve their chances regardless of whether they get a degree above high school. According to National Clearinghouse Data, in Hartford, only 2 out of every 10 graduates earn a degree above high school after 6 years.

According to Michael Tanner in his Hartford Courant article (August 2013), “if reducing welfare dependence and rewarding work is the goal, Connecticut legislators should consider ways to shrink the gap between the value of welfare and work by reducing current benefit levels and tightening eligibility requirements.”  He continues on to say that Congress should remove exemptions and narrow the definition of work to enhance welfare work requirements.

While policy changes would be ideal, at the Capital City Education Alliance, a Hartford-based nonprofit, we attack option two.  In our signature program, Let’s Paint!, we engage students thru hands on learning on color theory, design and early intervention workforce readiness skills as they learn commercial painting skills.

Since our start in May 2016, we’ve had 106 students work with the Let’s Paint! staff using over 376 gallons of paint and working over 7,390 total student hours. These students have transformed a variety of spaces including a 24-bay graffiti-covered garage by Route 84; the Southwest Boys & Girls Club career center and building exterior; hallways, the auditorium, and the office at Burns Latino (South End) and the lobby and several hallways at West Middle School (Asylum Hill).

Research has shown that the second most important factor for success (after high school GPA/Standardized tests) in school or at a job is that students must exhibit behaviors and develop personal characteristics that contribute to persistence - namely motivation, commitment, engagement and self-regulation. Let's Paint! is designed to specifically focus in these areas of need that are not directly addressed in school curriculum.

CCEA believes that patterning behaviors right and providing positive/opportunistic feedback at the start helps teach the life and job success skills. To this end, students must complete an application and interview with our staff to be part of the “paint crew”. Each program day, students must formally greet a staff member with a "confident" handshake to practice this important skill. Students are also evaluated on their work skills such as teamwork, having a positive attitude, and being properly dressed for work. With regular, positive attendance, students also receive a small stipend to take their “job” seriously. And, just like in the real world, they are docked pay for being late!

Adult volunteers also contribute to workforce readiness.  On scheduled days, volunteers informally mentor the kids while painting side-by-side, thus providing an opportunity for the students to practice workforce soft skills - eye contact, greetings, shaking hands, and engaging in conversation – while the adults have lots of fun.

In Summer 2018, CCEA will launch its adjunct program “Broken 2 Beautiful” (B2B) where graduates of “Let’s Paint!” will have the opportunity to rejoin the staff for ongoing work experience, financial literacy and career engagement learning.  Painting will also play a role in B2B.  Students will refinish furniture and record crates with bold colors as well as do “pop up” exterior painting projects through the greater Hartford area.

• The former will be part of a social enterprise to sell the goods allowing youth to learn about all the different careers that may be open to them in Hartford – sales, marketing, operations, etc. – to broader their views of jobs.
• The latter will continue their involvement in community service to make their city a more beautiful place and feel the success of making a difference. In addition, students will learn about financial literacy and budgeting. One of the best ways to work oneself out of poverty is to actually understand that one can’t spend more than one earns!

We can’t change policy, but we can help change the skill sets of our students.  Consider volunteering, donating and attending our events to help us achieve success and, just possibly, reduce some of Connecticut’s 80+ social welfare programs.

_________________________________________

Martha Guidry is Executive Director of the Capital City Education Alliance, which lays the foundation for workforce readiness by inspiring and empowering pre-teen and teens in Greater Hartford through project and partnership that build character, skills and pathways to success. Individuals 18 years of age or older may sign up on the CCEA website to volunteer, as well as teenagers with an accompanying adult.  Corporate teams are also welcome to participate on Tuesday afternoons; contact Colleen@CCEAHartford.org for more details, and learn more at www.CCEAHartford.org  

PERSPECTIVE: Life Lessons Grown in Connecticut Continue to Resonate

by Keith Hovan I never imagined delivering a commencement speech. In fact I don’t remember any of the speeches from any of the commencements that I have ever attended. So I’m not expecting any of you to remember this one either.  Given that this speech is unlikely to be memorable I will attempt to make it mercifully brief.

In early 1962, shortly after I was born, someone, my birth mother I suspect, took a look at me ... and decided that she didn’t want me .... I was discarded, as I later learned.  Found in a dumpster.

It’s true.  That really happened.

I always say it’s because I was an ugly baby. I was born with a birth defect that twisted my feet out of shape — club foot. I have scoliosis, which still makes my left leg shorter than my right — although nowadays I can hide it pretty well. And I have a condition that formed my chest a little differently than most people’s.

Despite all that, someone found me .... Someone rescued me.

Soon I landed in the home of Andrew and Eleanor Hovan, the second-generation Russian immigrants who adopted me. Two wonderful, loving people who thought I was worthy of being called ... son. They gave me the start in life that I was nearly denied.

From that simple, loving act flowed opportunities that I never could have imagined — including right here, right now — speaking to you, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Class of 2018.

