Health Insurance Report Card Provides Data on Companies Doing Business in CT

Members of health insurance plans in Connecticut offered by a changing list of companies competing for their business, were “always or usually able to see a specialist or obtain routine care as soon as they wanted,” according to a new annual report card released by the state insurance department. Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade said that the 2016 Consumer Report Card on Health Plans in Connecticut is now available on the Insurance Department’s website, providing consumers with information on nearly 20 health insurers that are marketing plans for 2017.

“Open enrollment season is upon us and the Department’s newly formatted and consumer friendly Report Card can be a very useful tool for individuals and employers researching their coverage options for 2017, particularly for the thousands who can begin shopping November 1 for health insurance through Access Health CT,” Commissioner Wade said.

The Commissioner also noted that the department has “expanded mental health information in this report based upon work of the Insurance Department-led behavioral health working group which included consumers, providers, health plans and other agencies.”

Among the aspects that the report card reviews, by company, are the reasons and proportion of denial of claims as well as member satisfaction with the leading companies in Connecticut, including Aetna Health, Anthem, Cigna, ConnectiCare, Harvard Pilgrim , and Oxford Health.

The Department has been publishing the report for nearly two decades and the information has expanded each year as more quality measures were added.  “The intent remains the same – provide useful information to educate consumer on what health plans best suit their needs,” Commissioner Wade said.

The 2016 Report Card provides an overview of Connecticut’s health insurance managed care landscape by comparing care measures and member satisfaction surveys from six health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and 11 indemnity companies that have a total enrollment of more than 2.4 million members.

For this report, the Department worked with the Connecticut Economic Resource Center to help provide a statistical analysis and redesign. The report now includes three years of comparative data where available to reflect changes in insurance provisions due to the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act.

The report also indicates that “most participating primary care and specialist physicians are board certified, with increases in the percentage of providers by company from 2013 to 2015.”

“This new, expanded report card offers everyday people, advocates and policymakers a graphic snapshot of consumer experience with the state's health plans, said Lynne Ide, Director of Program & Policy, Universal Health Care Foundation of CT.  “It illustrates successes and gaps in our state's health care marketplace - and helps us all focus on opportunities for improvement.”

The mission of the Connecticut Insurance Department is to protect consumers through regulation of the industry, outreach, education and advocacy. The Department recovers an average of $4 million yearly on behalf of consumers and regulates the industry by ensuring carriers adhere to state insurance laws and regulations and are financially solvent to pay claims. The Department’s annual budget is funded through assessments from the insurance industry.

Javier Colon Music Video Collaboration for NASA Takes Off, Includes CT Science Center, UHart

An Atlas V rocket blasted off with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 18, 2009. Two years later, on June 29, 2011, West Hartford’s Javier Colon won the inaugural season of the NBC-TV hit “The Voice.” It’s doubtful that anyone would have predicted that the trajectories of those two orbits would coincide.

However, they have – with the release this month of a new music video co-performed by Colon, along with Matt Cusson.  The new song, “The Moon and More,” was inspired by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, and produced in collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and veteran video producer/editor David Ladd.

Colon, who earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, said: “This project brought me back to when I was a kid watching NASA launch the shuttle missions.  Every kid at some point wants to fly, and I think that dream has a lot to do with NASA’s exploration of space and discoveries.”

The song and music video focuses on the inspirational nature of studying the moon -- the cornerstone to learning more about the solar system -- and how LRO has ushered in a new era of lunar science. The mission is expected to relay more information about the lunar environment than any other previous mission to the moon.

The video appears on the NASA LRO website, and is available on You Tube, where comments have been overwhelmingly positive, and numerous space exploration websites.  Filming locations included the Hartt School of the University of Hartford and Connecticut Science Center;  the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York; the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; and the “Living on Mars” mural in the Bronx, New York.

“I wanted to create a unique production for the LRO mission that centered around music as a way to engage kids, parents and educators,” said Ladd. “A major focus was also to convey an important and encouraging message to kids, particularly children of color—that nothing is beyond their reach. You can achieve the goals you set and take yourself to places you never thought possible — just as NASA has done in going back to the moon with LRO and its continued journey into the solar system.”

