CT Utility Costs Are 4th Highest in the Nation, Analysis Shows

Connecticut residents pay an average of $496.07 for utilities per month, the fourth most expensive average utility bill in the nation, according to a new analysis.  Hawaii tops the list with the highest average utility cost, $730.86 per month, followed by Alaska, at $527.96.  On the other end of the spectrum is Idaho, which has the lowest average cost at $343.71. Electricity costs are significantly higher on the East Coast, according to the study by move.org, released this week. Seven of the top ten states with the most expensive utilities are on the Atlantic Seaboard.  In addition to Connecticut, those states are Rhode Island, ranking third at $521.98; New York ($477.31); New Hampshire ($477.02); Massachusetts ($469.13); Vermont ($468.30) and Maine ($464.45).  The only other non-Atlantic coast state to land in the top 10 is South Carolina ($473.78).

The analysis noted that “electricity costs are mostly to blame for Connecticut’s high overall utility bill, but its natural gas costs are much higher than most as well at an average of $114.11 per month.”  In two key categories, Connecticut had the third highest electricity rates and the 14^th highest natural gas rates.

The survey broke down each state’s utility costs into a handful of distinct categories: Electricity, Natural gas, Internet, Cable and Water. [State-by-state information was unavailable for cable and water, so the analysis used the national averages to supply those figures for each state.]

The average cost of cable is $100, but that may change as more people cut their cable cords and switch to streaming services, the analysis noted.

In addition to Idaho, the least expensive utility costs can be found in Utah, Montana, Washington (State), Nevada, Louisiana and Oregon, according to the move.org analysis.

Westport Earns Top 20 Ranking Among Nation's Small Cities; Shelton Reaches Top 100

For those looking to identify the best small cities in the nation - with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 – the search may not need to go further than Connecticut, according to a new analysis. Westport was the lone Connecticut community to reach the top 20 nationally, at number 19, with Shelton also earning a place in the top 100, at number 85, and Norwalk (#146), Trumbull (#157) and West Hartford (#159) also reaching the top 200.

The analysis, by the financial services website WalletHub, was based on 40 key indicators of livability, ranging from housing costs to school-system quality to restaurants per capita.  The indicators were grouped into five categories – affordability, economic health, education & health, safety, and quality of life.

On those scales, Westport was ranked 20^th in education & health, 65^th in safety, 82^nd in economic health, 258 in affordability and 595 in quality of life.  Other than Westport, no Connecticut community reached the top 30 in any overall category.

"Of the 22 Connecticut cities analyzed, 18 ranked in the top half. This is an indication that many Connecticut communities are able to offer high quality of life at low living costs," said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez.  "Westport in particular made it to the top of our ranking due to several factors. The city has a very healthy economy, demonstrated by the fact that its residents have one of the highest median household incomes, and had absolutely no personal bankruptcies filed in the past year. It also has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."

Westport tied for fourth in the U.S. for the highest percentage of the population with a high school diploma or higher.  Trumbull had the second lowest percentage of population in poverty in the U.S., just behind Plainfield, lllinois.

Just outside the top 200 communities, were Stratford, Milford, Middletown, Danbury, Newington, Torrington, Bristol, Manchester, and Naugatuck.

Nationwide, among the 1,200 communities included in the analysis, leading the way were Leawood, KS; Carmel, IN; Princeton, NJ; Brentwood, TN; Milton, MA; Needham, MA; Los Altos, CA; Littleton, CO; Newton, MA; and West Fargo, ND.  Massachusetts placed three communities in the top 10 and a total of six in the top 20.  Also reaching the top 20 from the Bay State were Arlington, Melrose and Wellesley.

PERSPECTIVE: Dyslexia and Persistence Can Be Route to Achievement

Dan Malloy overcame tremendous challenges to build a successful career in public service and law. Born with severe dyslexia and motor-control problems, he was unable to walk steadily or to execute simple tasks like tying his shoes and buttoning his clothes. As a young student, Malloy couldn’t read, spell, or do mathematical problems. But his mother, a public-health nurse, didn’t buy into the idea that her son was slow, says Malloy. “She made a definitive decision to stress the things that I was good at and not bother with the things I wasn’t good at. My mother pushed me to develop my strengths, to focus on my leadership and oral-communications skills. Concentrating on those skills, which were my strengths, helped me meet the challenges of college, law school, and my career.”