I am humbled to be on this podium because I know the sacrifices you made to achieve the advanced degree that you will receive today. Very likely, your parents, your spouse or partner and your children made sacrifices, too. The late nights you spent alone, studying after work. The weekend fun you forfeited. The fellowship, family time and sleep you denied yourself. The children’s plays, art shows and games you might have missed.

I know because my family and I made the same sacrifices. And ... because I am ahead of you on the journey you are about to start, I’ll share some lessons that you might consider taking with you.

Lesson No. 1: As my story so far might illustrate to you — it doesn’t matter where you start in life. It matters what you do with your life.

I grew up in a blue collar home in Connecticut, where my father — a veteran of the terrible Pacific island battle on Okinawa in World War II — worked long hours at Schick Safety Razor. He usually walked around with holes in his shoes and made $17,000 in his best year. But we always had food on the table and my parents showed my brother and I what it meant to work hard for everything they ever got.

To make money as a teenager, I took a job at a garden store. One of the managers there, a man named Richard, got to know me and thought I could go in one of two ways — very good ... or very bad. So he decided to give me a nudge in the right direction by exposing me to some career options.

He arranged for me to shadow a lawyer in court. I didn’t see myself practicing law. I spent time with a trader on Wall Street, actually down on the floor. Again, it wasn’t for me. This process was repeated several times. But I never made a real connection. (I think Richard began getting worried).

Then he had me spend time with a nurse anesthetist from Yale New Haven Hospital. It was then that I could see my future. Suddenly, my expectations to spend my working life as a landscaper were replaced by something much more powerful — they were replaced by a dream. I wanted to be like those nurses who were helping people in a way that was real, direct and hands on.

Lesson No. 2: Look for mentors in unexpected places, and then allow yourself to be mentored.

Others may see potential that you don’t recognize in yourself, as Richard, that garden shop manager, saw in me.

I enrolled in college to study nursing. My parents had saved enough money to pay for my first semester, but the rest of my education was on me. So I worked nights as an emergency room tech and studied during the day.  By the time I graduated — the first in my family to earn a college degree — I had a young son, Nicholas.

I decided that I could make more and have more significant impact with an advanced degree. Maybe you yourselves made a similar calculation. I studied for a master’s in nursing with an emphasis in management, with the goal of becoming a chief nursing officer at a hospital.  I also completed work towards an MBA, and while I studied, I always worked full time to support my son.

Lesson No. 3: This one is from my mom — my mother said to me over and over again — what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I started my healthcare management career in the busy emergency department at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut. Three years after I arrived as an RN, nearly the entire nursing leadership team in the emergency department resigned or retired. Much to my surprise, I was chosen to lead the department. Even though I was only 24 years old. I had responsibility for the management of the state’s fourth busiest emergency department and trauma center.

This was the 1980s, when hospitals were suffering a severe nursing shortage.

That made it easy to work clinical shifts at other hospitals at night. The money came in handy, of course. But as important, the extra work provided me with an incredible learning opportunity. I chose to work at medical centers where I could get ideas to bring back to my department and make it a better place for patients, families and my staff.

Lesson No. 4: Your education does not end with this degree. Opportunities to learn will present themselves throughout your career. They are a gift. Learn to recognize them and take advantage of them.

And yet, as I progressed through my career, I noticed that no matter how much I learned, I alone would never know enough. Healthcare is humbling in that way. The pace of progress is often dizzying. Diseases that were once incurable, can now be cured. Ailments that once had no treatments can now be treated.

I will never forget being in the Cath lab to observe a first in Connecticut. It was the middle of the night and I watched a cardiologist, Dr. Joseph Babb, thread a wire through a clot in the coronary artery of a dying patient.  That was followed by a drug called Streptokinase, which was infused directly into the heart. Miraculously, blood started flowing again and a dying patient was snatched from death.

And that was just the start of a career witnessing firsts. Procedures that once lasted many hours, requiring long incisions and long recoveries, can today be completed in a fraction of the time, with far smaller incisions and faster and healthier recoveries.  Even now, 30-plus years into my career, I am awed by what medicine can do. (...)

So that leads to Lesson No. 5, perhaps one of the most important that I will share today. You cannot do this alone. Surround yourself with good people.

People who are smarter than you in their areas of expertise. Individuals who share your values and the values of your organization. Individuals who share your compassion and passion for the work you do.  Success in your career will demand constant learning. And many people around you will have something to teach — not just those who run conferences, teach formal classes or who have the highest academic degrees or professional standing.

The success of the organization I work for — Southcoast Health — depends not just on the amazing doctors who bring us the latest that medicine has to offer. It depends on all 7,500 of our employees.  You know... I work with some incredibly smart people. Physician scientists, information technology experts, enterprise risk managers, executives of all types. But some of the best advice I receive is from our staff who are on the front lines.