Ladd conceived of the project, and selected Cusson and Colon to write the song and perform the music.  The project came together with a strong sense of destiny.  Ladd had heard Cusson’s music previously, through a mutual friend, and had been of fan of Colon’s since the voice.  When he contacted Cusson to gauge his interest, he learned that Cusson and Colon were friends, musically and otherwise.  The connection was made, and Cusson and Colon set out to create a song that matched – or, as it turned out, exceeded, the story board that Ladd had in mind.

“I picked out five of each of their songs that I liked, and that I thought had a sound that would work.  Then I let them have at it.” Ladd recalled.  When he received the first rough videos from them of the words and music, his response was succinct:  “This is perfect.  Keep running with it.”

They did, and the song was completed earlier this year and debuted in recent weeks.  Ladd hopes the song will boost awareness of the LRO, and transcend it.  “Some have described it as the ‘Frozen’ of space exploration in its majestic feel.  We hope it will have broad appeal, a song that you’ll enjoy on the radio, and be inspired by.”

Ladd explained that the casting in the music video, which features people of color (including members of the same family to highlight authenticity) was intentional, so that “kids that don’t always see themselves,” can better connect to the possibilities that science and exploration can offer. (PHOTO:  Javier Colon, David Ladd, Matt Cusson)

The LRO mission team believes “The Moon and More” will have a lasting impact, adding a popular element to an array of education programs that are already part of the LRO mission. The LRO Lunar Workshops for Educators are an award-winning professional development program focused on lunar science and exploration for grade 6-9 science teachers, and programs for grade levels beginning with elementary school have been made available to teachers nationwide.

“It was exciting to have this chance to work with NASA,” said Cusson, a Pittsfield, MA native. “As a musician, you don’t usually think that this is something you could do. But I was honored to offer up my skills and music, and to bring the worlds of science and music together.”

“A number of us working on LRO have had something inspire us to pursue careers in science and engineering,” said LRO Deputy Project Scientist Noah Petro at Goddard. “This video serves as an opportunity to inspire future generations to follow their dreams into the sciences or the arts.”  Ladd expressed appreciation for the supportive efforts of both the Hartt School and the Connecticut Science Center, and indicated that some of the videos best segments were filmed at the Connecticut locations.

LRO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a project under NASA’s Discovery Program. The Discovery Program is managed by NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

https://youtu.be/PPB1ZHb9FKA

PERSPECTIVE: Move over Oprah - Giving to Women’s and Girls’ Causes is Growing (and is a Rising Force for Good)

by Carol Buckheit What role do philanthropic funds supporting women’s and girls’ causes play in creating change in Connecticut communities? Increasingly, a big one.

According to the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, the first women’s fund in Connecticut was established in 1993, formed to gather and distribute dollars to improve the lives of women and girls and inform women about the most pressing issues affecting them in their local communities. Connecticut Community Foundation’s  Women’s Fund, serving the Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills region, is one of 12 such funds in the Nutmeg State. The Council reported that the combined assets of these women’s funds in Connecticut have grown dramatically, increasing more than six-fold from $2.9 million in 2002 to $18.7 million in 2011.

Nationally, the numbers are even more startling. Between 1990 and 2006, U.S. foundation giving to benefit women and girls (including international grants) grew from $412 million to $2.1 billion, an increase that surpassed the rate of growth for all foundation giving.

Connecticut funders (nearly all of them community foundations) have granted millions of dollars from women’s and girls’ funds to organizations tackling issues uniquely affecting women and girls, including prevention and treatment of eating disorders, dating violence, teenage pregnancy and domestic violence.

Our work, and focus, continues.

In the 21-town Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills area served by Connecticut Community Foundation, recent Women’s Fund grantees have included the Susan B. Anthony Project and Waterbury Youth Services. Each endeavors to build girls’ self-esteem and resiliency through programs sensitively developed just for girls, whether through supportive group therapy for girls in residential care or ensuring girls are connected to strong female role models in fulfilling careers.

New research bodes well for the continued growth of women’s funds and, most importantly, their influence in improving the lives of women and girls.

Data from a new study—the first academic research examining who gives to women and girls causes and what motivates donors to give—was released in May 2016 by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The encouraging news: Large percentages of female and male survey respondents (50% and 40%, respectively) reported donating to causes primarily affecting women and girls.  Women reported investing in these causes based on their personal experiences, including experiencing discrimination and having children, and because they believe that supporting those causes leads to the greatest social return to all of society.