Malloy’s mother also encouraged his listening skills by giving him a radio, so he went to bed each night tuned in to the news and other programs. At school, he found little encouragement. One of his teachers labeled him “mentally retarded” as a fourth grader; another hung his failed spelling tests on the wall beside those of “A” students. “It’s a tribute to my mother that I never envisioned that I wouldn’t be successful; I just didn’t know how I’d do it,” he says.

By the end of fifth grade, Malloy could button his clothes and tie his shoes, and by eighth grade, he was a much-improved reader. “I developed some compensatory skills and had halfway decent grades,”€ he says. “I also had a good level of academic success in high school and remembered everything I read, although reading was still arduous.” Luckily, Malloy attended a supportive high school, which waived the foreign language requirement and any math class beyond Algebra I, in which he scored a D. “That allowed me to take courses I was good at, like social studies and history,” says Malloy, who also had access to books on tape.

“The real point where my future was decided was when I had a serious injury in high school,”€ says Malloy. Sidelined by a compressed vertebra during football practice, he ended up in pancreatic failure as a result of undiagnosed ulcers. He lost sixty pounds and was not expected to live, until an advanced X-ray machine detected the ulcers and put him on the road to recovery” and to thoughts of college. Early in 1974, he wrote a candid letter to several colleges. “I told them that I almost died and that I had learning disabilities, and I asked them to take a look at me. I was lucky some schools were willing to take a chance on me,” says Malloy, who describes his SAT scores as “abysmal.”

Another byproduct of his dyslexia is Malloy's ability to listen and absorb information, an asset to anyone, but especially to a candidate for public office. At Boston College, his reading skills improved steadily, and his reading retention and comprehension were “off the charts,” says Malloy. “I got very good grades and the school was behind me.” His professors granted him extra time on multiple-choice tests and allowed him to answer essay questions orally or to dictate them to a third person.

He also wrote papers orally, dictating them to his future wife, Cathy, whom he met as a freshman. While Malloy is a fluent reader, reading aloud is difficult, so he plans speeches in his head and delivers them without consulting a written text. Another byproduct of his dyslexia is Malloy’s ability to listen well and absorb large amounts of information, an asset to anyone, but especially to a candidate for public office.

These assets certainly paid off in the November 2010 Connecticut gubernatorial election. In a tight race, Dan Malloy edged out his opponent to take the seat as Connecticut’s 88th governor. He was sworn into office on January 5, 2011. [He will have served two terms when he leaves office in January 2019.]

___________________________

This perspective appears on the website of The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity (YCDC).  YCDC is a source of research, advocacy and resources to help those with dyslexia reach their full potential. Dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia takes away an individual’s ability to read quickly and automatically, and to retrieve spoken words easily, but it does not dampen their creativity and ingenuity.

The Center’s tools and resources are used widely by parents, educators and those with dyslexia to advocate for greater recognition and support for dyslexic children and adults. YCDC builds awareness in all communities and mobilizes grassroots efforts to close the reading-achievement gap for all students.

The Center also showcases the success stories of adults with dyslexia, including writers, scientists, celebrities, and government and business leaders.  Malloy is one of two current Governors featured on the YCDC website.  The other is John Hickenlooper of Colorado, a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown.  California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, now a candidate for Governor, and former Connecticut Congressman Sam Gejdenson are also among the political leaders profiled.

It was recently announced that Gov. Malloy will be a visiting professor at the Boston College Law School in 2019. 