There is a security guard at Southcoast Health named Frank. Frank — like many of our staff — has my personal cellphone number ... and he’s not shy about using it. From time to time Frank will call, though he will usually text, and say ... brother Hovan ... we need to talk. We’ll meet for breakfast at the Village Cafe in Dartmouth (Great spicy hash) and we will talk as two people — equals. He will let me know what he thinks about a decision or an issue — it will either reinforce a plan that we might have been formulating and accelerate it ... or might cause me to completely rethink a strategy.  Then again... it might just be two guys having breakfast trading stories about our families.

Lesson No. 6: Practice humility.

Everyone — everyone — is deserving of your respect.  Whether you are a department head, a unit leader or a CEO, you will always have a lot to learn. And lessons come from unexpected places.

After you receive your diploma today and — I hope — do a little celebrating, you may be moving on to a new job or promotion. Maybe you will seek work in a new field. And I’ll bet that one or two of you will go right from this ceremony to work at a job.

Whatever your plans, your education will afford you a chance at a privileged life — one with satisfying work, financial rewards, and stability and progress for your family.

But it also will bring you new ways to apply your skills and expertise. You may already have discovered that your professional responsibilities don’t end at the office door. Your learning and your work experience will lend you new insights that you are obligated to share with your communities and your larger professional network.

In my career, it became clear to me that healthcare doesn’t happen within the confines of a hospital or a clinic. Good health is linked to economic opportunity. To decent housing. To strong schools. To well-stocked grocery stores close to home. And to governments and societies that recognize problems like the scourge of opioid addiction and find ways to address them.  For that reason, I commit time to local, statewide and national organizations that are devoted to strengthening communities — as well as healthcare.

Lesson No. 7: Now this may be a hard one to hear but here it goes — today is not just about you and your career.

It is easy to turn a blind eye to the issues that challenge our communities. But I urge you to think about the concept of community and what it means to really care.

Think about how you will contribute.

We live in a challenging time. The political divide is as wide as it has ever been in our country, with strident and angry public discourse. The very technologies that join us and make our lives easier, also bring us false information that confuses us. Children feel unsafe in their schools. People’s differences — race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation — make them targets for discrimination and mistreatment, rather than valued for the richness they provide.

Terrorist attacks, war and warlike posturing. There is a lot going on in our world that is broken.

Fixing what is broken starts in our communities — the communities that you will enter with your new education. I urge you, I beg you, to use what you have learned to help solve problems and to contribute to the social good.  The decisions you made in the past brought you to this day. Your decisions going forward will write the narrative of your personal future. They also will contribute to the narrative of our collective future.

You are our hope.

Oh...And one final lesson — say thanks.

Say thanks to your friends and loved ones who stuck with you and helped make this day possible. Thanks to your professors and fellow students at UMass Dartmouth. And thanks to the university itself. An institution devoted to pursuing and sharing knowledge is a vital good for a community and our nation, and UMass Dartmouth brings countless benefits to our region.

As a man who started life in a trash can, who as a teenager had friends who nicknamed him “Garbage Can Hovan” — perhaps a bonus lesson is, be careful what stories you share. .... I have lots to be thankful for — especially my loving wife Erin and my children including my daughter Reya who is here today.

We all have reasons to be thankful.

___________________________

Keith Hovan, President and CEO of Southcoast Health, grew up in Connecticut, attended Sacred Heart University and began his career at Bridgeport Hospital.  He was appointed President and CEO of Southcoast Hospitals Group, Inc. in 2008 and in 2011 as President and CEO of Southcoast Health System, Inc.  Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Danbury Health System. He delivered the commencement address this month at University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth.   Southcoast Health is a not-for-profit, community-based health system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

PERSPECTIVE: Government Algorithms and the Public’s Right to Know

by Mitchell W. Pearlman In many respects, computers have made life easier. But they have also made life quite a bit more complicated. For example, before the computer age most government documents were on paper. Today, people not only need access to government information on computer media and in computer-readable formats, they need access to the computer programs and systems government uses to make policy and other important decisions. Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin calls this “algorithmic transparency.”

An algorithm is the step-by-step procedure by which a task is performed. People use simple algorithms in their lives every day, such as for adding numbers or sorting books. On the other hand, algorithms used in computers are often highly complex. They require sophisticated logic and advanced mathematical modeling in the design and functionality of the applications in which they are embedded. Because of this, algorithms are considered intellectual property and deemed trade secrets by most private enterprises and many government agencies that create and use them.

Governments now gather almost incomprehensible amounts of information, organize them into vast databases, and make and implement important decisions using the algorithms they create or purchase. Governments use computer algorithms in making tax policy and budget decisions; they use them in forecasting various transportation and infrastructure needs; and they use them in analyzing public health and environmental issues and formulating policy based on these analyses. Of course, if the data used are less than complete or accurate, or if the algorithms themselves are based on flawed reasoning or assumptions, then government policies and decisions based on them will likewise be flawed. Such errors can lead not only to unsound decisions, but they also can lead to an enormous waste of public resources and even to a significant loss of life.