An in-depth analysis of giving to women’s funds by the Foundation Center and Women’s Funding Network suggests this belief is valid, pointing to real and significant systemic changes worldwide in areas such as education, health and economic growth.

But, there’s even better news from WPI’s research for the women’s funds in Connecticut, particularly those hosted by community foundations like ours: donors trust us and are looking to us to gain a deeper understanding of issues affecting women and girls in local communities.

The authors discussed, “Our research showed that existing donors were highly complimentary of the women’s funds they supported, seeing them as a locus of expertise in their communities with the ability to make both local and systemic changes.”(p. 35).  Donors indicated that they were intentional about their giving, sought specific impacts, and trusted the women’s funds to deliver desired results.

“As more and more people make the connection between giving to women and societal change, we can see that giving to women and girls is not just a temporary trend but is here to stay,” said lead author of the study, Debra Mesch, Ph.D., director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. “Understanding the demographics and motivations of those who are giving to women’s and girls’ causes is increasingly important if we are to improve the lives of women and girls, and their families and communities.”

Indeed.

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Carol Buckheit is Senior Communications Officer at the Connecticut Community Foundation.  Established in 1923, Connecticut Community Foundation fosters creative partnerships that build rewarding lives and thriving communities in 21 towns in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. The Foundation provides leadership in addressing the region’s critical issues, strengthens local nonprofit organizations through grants and technical assistance programs, and works with individuals, families and corporations to establish and steward scholarships and charitable funds.

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

Teen Safe Driver Week Observed in Connecticut; Car Crashes Are #1 Killer of Teens

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In 2014, 2,270 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. That means that six teens ages 16–19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

Those stark statistics provide the backdrop for the observance of National Teen Safe Driver week, which runs through Saturday,in Connecticut and nationwide. The week-long observance, through October 22,  brings that message to communities across the state by reminding them safety must come first.  Connecticut adopted in 2008 more stringent teen driving laws to raise awareness and reduce crashes, injuries and deaths. The state has seen an 82-percent reduction in fatalities for 16 and 17 year-old drivers from a high of 11 in 2002 and to an average of two per year since the tougher laws began.

"As long as motor vehicle crashes remain one of the leading causes of death for American teenagers, everyone needs to do their part to ensure our youngest, and most inexperienced drivers have the knowledge to make responsible decisions when they get behind a wheel," said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. State Attorney General George Jepsen said, "National Teen Driver Safety Week is a great time to encourage conversations with new and soon-to-be drivers about the importance of safe driving habits. Parents, teachers, advocates and even peers all play a role in helping to make sure that teens make safe choices when operating motor vehicles."

Members of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Teen Advisory Board said the week is important for a variety of reasons, and encourages teens to play an active role in promoting safety behind the wheel.  The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16-19-year-olds than among any other age group, CDC data indicates. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash.

“One second represents when we make a driving decision, be it a good or bad one,” said Armani Nieves, a senior at Hall High School in West Hartford and member of the DMV Teen Advisory Board.  “It only takes one second to be a good or bad driver.”

Maggie Silbo, a junior at Mercy High School and a member of the teen advisory board, said teen drivers can lead by example in many ways.  “To be safe drivers, teens should follow the rules of the road, such as not talking or texting on the phone, obeying the posted speed limits and following the passenger restriction laws,” Silbo said.  Angela Zhu, a senior at Cheshire High School, said teenagers can play an active role as responsible passengers.“It's all about awareness,” said Zhu, also a member of the DMV Teen Advisory Board.  “All it takes is one small sentence.  If you really care about your friends, simply tell them to put down the phone.”

Compared with other age groups, teens have among the lowest rates of seat belt use. In 2015, only 61% of high school students reported they always wear seat belts when riding with someone else. Teens are also more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations, and more likely than adults to make critical decision errors that lead to serious crashes, according to the CDC.

The DMV Teen Advisory Board also came up with the theme for this year’s DMV-Travelers Teen Safe Driving Video contest:  “One Split Second…”  The board designed the theme to engage teens to produce a video on how a split-second decision related to driving can make a difference in the lives of these youngest drivers.