Connecticut's State Gas Tax is Sixth Highest in the US; Two States Seek to Defeat Increases

Connecticut’s state gas tax – criticized both because some consider it to be too high and because others point out that it is insufficient to keep the state’s roads and bridges maintained appropriately – is not among the highest in the nation, but comes close. Leading the way with the highest state gas tax levels are Pennsylvania (59 cents a gallon), California (54 cents), Washington (49 cents), Hawaii (48 cents), and New York (46 cents).  Connecticut is the nation’s sixth highest, at 44 cents a gallon, followed by Indiana (42 cents), Florida, Michigan and New Jersey (41 cents).

In California, voters will see a referendum question on the November ballot that if passed would repeal a gas tax increase (12 cents a gallon) that was passed by the state legislature a year ago as part of a comprehensive transportation funding package to pay for highway, road and bridge repairs, as well as public transit projects in the state.  Recent polls predict a close vote on Proposition 6.

In Missouri, voters will consider Proposition D, which would increase the fuel tax in that state by 2.5 cents a year for four years, totaling 10 cents a gallon. The proposal is intended to provide a stable funding stream to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, as well as millions of dollars to the Missouri Department of Transportation to repair and maintain the state's highways and bridges, according to published reports.

New Jersey’s gas tax, which had been one of the lowest in the nation, was increased in 2016 by 23 cents per gallon under a bipartisan deal engineered by then-Chris Christie and the Legislature.  That pushed New Jersey into the top 10 highest rates in the nation, and was the state’s first gas tax increase since 1988, according to news stories at the time.

In total, 27 states have raised or reformed their gas taxes since 2013.  Indiana instituted a 10-cent increase in 2017; Oregon approved a 10-cent phase-in that began this year. The South Carolina legislature overrode a Governor’s veto to enact a 12-cent-per- gallon increase in the tax rate to be phased in over 6 years, according to data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.  Oklahoma’s legislature approved a 3 cent increase this year - that state’s first since 1987.

The federal government last raised the gasoline tax 25 years ago in 1993, since then the states – in the vast majority of instances – have nudged tax rates upward in their individual jurisdictions.  The lowest state rates are in Alaska (15 cents a gallon), Missouri and Oklahoma (17 cents), Mississippi, Arizona and New Mexico (19 cents).

CT Residents Concerned About Healthcare Costs, Suggest Policy Actions

Connecticut residents are worried about paying for health coverage and care, and are delaying or skipping recommended medical treatment and tests. They also support bold solutions across party lines, according to policy briefs released this month by Universal Health Care Foundation, based on the results of a statewide survey conducted in partnership with Altarum Institute’s Healthcare Value Hub. The poll found that state residents:

• Avoided or delayed treatments and tests, cut pills in half or did not fill prescriptions because of cost concerns
• Worry about affording health care in the future
• Had difficulty navigating our complex health care system, including dealing with surprise medical bills

The survey revealed that residents are not satisfied with the current health care system: 80 percent agree or strongly agree that “the system needs to change.”  When given more than 20 options, they focused on the high prices charged by industry players, citing most frequently as a “major reason” for high health care costs:

• Drug companies charging too much money—81 percent
• Hospitals charging too much money—74 percent
• Insurance companies charging too much money—74 percent

When asked about possible strategies for tackling high health care costs, residents expressed strong support, across party lines, for government to take action.

• Show what a fair price would be for specific procedures – 95 percent
• Authorize the Attorney General to take legal action to prevent price gouging or unfair prescription drug price hikes – 94 percent
• Set standard payment to hospitals for specific procedures – 89 percent
• Set standard prices for drubs to make them affordable – 89 percent

The survey found relatively little statistical difference in the responses of individuals indicating their political party affiliation as Democrat, or neither.

In the poll of 900 Connecticut adults, nearly 9 in 10 people (88%) who take prescriptions regularly worry they won’t be able to afford their medication.  And 20 percent reported that they were so worried about drug prices that they did one or more of the following:  not fill a prescription, cut pills in half, or skip a prescribed dose. 

Half of Connecticut adults indicated that they experienced a problem with health care affordability in the past year, and nearly as many, 43 percent, delayed or did not get care due to cost, with one-third indicating that they delayed going to the doctor or having a procedure done.