In Connecticut, as elsewhere, various government agencies forecast income and expenditures to help guide lawmakers in constructing state budgets. Each of these offices has access to the same data sets. But the assumptions programmed into their algorithms can differ significantly, leading to different outcomes in determining whether a budget will or will not be in balance. The 2018 state budget was out-of-balance by several hundred million dollars just weeks after it was enacted. How did this happen? Was it because the data was faulty? Or was it because the algorithms, and the assumptions built into them, were wrong?

The first shots in the battle for algorithmic transparency have already been fired. Recently the New York City Council passed an algorithmic accountability bill, which establishes a task force to study, and within 18 months of passage report, how city agencies use algorithms to make decisions. The bill was enacted in the wake of a racially biased algorithm used to assess risk factors of criminal defendants. The algorithm’s source code was confidential until a federal judge ordered it to be disclosed and the bias subsequently identified.

Trade secrets and confidential commercial information – which are exempt from public disclosure under current Freedom of Information laws – often represent a significant financial investment by those enterprises and organizations that create or own them. On the other hand, computer algorithms are now – and increasingly will be – vital components in government policy and other decision making. To prevent significant errors or miscalculations in the future, many government algorithms need to be transparent so they can be publicly vetted before policy decisions are made or legislation becomes law.

Thus, proprietary rights face an important competing value when they would prevent the disclosure of information about which there is a legitimate and important public interest. The notion of an informed and knowledgeable electorate is one of the cornerstones of our country’s democratic tradition. To paraphrase the Connecticut Supreme Court in another context, trade secrets and confidential commercial information must give way when balanced against the publication of matters of public interest, in order to ensure the “uninhibited, robust and wide-open discussion of legitimate public issues.”

So in this case, as in others before it, the balance of competing interests must be resolved in favor of algorithmic transparency to the greatest extent possible. This is not to say that government need not provide some measure of just compensation if it discloses secret or confidential proprietary information. But the bottom line is that algorithmic transparency is essential to the continuance of our democratic system of governance.

___________________________

Mitchell Pearlman is the former executive director of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission. He currently teaches law in the Journalism Department of the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Rogers Epstein, MIT class of 2019, also contributed to this article. The article is abstracted from a “White Paper” published by the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government (CFOG), which can be found in its entirety at www.ctfog.org.

PERSPECTIVE columns from contributing writers appear each weekend on Connecticut by the Numbers.

PERSPECTIVE - The Sky Hasn’t Fallen: Numbers Support Adoptee Equality

by Karen Caffrey Currently, the legislature is considering House Bill 5408, which would restore the right of adult adoptees born and adopted before October 1, 1983, and their adult children and grandchildren, to obtain the adoptee’s original birth certificate. This right was restored to post-October 1, 1983 adoptees in 2014.

Contrary to popular understanding, for much of Connecticut’s history both adult adoptees and adoptive parents had an absolute right to the adoptee’s original birth certificate. This was the law until 1975. This misperception is due to the history of secrecy and shame surrounding “out-of-wedlock” pregnancies, resulting in many young women being essentially forced to relinquish their infants. While the woman’s identity was hidden from the public, the law deemed it important for the adoptee and their family to know the adoptee’s biological origins.  

From 1919-2011, Connecticut finalized 62,480 adoptions. About 39,600 of them are older, pre-1983 adoptees whose rights would be restored under HB 5408. Many are in their 50s, 60s and even 70s. The way the law reads now, pre-1983 adult adoptees must go through an expensive, time-consuming and exhaustive legal process to either obtain the birth parents consent to release the original birth certificate, or to confirm the birth parent has died. (All Connecticut adoptees may obtain their original birth certificate once the birth parent is deceased.) It’s basically an expensive race to the grave.

There is overwhelming support for HB 5408. Over 200 testimonies in support of the bill were submitted by adoptees, birth and adoptive parents and adoption professionals. The bill has been endorsed by the Connecticut State Medical Society, the Connecticut Council on Adoption, and Concerned United Birthparents, the only national birthparent organization. HB 5408 has 47 bipartisan legislator cosponsors.

It’s been approved by both the Judiciary and the Appropriations Committees. By enacting this law, Connecticut would join three of our New England neighbors (Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and become the tenth state in the nation to restore equality to its adopted citizens.

Many adoptees are simply abandoning statutory​ avenues to search by other means, particularly by using consumer DNA testing, which only requires a saliva sample. This technology is rapidly ending genetic secrecy, even for those who haven’t tested their own DNA.  An adoptee who tests could find “Cousin Suzie” (who got a DNA test as a Christmas present), who in turns calls the birth mother before she even knows the adoptee is looking for her. This is much less private than an adoptee directly contacting her known birth mother who is named in the original birth certificate, as would be the case if HB 5408 becomes law.