“I believe it is crucial to promote the message of safe driving for teens, especially as there are even more distractions on the road today,” said Kojo Appiah, a senior at Xavier High School in Middletown and a member of the  DMV Teen Advisory Board.  “This video contest is an exciting activity that teens can do with your peers while learning the life lessons and responsibilities of being a safe driver.”

DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said this week is a great time for parents to review the state’s teen driving laws (http://ct.gov/teendriving/laws) and create a safe driving agreement (http://1.usa.gov/1MA7miP) with their teens. “This is an important week because it’s a reminder to teens, parents and communities who can all be positive influences for safe driving in a variety of ways,” Commissioner Bzdyra said.   “This is a great time to discuss safe driving at home, in the classroom or anywhere else to promote good choices related to driving and help ensure teens follow the rules of the road.”

Almond Joy, Born in Connecticut, Is State's Candy Sales Champion

Almond Joy, Milky Way and M&Ms are the likely candies to be greeting Connecticut trick-or-treaters as they move from door to door later this month.  That’s according to candystore.com, which sells bulk candy on-line, in their review of sales data from 2007 through 2015. Connecticut's favorite Halloween candy is Almond Joy, with 2,619 pounds of it, on average, ordered each year, the website indicated. Milky Way is Connecticut's second favorite Halloween candy, with 1,366 pounds ordered. M&M's placed third, at 910 pounds on average.

Among Connecticut’s neighboring states, the candy favorite in Massachusetts is Butterfingers; in New York it is Sour Patch Kids, in Rhode Island candy corn topped the list.  Connecticut was the only state where Almond Joy ranked first in candy sales.

Industry research shows that since 2015, online candy sales have increased by 15 percent, according to candystore.com.

The Almond Joy candy bar was introduced in 1946, just after the World War II, when sugar, tropical coconuts and chocolate became more readily available, by the New Haven-based Peter Paul Manufacturing Company,  which was already well-known for its popular Mounds bar introduced in 1921. Today, the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company is a candy-making division within the Hershey Company. It was originally founded in the Elm City in 1919 by six Armenian immigrants led by Peter Paul Halajian, with a manufacturing plant in nearby Naugatuck.

"Almond Joy has seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few years.  No where is that more apparent than Connecticut.  While it cracked the top 3 in a few other states (MN, SD, TX), it was the #1 candy in Connecticut, " said co-CEO of CandyStore.com, Tom Hoeck.

CandyStore.com is an industry leader in candy sales in the United States and Canada, and offers candies of all shapes, sizes, colors, and brands. To determine the best sellers by state, the company reviewed sales from 2007–2015, focusing on the three months leading up to Halloween.

“Since we sell candy to all 50 states (and Canada), it was easy for us to see a state-by-state breakdown of candy trends and top orders. And we have relationships with all the major candy companies, so they helped us verify as well. Based on this analysis, we determined the Halloween best-sellers that people all over the country love to use in Halloween crafts and treats and give out to trick-or-treaters.”

The company also provides “candy trivia” on its website, noting that during the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, three tons of jelly beans were served, candy corn is the top selling candy, and two-thirds of American candy bars were introduced more than 50 years ago.

Nationwide, Parents Seek Expanded Health Curriculum in Schools

In Connecticut, a planned, sequential PK-12 Coordinated School Health (CSH) education curriculum is a system designed to addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health.  CSH aims to improve students’ health and their capacity to learn through the support of families, communities and schools working together. A new nationwide survey indicates that the broader, comprehensive definition of health education is precisely what families are seeking in the health education of children.  Teaching kids about drugs, alcohol and sex appears to be less controversial than ever before with the majority of parents in a new poll saying schools should and do teach these subjects.

Many parents want more — saying those topics are not enough — finds the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of parents with kids in middle or high school. Two-thirds of parents polled say schools should definitely cover emotional and mental health issues — which may include such subjects as dealing with depression, stress and bullying — yet only a third say these topics are currently covered by their child’s school.  Another 68 percent of parents want to see schools cover basic first aid, and 63 percent say kids should learn CPR.

A coordinated approach to school health aligns health and education efforts and leads to improved physical, mental and developmental outcomes for students, according to the State Department of Education (SDE) website. The department’s overview of the program indicates that “Students’ physical, social and emotional development requires the same level of ongoing assessment and support as their academic development.”