Universal Health Care Foundation is supporting IVote4Healthcare, a nonpartisan voter registration, education and engagement effort, with Protect Our Care CT, to highlight those findings and changes in the health care system.

National Startup Analysis Sees Potential, Standout Efforts Underway in Hartford

A new analysis of the status of the business startup community in six American cities – including Hartford – has found that Connecticut’s Capitol City has “strong startup potential,” and in some ways is already standing out among peers and competitors. Startup Genome, with support from the Kauffman Foundation, selected six U.S. metropolitan areas that are not in the top 40 most populous and which have been faring less well economically than the country as a whole for a deeper analysis.  In addition to Hartford, the analysis includes Albuquerque, Fresno, New Orleans, Reno and Springfield, MA.

“In each of these metros, efforts are underway to support entrepreneurs, create more startups, and generate stronger economic trajectories. Like many other American cities (and elsewhere), they’ve been through economic ups and downs and now see startups as their next best hope for sustainable and broadly-shared growth,” the report, released this week, points out.  Startup Genome works to increase the success rate of startups and improve the performance of startups across more than 30 countries.

“Every startup ecosystem shows room for growth and improvement, and Hartford has key strengths to build on. The city's strong heritage in insurance is already being leveraged by many stakeholders and the ecosystem is clearly attracting experienced talent to start and join companies,” Dane Stangler, president & chief policy officer of Startup Genome told CT by the Numbers.

In Hartford, reSET, which specializes in encouraging and assisting entrepreneurship and social enterprise, was among several local partners with whom Startup Genome worked to gather data from more than 300 respondents.  Additional partners were the MetroHartford Alliance, Wesleyan University, UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Upward Hartford,  as well as Launch EZ, the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and others.

“More broadly, Hartford shows greater diversity than peer ecosystems and already has a few hundred startups operating. By continuing to strengthen the local culture and focusing on startup success in key areas, the Hartford economy will enjoy higher levels of job creation and growth,” Stangler added.

Hartford and the other cities were determined to be in the Early Activation phase of the Ecosystem Lifecycle, with a mix of prominent attributes and areas with potential yet to be realized.  In its analysis, the report indicates that “just in the span of a few years the startup scene has exploded,” in Hartford, noting that:

• investors and experts in Hartford provide more hours of help to founders than in the other cities, and more than the global average. (Experts include university faculty, corporate employees, mentors, and others.)
• nearly four in 10 founders in Hartford are women, which is twice the global average across all ecosystems in the Startup Genome database.
• 11 percent of startup founders in Hartford are immigrants, the second-highest in the sample.

“We’re so grateful that Startup Genome was able to include Hartford in its recent analysis of early-stage ecosystems, thanks to support from the Kauffman Foundation,” said reSET Managing Director Ojala Naeem.  “Our great city is too often overlooked, and with local and state funding being what they are, national attention on all of the amazing businesses making an impact here is more important than ever. We have so many smart and motivated entrepreneurs who are worthy of investment consideration. They just need a spotlight.”

The comprehensive assessment of Hartford’s ecosystem also noted that “Hartford’s [startup] founders claim to have the right ambition to go global,” concluding that “Hartford’s startups have more potential to strengthen Global Market Reach and Global Connectedness.” In a number of areas analyzed in the assessment, Hartford is seen as having potential to strengthen the local startup community, its reach beyond Hartford, and the demographic of startup teams.

During the past seven years Startup Genome has provided a way for entrepreneurs everywhere to “tell us about their journeys and their regions - giving their local expertise a voice at the policy-making table.” The organization’s primary research with founders, supplemented with secondary research and data from global and local partners, helps create the world’s most comprehensive research on startups. Approximately 10,000 startup founders fill out global survey providing direct input each year.

“Hartford has some record of successes – generating more will help ecosystem size and performance,” Startup Genome observed in its assessment of Hartford.