So what’s the problem? Some are concerned about the very small percentage of women who may have kept the relinquishment of their infant a secret from their families, and who don’t want it to be discovered. Data collected by the American Adoption Congress from eight states during the period between 2000-2011 indicates that approximately 1 out of 2000 birth mothers will refuse contact by their adult offspring. (In Connecticut, not one of the 35 “Contact Preference Forms” filed under the 2014 law indicates​ the birth mother prefers not to be contacted.) The vast majority of birth mothers welcome at least a phone call, if not more extensive contact and exchange of information, with the adult adoptee. Neither in Connecticut nor other states that have enacted these laws have the feared, catastrophic consequences come to pass.

We can only have compassion for the very human fear of being rejected or judged if someone discovers our hidden secret. Some birth mothers say, “I’m so ashamed of what I did; I thought you would be mad at me for not telling you all these years; I was afraid you would judge me; I didn’t want you to think less of me; I don’t want to remember that time in my life”.

And yet despite these fears and difficulties, all over the country birth mothers, birth fathers and adult adoptees are finding each other, facing their secrets, confronting their fears and handling their lives like the adults that they are. Surprisingly, we find that our families love us, even with our flaws and imperfections. They may be surprised, they may be angry, and they may feel hurt, yet they continue to love us (and we continue to love them).

A final consideration: most adoptee rights advocates are women. We are women connecting with other women. We are women seeking our biological roots, our identity, our family medical history (to help ourselves and our own children) and our heritage. We do not want to hurt our sisters in womanhood, or our fathers, or other biological family members. We simply want to have the same freedom and equality as all other citizens to know who we are and where we came from.

__________________________

Karen Caffrey, LPC, JD is the President of Access Connecticut Now, Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization of adoptees, birth and adoptive parents and adoption professionals dedicating to restoring the right of adult adoptees to obtain their original birth certificate.  She may be reached at the organization’s website, www.accessconnecticut.org or at 860-306-0900.

PERSPECTIVE - The Bond Lock: A Threat to Connecticut´s Economy

by Ray Noonan and Rachel Silbermann Connecticut's future lies in opening new pathways to economic growth and opportunity for businesses, families, and communities. To achieve these goals, Connecticut needs a predictable and coherent fiscal policy that enables lawmakers to make the strategic choices that can spur economic growth. Unfortunately, a set of fiscal restrictions added to the budget in the final hours of negotiations last year might bring significant uncertainty on future fiscal policy and leave legislators unable to respond to current and future crises.

The fiscal restrictions - spending cap, bonding cap, volatility cap, appropriations cap, and Bond Lock - place a set of rules to guide Connecticut´s fiscal policy. When well-designed, fiscal restrictions can help create a strong foundation for the state´s budget practices, enabling legislators to focus on forward-looking investments to generate opportunity and spur economic growth. When hastily designed, however, restrictions may constrain fiscal policy to the point of making it wholly ineffective. 

One of the fiscal restrictions, the Bond Lock, might have this effect. The Bond Lock as a policy is untested to the point it could introduce unprecedented levels of uncertainty and potential instability to Connecticut´s fiscal future. The Bond Lock stipulates that, whenever the state issues a bond after May 15, it must vow not to change any of the new fiscal restrictions for the life of the bond except in extraordinary circumstances. As bond covenants are legally binding contracts, the Bond Lock will force the state to keep the fiscal restraints in place, preventing the governor and legislature from pursuing critical investments. In effect, it will prevent lawmakers adapting the budget for any changes—expected or unexpected—for more than a decade.

The consequences of the Bond Lock go beyond limiting the General Assembly´s fiscal authority. The uncertainty created by a broad-reaching bond covenant, once in place, could potentially damage Connecticut's credit rating and increase our borrowing costs. Under the Bond Lock, any attempt by the General Assembly to fix or amend its own fiscal rules would face the risk of expensive litigation and penalties. Even if the state were to prevail, the prospect of having state obligations tied in court might be enough to scare investors away.

National experts and bond rating agencies have warned that the Bond Lock could increase uncertainty. The Tax Policy Center pointed out that locking in strict fiscal restrictions might have unexpected long-term impacts, warning that enforcing them through bond documents brings new risks. Moody´s has talked about how the Bond Lock reduces budgetary flexibility. According to their analysis, the impact of the Bond Lock on Connecticut´s long-term credit rating is unclear. S&P wrote about how a violation of a bond covenant would create questions on who can sue the state and how.

Recent events show that the scenario of a possible Bond Lock violation is far from unlikely. Both the Democratic and Republican budget proposals introduced last week include provisions that, were the Bond Lock implemented, would break the fiscal restrictions: the Democratic plan proposed spending over the limit, while the Republican plan included some changes to the volatility cap. Either of these budget proposals would have left the state open to litigation if the Bond Lock were already in place.

Fortunately, the General Assembly is currently considering a bill (H.B. 5590) that mitigates the immediate impact of the Bond Lock by delaying its implementation on the spending cap and bonding cap and requiring various state agencies to study the cap. The bill does not, however, delay the implementation of the Lock to the volatility cap or appropriations cap, leaving the state still open to all of the uncertainty and risk associated with the Bond Lock.