“Research has consistently concluded that student health and academic achievement are directly connected and, in fact, that student health is one of the most significant influences on learning and achievement,” SDE points out.

In the national survey, parents “clearly perceive a gap between what their children need and what they are receiving in the area of mental health education, as well as basic first aid and CPR,” says Sarah Clark, M.P.H., co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.  “We are seeing increasing concerns for such issues as stress, depression and suicide among young people, and parents want schools to be a part of the solution. These results suggest that the stigma of mental health issues may have relaxed among today’s parents, in favor of using a broad array of resources to help children and adolescents with these critical areas.”

The Connecticut curriculum is designed to “motivate children and youth to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, reduce health-related risk behaviors and develop and demonstrate health-related knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices.”

Nearly four in 10 parents (39 percent) in the Mott survey believe schools should educate students on how to use the health care system. But only one in 10 parents say the topic is covered in their child’s school. Low-income parents are more likely to say schools should teach students how to use the health care system—perhaps, Clark notes, because these parents face challenges themselves in accessing health care.  The survey does not include a state-by-state breakdown of the data.

PERSPECTIVE: The Connecticut Job Swap – An Economy in Transition

by Derek Thomas and Ray Noonan During the past 15 years, Connecticut’s economy has experienced a “job swap” – jobs lost in high-wage industries were replaced with jobs gained in low-wage ones.

As a result, from 2001 to 2015, the share of Connecticut’s private sector jobs in low-wage industries increased by 20 percent, while the share in high-wage industries decreased by 13 percent. This helps explain why a growing number of families, even after a full week of hard work, are forced to choose between groceries and rent, or between childcare and transportation costs.

Why did this shift occur? Like many Northeastern and Midwestern states, Connecticut lost tens-of-thousands of manufacturing jobs before the recession, as a result of several factors, including currency manipulation and technological improvements in response to global competition. Although jobs in manufacturing industries accounted for 15 percent of Connecticut’s private sector jobs in 2001, they accounted for two-thirds of net losses in high-wage industries from 2001–2007. The nearly 22,000 jobs lost in high-wage manufacturing industries during this period dwarfed the growth of less than 1,500 jobs added in the financial and insurance industry.

During the recession, industries across all wage categories experienced net losses with a total net loss of more than 85,000 jobs – nearly 6 percent of total private sector jobs. More than 97 percent of total losses were in mid- and high-wage industries. Manufacturing continued to experience disproportionate losses, accounting for almost 30 percent of all jobs lost during this period. The construction industry accounted for another 20 percent, with administrative and waste services industries (composed largely of janitors, laborers, office clerks) accounting for 13 percent of losses.

This leaves us where we are today. The most recent data, from 2015, indicates that 24.5 percent of Connecticut’s private sector jobs are in low-wage industries, paying on average less than $15 per hour ($31,200 annually). That’s barely enough to be considered a living wage for a single adult in Connecticut, let alone enough to support a family. These jobs are concentrated in the food services, social assistance, and retail industries, and they offer fewer benefits, predictability, and flexibility as well as little opportunity for career growth.

Jobs in high-wage industries, paying at least $33.95 per hour ($70,616 annually) on average accounted for 31.4 percent of total private sector jobs in 2015. Since 2001, the state experienced a net loss of 66,000 positions in these industries, including 33,225 jobs before and 38,617 jobs during the recession.

The good news is that, in spite of the high-wage for low-wage job swap, the share of mid-wage industries in Connecticut has remained constant over the last 15 years – accounting for 44.1 percent of total private sector jobs in 2015.

Other recent trends are also encouraging. As of 2015, the rate at which jobs in high-wage industries declined as a share of all private sector jobs was closer to zero last year than at any point since 2010. Similarly, the rate at which jobs in low-wage industries grew as a share of all private sector jobs was near zero in 2015. These trends, along with recent announcements from Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky suggest the 15-year trend could be reversing.

 These recent trends also demonstrate that, in spite of the shifting economy, a strong foundation of mid- and high-wage jobs exists moving forward: as a result of investments in human capital, the state still boasts a high-quality workforce. Moreover, a greater share of the state’s workforce participates in the labor force (meaning they are working or looking for work) than the U.S. and all peer states. Our workers are the fourth most productive in the nation.