Israeli Speech Communication Firm Earns $1.5 Million Investment at State's VentureClash

An Israeli company developing “a revolutionary mobile application that translates indistinguishable speech into understandable language” won praise and the top investment award of $1.5 million in VentureClash, Connecticut's $5 million global investment challenge for early-stage companies in digital health, financial technology, insurance technology and the Internet of Things. Connecticut Innovations (CI), the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies, runs the annual competition. In all, nine companies from six different countries participated in the final pitch event. VentureClash judges awarded six companies with investments, mentoring and customer introductions to help them grow and succeed.  The winning companies are required to establish a presence in Connecticut.

The top placing company, Voiceitt, points out that the market for their product, in the U.S. and worldwide, is vast.  In the US and Europe, a combined 10.4 million people suffer from speech disabilities, and 8 percent of all children suffer from a consistent or temporary communications disorder. (see video, below)

Voiceitt’s core mission is to “make voice recognition technology truly accessible to everyone. Our principal aims are inclusion and independence, and we are committed to helping children and adults around the world communicate freely, spontaneously, and naturally by voice.”

Through a hybrid of unique statistical modeling and machine learning, Voiceitt is working to enable “tens of millions of people to overcome communication barriers and help them connect with the world.”

Two second-place winners were each awarded a $1 million investment:

• DOZR: A Canadian company that has developed a marketplace for the online rental of heavy equipment, enabling business owners to earn additional revenue from their idle equipment and allowing contractors to rent equipment at lower rates than traditional rental companies.

• IronYun: A Stamford-based next-generation, AI deep-learning, big-data video search business-to-business software company providing enterprise customers with hyper-converged, private cloud computing and big-data video software products.

Three additional finalists were selected to each receive a $500,000 investment award:

• CloudKPI: An Irish company developing an insight engine that enables SaaS businesses to predict likely outcomes.
• Invixium: A Canadian manufacturer of modern biometric solutions for markets needing strong user authentication, convenience and data analytics.
• Paygilant: An Israeli technology company working to prevent mobile payments fraud on mobile devices in the preauthorization phase.

The finalists pitched their ideas in front of a live audience and a panel of judges at the Yale School of Management in New Haven on October 18. The other finalists were:

• Kasko: A London-based digital insurance intermediary bridging the gap between the digital and insurance economies.
• Panoply: An Israeli startup developing a smart data warehouse, using machine learning and natural language processing to automate data integration, data management and query optimization.
• SnapSwap: A Luxembourg-based company offering white-label end-to-end know-your-customer (KYC) services for financial institutions and businesses.

“The VentureClash competition continues to introduce some of the world’s most innovative and promising early-stage companies to all that Connecticut has to offer,” said Matt McCooe, CEO of CI. “From the initial application period through to the finals, we were so impressed with the caliber of leadership and the depth of innovation represented by the companies involved in the competition. We thank them for their efforts and commitment and look forward to working with the companies to help them make Connecticut a center point of their growth strategy.”

The VentureClash competition started with applications from 300 companies from more than 15 countries. After two rounds of judging, nine finalists were named, and they then went on to compete at the live pitch event.  The judges included investors and subject-matter experts from Greycroft Partners, Oak HC/FT, Real Ventures, Stanley Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Travelers and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Event partners and sponsors included Aetna; aventri; Bernstein; Boehringer Ingelheim; Diameter Health; Disruptive Technologies; Elm Street Ventures; FML; Harman; Hartford Healthcare; Magellan Health; MasterCard; Medtronic; Nassau Re; NatWest Markets; Payflex; Pitney Bowes; Health Venture; ISG; Stanley, Black & Decker; startlab powered by Bank of Ireland; The Hartford; Shipman & Goodwin; Sikorsky Innovations; Synchrony Financial; Teamworthy Ventures; Travelers; Updike, Kelly & Spellacy; Voya Financial; Webster Bank; Yale University; and Yale University’s Office of Cooperative Research.

https://youtu.be/6-rng3rGYws

PERSPECTIVE: Clearing A Path to Better Health

by Arielle Levin Becker Hartford’s Northeast neighborhood is about four miles from West Hartford Center. Yet living in one place or the other can mean a 15-year difference in life expectancy.

That’s according to recently released data that identifies the life expectancy for nearly every census tract in the country, offering a stark illustration of the disparities that exist even between neighborhoods in the same city or region.