We believe that the potential impacts of the Bond Lock warrant a full delay without exclusions. The General Assembly must fully evaluate and implement a set of fiscal restrictions that can genuinely produce lasting budgetary stability without taking on new credit risk, leaving it at the mercy of litigation-happy investors.

Connecticut needs an economy built on equitable opportunity to remain competitive. Our future lies in our cities, our workforce, and our willingness to connect and engage with the world at large. The Bond Lock, paired with the other fiscal restrictions, would undermine Connecticut´s fiscal reputation and would leave our state unable to respond to current or future challenges. We urge the General Assembly to assert its authority and repeal the Bond Lock this session.

_______________________

Ray Noonan is Associate Policy Fellow and Rachel Silbermann, Ph.D. is Fiscal Policy Fellow, Connecticut Voices for Children.  The organization's mission is to ensure that "all Connecticut children have an opportunity to achieve their full potential regardless of race, income or zip code."

PERSPECTIVE: Don’t Undermine the 2020 Decennial Census and Jeopardize Federal Funding

by Michelle Riordan-Nold The Connecticut Data Collaborative, on its monthly open data calls, has provided updates on data in the news. The biggest newsmaker by far has been Census 2020. Besides the challenges the Census Bureau has faced in maintaining their federal funding and finding new leadership, a recent ruling has put the accuracy of the Census 2020 count in jeopardy.

Several months ago, the Justice Department made a request that a question on citizenship be included in the Census 2020 count. Advocates raised concerns immediately about the possibility that a question on citizenship could impact whether people respond to the Census survey, but that question has been approved for inclusion in the upcoming count by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, despite grave concerns expressed by career civil servants working at the Census Bureau.

The Justice Department argues that the citizenship question would allow the agency to better enforce Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which bars the dilution of minority voting power through redistricting. The letter states, "to fully enforce those requirements, the department needs a reliable calculation of the citizen voting-age population in localities where voting rights violation are alleged or suspected." However, these data are collected every year in the American Community Survey and therefore are not necessary to fulfill the requirements of Section 2. The last time the immigration question was asked in a decennial census was in 1950.

Advocates are rightly concerned about the impact on the count that a citizenship question could exert.  In a November presentation by the Census Bureau, an official cited numerous examples of respondents expressing concern about the confidentiality of the data related to immigration.

The question on citizenship will not be field tested, which means there is no way to know in advance whether people will choose not respond. The Census Bureau has been finalizing and field testing questions for over a year and the only end-to-end field test is already underway in Rhode Island. Not knowing whether the citizenship question will impact response rates has two important consequences: the non-response follow-up and the undercount.

The most costly piece of the Census work is in non-response follow-up work--this is the work that Census field employees do when they go out to meet with residents and work with them to complete their census surveys. The Census budget is insufficient to conduct extensive non-response follow-up work and will result in lower funding for other Census programs such as the American Community Survey, which provides town level data for Connecticut.

The undercount has serious consequences for our country and our state.

Our immigrant residents are concentrated in major metropolitan areas--these areas are typically dependent on the federal government for crucial funding for health and human services. A question about citizenship in the current political climate could be seen as a threat in many communities. If residents choose not to respond to the survey, we could see an undercount. The decennial census population counts are used to determine legislative redistricting as well as federal funding for health and human services programs, and thus will remain in place for ten years.

Based on decennial Census counts, in Federal Fiscal year 2015, Connecticut received $8 billion in federal funds for the top 16 programs. The five largest funds that distribute aid based on decennial-census derived estimates are:

• Medicaid
• Medicare Part B - (Supplemental Medical Insurance) Physicians Fee Schedule Services
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Highway planning and construction
• Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers  (source: The George Washington Institute of Public Policy)

An undercount could have serious fiscal implications to our state, which is already in a fiscal crisis.

However, states are joining forces to oppose this decision. At the beginning of the month, Connecticut joined a coalition of attorneys general, cities and the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors in filing a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump Administration from demanding citizenship information in the 2020 decennial Census, according to an announcement by Attorney General George Jepsen and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.

Good, reliable data are needed for fair provision of federal resources. Proceeding with a citizenship question without fully understanding the impact and implications it would have on the count – and the program funding that flows from it – puts the integrity of the census count, and the fair and accurate distribution of millions of dollars in doubt.

__________________________________

Michelle Riordan-Nold is Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative. She is responsible for executing the vision and strategy of the Collaborative which seeks to democratize access to public data, facilitate data-driven decision making, and build data literacy. In leading the Collaborative, she seeks to increase the use of public open data and grow the community of users across the state. The organization’s monthly open data calls  updates data users and provides opportunities to collectively impact change in the use of and access to public data.

PERSPECTIVE: The Social Responsibility of Business is Changing

by Sarah Eisele-Dyrli In 1970, Milton Freedman wrote in The New York Times Magazine that the responsibility of a corporate executive is “to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.”