Nonetheless, this decade-and-a-half long swap should be matched with equivalent policy responses. For starters, lawmakers should give careful consideration to workforce investments that stimulate growth in high-wage industries when setting upcoming budget priorities. In addition, to help working families close the gap between low wages and the cost of supporting a family, lawmakers should strengthen investments in childcare, restore the state’s full EITC, and raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Lastly, scarce resources mandate that state spending of more than $7 billion on tax expenditures should be evaluated and subject to routine public scrutiny  just as it is for spending on schools, transportation and services.

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Derek Thomas is the Fiscal Policy Fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children. Ray Noonan is an Associate Policy Fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children. Their research is focused on how Connecticut’s fiscal policies and budget trends affect children and families. This article is based on their work on the “State of Working Connecticut” report. All the data is available at Connecticut Voices for Children’s website.

PERSPECTIVE commentaries by contributing writers appear each Sunday on Connecticut by the Numbers.

CT Has Nation's 10th Lowest Rate of Cigarette Smoking

West Virginia had the highest prevalence of cigarette use in the United States, according to a new CDC study.  Utah had the lowest, and Connecticut had the 10^th lowest rate. Using data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC determined that the prevalence of cigarette use in West Virginia was 26.7%, while the lowest rate was 9.7% in Utah.  In Connecticut the rate of cigarette use was 15.4 percent.

CDC recommended that continued implementation of proven population-based interventions, such as increasing tobacco product prices and enforcing comprehensive smoke-free laws, and increasing access to evidence-based clinical interventions can help reduce tobacco use.

"These findings highlight the importance of enhanced implementation of evidence-based strategies to help smokers and other tobacco users quit completely," CDC said.

Cigarette smoking was significantly higher among males than females in 34 states. Among males, cigarette smoking ranged from 11.2% (Utah) to 27.8% (West Virginia), and among females, from 8.2% (Utah) to 25.6% (West Virginia).

The report also indicated that the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use ranged from 1.4% (Hawaii) to 8.8% (Wyoming). It was 1.8 percent in Connecticut.

Prevalence of any cigarette and/or smokeless tobacco use ranged from 11.3% (Utah) to 32.2% (West Virginia).  Connecticut was 15.3 percent.

The CDC also indicated that the prevalence of any cigarette and/or smokeless tobacco use differed significantly by race/ethnicity in 21 states. Prevalence was highest among whites in eight states (Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia), followed by adults of non-Hispanic other races in six states (Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Carolina), blacks in five states (California, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, and Wisconsin), and Hispanics in two states (Connecticut and Michigan).

The report was issued last week from the CDC.  The report concluded that “continued implementation of proven population-based interventions, including increasing tobacco product prices, implementing and enforcing comprehensive smoke-free laws, warning about the dangers of tobacco use through mass media campaigns, and increasing access to evidence-based clinical interventions (including behavioral counseling and FDA-approved medication), can help reduce tobacco use, particularly in populations with the highest use prevalence.”

Obesity Rate Climbs in Connecticut, Is Among the Nation's Lowest

Connecticut now has the 10th lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Connecticut's adult obesity rate is currently 25.3 percent, up from 16.0 percent in 2000 and from 10.4 percent in 1990.

According to the most recent data, adult obesity rates now exceed 35 percent in four states, 30 percent in 25 states and are above 20 percent in all states. Louisiana has the highest adult obesity rate at 36.2 percent and Colorado has the lowest at 20.2 percent.

U.S. adult obesity rates decreased in four states (Minnesota, Montana, New York and Ohio), increased in two (Kansas and Kentucky) and remained stable in the rest, between 2014 and 2015. This marks the first time in the past decade that any states have experienced decreases — aside from a decline in Washington, D.C. in 2010.

The data, released in September 2016 by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, reflects information compiled nationwide in 2015.

Connecticut’s childhood obesity rates are 15.8 percent for 2-to-4 year olds from low-income families, 15 percent of 10-17 year olds, and 12.3 percent of high school students.

Regarding obesity-related health issues, Connecticut ranked 31^st among the states in the current adult diabetes rate, which is 9.3 percent, and 30^th in hypertension at 30.4 percent of the population. 