In Northeast Hartford, the life expectancy of 68.9 years is more than 11 years below the average life expectancy in Connecticut – 80.8 years. West Hartford Center tops that, at 84.6 years.

Similar patterns hold true across the state. There’s a nearly 14-year life expectancy gap between parts of Bridgeport and neighboring Fairfield. A baby born in Westport has a life expectancy that’s more than 20 years longer than a baby born in Northeast Hartford.

There is variation within cities and towns. In New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood, life expectancy is 71.7 years. In the neighborhood next door, Prospect Hill, life expectancy is more than a decade longer: 82.3 years.

Depending on the neighborhood, life expectancy in New London ranges from 69.8 years to 83.3 years (a 13.5-year difference), while in Norwalk, it ranges from 76.3 years to 87.9 years (11.6 years). Life expectancy in Torrington ranges from 71.6 years to 85.6 years – a 14-year gap.

The data comes from the United States Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimate Project, an effort of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, and the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers are estimates of average life expectancy at birth for 2010 to 2015 – that is, how long, on average, a person can expect to live.

“It is truly unsettling to see how small differences in geography yield vast differences in health and longevity. In some places, access to healthy food, stable jobs, housing that is safe and affordable, quality education, and smoke-free environments are plentiful. In others, they are severely limited,” Donald F. Schwarz, senior vice president, program at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, wrote in a recent blog post. “Data can help us better understand the health disparities across our communities and provide a clearer picture of the biggest health challenges and opportunities we experience.”

All of this new data is consistent with a longstanding challenge in health in Connecticut: While Connecticut is among the healthiest states in the country, there are significant disparities in health outcomes by race and ethnicity – a sign that not everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Here are three examples:

• Babies born to black women in Connecticut are nearly three times as likely to die before turning 1 as babies born to white women, while among Hispanic mothers, babies are twice as likely to die in their first year.
• The rate of cancer deaths among black Connecticut residents was 9 percent higher than among white residents in 2016 – even though black residents were far less likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
• Hispanics in Connecticut were twice as likely to be uninsured than white state residents in 2016.

At the Connecticut Health Foundation, our work is centered on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities and assuring that all Connecticut residents have access to affordable and high-quality care. We focus on ensuring that all state residents have access to health care coverage and a regular source of health care, as well as ensuring that the health care people receive is high-quality and connected to the many non-clinical factors that affect health.

The strategies that can help to eliminate health disparities will benefit everyone. They can also help move Connecticut closer to our vision of a state in which everyone – regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status – has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

_________________________

Arielle Levin Becker is Communications Director for the Connecticut Health Foundation, which focuses on improving health outcomes for people of color and ensuring that all Connecticut residents have access to affordable and high-quality care. Through public policy, grantmaking, and leadership development, the Connecticut Health Foundation works to make lasting changes that improve lives.

Report Provides Guidance for School Districts and State Policymakers to Address Students’ Trauma & Mental Health Needs

It is described as a “framework to advance policy and strategic school district planning to more effectively address the mental health and trauma needs of students and promote student success.”  A new report, driven by research highlighting the connection between mental health and educational outcomes, is aimed at school districts looking to increase integration of student mental health services and supports. The 40-page report, developed by The Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI), a subsidiary of the Children’s Fund of Connecticut, in partnership with the national Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland, provides a framework for policymakers and school districts interested in improving outcomes by addressing the mental health and trauma needs of students. The report indicates that “in a typical classroom of 25 students, approximately five will meet criteria for a mental health disorder but most of them are not receiving appropriate mental health treatment or support. Among those who do access care, approximately 70 percent receive services through their schools.”

Connecticut is cited as an example of how states can promote collaborations within and across the behavioral health, education, and juvenile justice systems to provide an array of trauma-informed, evidence-based, and tiered services for students.  It notes that school principals indicate that mental health is one of the most challenging unmet needs among their students and schools are increasingly seen as a critical setting for the delivery of mental health services.