It turns out that the basic rules of society are changing.

In 1993, 66 percent of consumers were “likely to switch brands to one that is associated with a good cause, given similar price and quality” according to the 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study.

In 2017, that number rose to 89 percent.

This changing consumer behavior, an indicator of changing basic rules of society, results in businesses making more money.

Take Unilever.

In May, 2017, Unilever announced that their Sustainable Living brands grew “over 50 percent faster than the rest of the business” and that those brands “delivered more than 60 percent of Unilever’s growth in 2016.”

Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, commented on the results:

“There is no doubt that the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is making us more competitive by helping us to build our brands and spur innovation, strengthen our supply chain and reduce our risks, lower our costs, and build trust in our business. It is helping Unilever to serve society and our many consumers, and in doing so, create value for shareholders.” [emphasis mine]

Unilever is benefiting financially today from the trends highlighted in the Cone study - they are making a lot of money, and are also setting themselves up to benefit over the long-term by ensuring the resources they need (human, environmental, financial, and otherwise) will still be around for years to come.

What can this example possibly mean for the 96 percent of Connecticut business owners like myself who employ fewer than 20 employees*? (*calculated from the Connecticut Small Business Profile, 2017)

Those of us who own small businesses, including individual proprietorships, can also take advantage of these changing rules of society - and profit.

Enter the Benefit Corporation (known as B Corp). There are two types of B Corps. One is a certification through B Lab, an NGO that codified the structure. The other is a type of business incorporation, and is obtained by application through the Secretary of the State. Both give legal protection to leaders who consider the interests of all stakeholders - not just shareholders or a board of directors - when making business decisions.

There are certainly businesses in Connecticut that seek to “make as much money as possible” while conforming to these new basic rules of society.

But in Connecticut, these businesses can be hard to find.

In my own search to connect with businesses here in Connecticut that are having a positive social and/or environmental impact, I continue to be met with chuckles from other business owners when I talk about what I do.

They know that these kinds of businesses are growing nationally, but they also know that there aren’t many in Connecticut yet.

Of the 1,100 B Corps in the US certified by B Lab, currently only .27 percent (3 in total) are located in Connecticut. According to the Benefit Corporation website, which tries to track the number of businesses that are actively incorporated as B Corps at the state level, there are 43 incorporated Benefit Corps listed in Connecticut, but some of these are no longer in business. The state’s B Corp law took effect in 2014.

Businesses seeking to have a positive environmental and social impact do exist in Connecticut, but may fear losing customers or clients by waving the triple bottom line flag of people, profit, planet.

Yet the findings from the Cone report suggest that by conforming to these developing basic rules of society, Connecticut businesses may actually benefit - not be harmed - by putting these values up front.

One way to signal this priority is by certifying as a B Corp through B Lab (and being able to use the recognizable B Corp seal) or incorporating as a B Corp through the state of Connecticut. The fees may be lower than you might expect, depending on your current size of operation.

Another signal we can make to consumers or customers is through communicating these values more effectively in our marketing. The Cone report found that 39 percent of consumers researched the environmental and social practices of businesses in 2016. By making it easy for consumers to identify the values they share with our businesses, we make it easier for them to make the decision to buy our products or services when they are comparable to others.

As consumers, we can benefit from the new “basic rules of society” by knowing that our hard-earned dollars are going to help address issues we care about. And as business-owners we get the added benefit of making “as much money as possible” while having the confidence that the resources we need will be available to us and our families for generations to come.

-------------------------------------------------

Sarah Eisele-Dyrli, MSW, is the founder of Social Impact Compass, based in Connecticut.  She works with business owners and social enterprises so they can have the social and environmental impact they want. She can be reached at sarah@socialimpactcompass.com or @SEiseleDyrli.

PERSPECTIVE: State Auditors Can Be Partner in Preserving Resources

by Robert J. Kane On February 3, 2017, I had the honor of becoming State Auditor. Looking back, there was so much to learn when I joined the Auditors of Public Accounts (APA), but with the help of fellow State Auditor John Geragosian and our amazing team, the transition was rather smooth.

Learning the “ins and outs” did not take long, as support from throughout the agency was overwhelming. The incredibly talented and dedicated APA staff are professional and committed to the work they do for our state. We are the General Assembly’s “eyes and ears” inside state agencies and thrive on working to make state government more accountable and efficient.

In my nine years in the State Senate, I wish I had interacted with the APA more. Serving in my new role, I now realize what a valuable resource our office is for legislators and legislative employees. We can assist them as they shape fiscal policy for years to come.

Our work is crucial to the stability of our state’s finances, securing federal funding, and ensuring state agency compliance. The work we do on whistleblower cases, in conjunction with the Attorney General, provides all citizens the opportunity to expose waste, fraud and corruption without threat of retaliation.

Being the only state to have two state auditors from differing parties creates a bipartisan office that eschews partisan politics and promotes fairness and transparency. As budget constraints and fiscal matters continue to dominate the debate, now more than ever the APA can be a true partner with the legislature in preserving state resources, protecting taxpayer dollars, and acting as the watchdog over fiscal matters.