In 1985, no state had an adult obesity rate higher than 15 percent; in 1991, no state was over 20 percent; in 2000, no state was over 25 percent; and, in 2006, only Mississippi and West Virginia were above 31 percent.  Nationwide, obesity rates are higher among women (40.4 percent) compared to men (35.0 percent).

Efforts to Improve Math Education in CT Don't Yet Add Up, Report Finds

If Connecticut students are to excel in math, it will take a concerted effort at the state and district level, revised curriculum by state colleges preparing math teachers, and greater community involvement.  That overall effort, according to a new state report, still has a ways to go. The 30-member Commissioner’s Council on Mathematics report, issued last week, outlines recommendations for educators, policy leaders, and community members to improve K-12 mathematics education in the state.  The report stresses several recommendations that are grounded in the lessons learned regarding strong leadership, quality professional development, dedicated time, and effective collaboration within, among, and beyond school districts.

The council outlines several specific actions for the State Department of Education, individual school districts, higher education, and the community in the report that are distilled into four broad recommendations. Each recommendation is evidence-based, actionable, inclusive of all stakeholders, and measurable.

The four broad recommendations are:

• develop a clear and consistent understanding of the Connecticut Core Standards-Mathematics (CCS-M) at the classroom, school, district, and state levels;
• provide the support and training necessary to effectively implement the mathematics standards with fidelity in all classrooms, schools, and districts;
• implement appropriate interventions and acceleration to support the needs of a diverse group of learners; and
• engage all stakeholders in the process of putting the Connecticut Core Standards-Mathematics into practice through effective communication that keeps teachers, parents and community members informed and participating in the process.

“Every student deserves the opportunity to receive a math education that is rich and rigorous, and equips them with the skills needed to graduate from high school prepared to be successful in both college and career,” said Commissioner Wentzell. “These recommendations by the Council on Mathematics have created a clear path that will help the State Department of Education take the steps needed to ensure that every student in our state receives a high-quality mathematics education.”

Next steps identified in the report include that “all stakeholders need to work and learn more in the area of mathematics education,” specifically as it relates to the following:

• instructional support necessary for students with special needs to access the standards;
• instructional support necessary for English learners to access the standards;
• interconnectedness of curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and
• teacher evaluation and certification requirements.

The framework for the recommendations was a logic model described as four buckets: Deep Knowledge of the CCS-M, Curriculum Development and Implementation, Intervention and Acceleration, Community and Family Engagement.

The Commissioner’s Council on Mathematics was initiated by Commissioner Wentzell in 2015 in response to the Smarter Balanced test results in mathematics. The council was convened to spearhead the state’s efforts to improve supports in mathematics by identifying best practices and exploring promising innovations in mathematics instruction.

Communities are urged, in some of the recommendations, to establish partnerships with local districts to create internships for high school students with businesses that require mathematics skills, use social media and distribution lists to promote the importance of the CCS-M, and urge community members to attend and participate in state- and district-provided workshops that deliver information about the standards.

Among a series of recommendations aimed at higher education, colleges are urged to:

• Increase mathematics coursework for elementary pre-service teachers.
• Increase coursework that focuses on the mathematical practices at all levels.
• Collaborate with district partners to ensure that pre-service teachers’ field experience is with a teacher who exhibits conceptual understanding, deep content knowledge, and effective use of the practices.
• Mentor teachers and provide training specific to mathematics content and pedagogy to teachers who will be assigned a pre-service teacher.
• Create professional learning workshops for in-service teachers to interact with professors at the university to make the connections of what is being taught at the K-12 level and how it is used in higher education.
• Build relationships with high schools by promoting early college experiences in high schools
• Require coursework in family engagement strategies for pre-service teachers.

Council members included parents, teachers, curriculum specialists, principals, superintendents, board of education members, higher education professors, business leaders, and State Department of Education staff members with the purpose of closely examining the current state of mathematics education in Connecticut.

The Commissioner selected the members through recommendations made by various stakeholder groups across the state, including the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association (CT-PTA), the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut (AFT-CT), the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE).  They met monthly from February 2016 to June 2016, and the recommendations were developed with the input of local school districts, higher education, and experts in family and community relations, according to the report.