We continually work to build these relationships and, in a short period of time, we have already surveyed our stakeholders to better serve them. We are redeveloping our website and improving the look of our reports. With these improvements, the APA seeks to build on our already exemplary reputation among government agencies and encourage greater communication with those we serve.

During 2017, our auditors completed 29 audits of state and quasi-public agencies and made 398 audit recommendations. During the past calendar year, these agencies have implemented approximately 43% of our prior recommendations.

Our audit approach entails, among other procedures, an examination and verification of financial statements, accounting records, and supporting documents; a determination of the agency's compliance with statutory and budgetary requirements; an evaluation of the agency's internal control structure; verification of the collection and proper handling of state revenue; and an examination of expenditures charged to state appropriations. Our audit reports consist of findings and recommendations and, where appropriate, certified financial statements setting forth the condition and operations of the state funds involved.

In accordance with Section 2-90 of the General Statutes, we report any unauthorized, illegal, irregular, or unsafe handling or expenditure of state funds to the Governor, the State Comptroller, the clerk of each house, and the Attorney General. We report these matters in our audit reports or by formal letter. We collectively report less serious matters such as minor losses and acts of vandalism.

State loss reports filed in 2017 with this office and the State Comptroller, in accordance with Section 4-33a of the General Statutes, disclosed approximately 308 losses, primarily through theft, vandalism, and inventory shortages involving an aggregate loss of $1,966,360.

_______________________________

This is excerpted from the Auditors of Public Accounts 2017 Annual Report, issued earlier this year, including a Message from State Auditor Robert J. Kane and portions of the Auditing State Agencies section of the report. Kane is a former Republican member of the Connecticut Senate, representing the 32nd District from 2009 to 2017.

PERSPECTIVE: Most Investors See Finances on Track in 2018

by Joseph Matthews Confidence in achieving financial goals is solidly on the positive side of the spectrum, according to a recent survey, with a significant majority of those surveyed reporting that they are on track, progressing in their desired direction.

A Morgan Stanley poll of high net worth investors revealed that 91 percent of investors surveyed believe they are on track to achieving their long-term financial goals. About 35 percent see saving for retirement as their top goal, with 33 percent most interested in transitioning wealth to the next generation – and the remaining 32 percent working to pay off a mortgage.[1]

In what could be a major statement of confidence in the future, 88 percent of Millennials, nationally, said they believe they are on track to reach their long-term goals. Interestingly, Millennials’ priorities also include saving for retirement, with 44 percent placing that objective as their top priority. But their number two and three goals swap places with many older respondents with 42 percent of Millennials preferring to pay off a mortgage, and 35 percent listing paying for a child or a grandchild’s education. [2]

While it is difficult to say what has led to this sentiment, there are a few factors to consider regarding the Connecticut economy in particular. The state added 6,000 jobs in December, pushing year-end totals to 7,700.^[3] Even manufacturing jobs increased over the year, while the largest gain came in the professional and business services category.[4]

Meanwhile, nationally, 77 percent of those polled in the Morgan Stanley survey said they expected improvement in their various state economies over the next year, and 87 percent said they expected the same for their local economies.[5]

However, when it came to their personal finances, 88 percent of those surveyed said they wish they started to save for their overall financial goals much sooner.[6]

So, despite the fact that the future is looking good in the eyes of most investors surveyed, it remains key to keep financial goals in mind. It is never too earlier to plan for the future. And, I believe, it is never too late to try to begin to make up for the years when funds might not have been earmarked for longer term financial goals.

As well, I believe that the seemingly ongoing bullish stock market should not cause an investor to shy away, believing the financial train has already left the station. Of course, while there certainly are no guarantees that this market trend will continue, there remain solid opportunities to selectively add equities to one’s portfolio – as long as long-term goals are kept in mind and the portfolio remains properly diversified.

Balance remains the watchword. That means proper balance of risk, as well as proper balance of the various types of investments in a portfolio.

So, if the stock market continues to go up or if it should pull back from record highs, each investor should feel confident that, over time, there is a plan in place that will help you achieve your financial goals.

_______________________________

Joseph Matthews is a Financial Advisor with the Wealth Management Division of Morgan Stanley in Fairfield. He can be reached at 203-319-5165 or by email at joseph.matthews@morganstanley.com.

The information contained in article is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be suitable for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. Morgan Stanley and its Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, or its affiliates. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC, member SIPC.

 ---------------------------

[1] Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll 8; CRC # 1960216 (12/17)

[2] Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll 8; CRC # 1960216 (12/17)

[3] https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/Connecticut-adds-6-000-jobs-in-December-ends-12515976.php

[4] https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/Connecticut-adds-6-000-jobs-in-December-ends-12515976.php

[5] Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll 8; CRC # 1960216 (12/17)

[6] Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll 8; CRC # 1960216 (12/17)