The report provides “a blueprint and resources to guide state policymakers and school district leaders," including:

• an overview of core components of the Comprehensive School Mental Health
• Systems (CSMHS) model structured around family-school-community partnerships and the delivery of evidence-based mental health services within a multi-tiered system of supports;
• examples of best practice strategies to develop, implement, and sustain CSMHS;
• a model for a trauma-informed multi-tiered system of supports for school mental health;
• creative approaches to advance policy and funding structures to sustain CSMHS; and
• recommendations for state-level policymakers, districts, and schools to advance a comprehensive statewide system of school mental health to improve outcomes for all students.

“Approaching student mental health with a comprehensive lens that integrates health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and more intensive treatments leads to better school, student and community outcomes," said Dr. Sharon Hoover, Co-Director of the Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland and lead author of the report.

National prevalence rates indicate that approximately 20 percent of children meet criteria for a mental health disorder; however, many children’s mental health needs are not identified and the majority of children with identified challenges do not receive services, the report explained.  Among those who do access care, approximately 70 percent receive services through their schools. Linking children to services through their schools reduces many traditional barriers to care. School mental health services are also associated with higher completion rates than treatment delivered in traditional outpatient community-based settings.

The report uses Stamford Public Schools (SPS) as a” local model for improving outcomes by adopting a trauma informed approach to school mental health.” CHDI began working with SPS in 2014 to conduct a review of the district’s mental health system and to develop a plan to enhance trauma-informed mental health services district-wide.  That plan was subsequently implemented, and “lessons learned in Stamford are being used to engage other Connecticut districts to … integrate school and community-based mental health services, and promote quality and sustainability of these enhancements.”

“Schools are well positioned to promote wellness and social emotional competence for all students, as well as identify and address mental health concerns for students in need,” said Dr. Jeana Bracey, Director of School and Community Initiatives at CHDI and report co-author. “However, the responsibility is not on schools alone to integrate or fund these supports. This framework helps districts connect to and collaborate with Connecticut’s robust network of trauma-informed state and community-based services and programs so all students can be successful.”

The report concludes that a “systematic and streamlined partnership between families, schools, and communities to support a continuum of mental health supports in schools can lead to better behavioral health for all students, as well as increased access, earlier identification and intervention, and ultimately better outcomes for students with mental health challenges.”

[Visit wwws.chdi.org to download the IMPACT report or to read more about CHDI’s work related to school mental health.]

CT Minimum Wage Tied for 10th Highest in USA

Connecticut's state minimum wage rate is $10.10 per hour, greater than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 but not nearly the highest in the nation. The top five states are District of Columbia: $12.50 per hour; Washington: $11.50 per hour; California: $11.00 per hour; Massachusetts: $11.00 per hour and Oregon: $10.75 per hour, according to U.S. Department of Labor data analyzed by the website howmuch.com.  Arizona and Vermont are just behind the leaders at $10.50, followed by New York at $10.40 and Colorado at $10.20.  Maryland, Hawaii and Rhode Island join Connecticut at $10.10 in a four-way tie.

The Connecticut minimum wage was last changed in 2008, when it was raised $2.45 from $7.65 to $10.10. A proposal considered by the Connecticut legislature in 2018 – but not approved - would have raised the state minimum hourly wage from $10.10 to $12 on Jan. 1, 2019; from $12 to $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2020; and from $13.50 to $15 on Jan. 1, 2021. After reaching $15 in 2022, it would have indexed any future increases to annual increases in the consumer price index.  A similar proposal is expected to be considered when the legislature next convenes in January.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, a rate used by 20 states. That includes five states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee – that have no state minimum wage laws and therefore the federal minimum wage is the default.  And two states – Georgia and Wyoming – have minimum wages below the federal level, so the federal minimum is in effect. 

The Massachusetts minimum wage will rise to $15 an hour over five years under legislation approved earlier this year, becoming the third state – after California (effective 2022) and New York – to approve legislation putting the state on a path to a $15 minimum wage in the years ahead.  In New York, the current rate of $10.40 will increase incrementally in the coming years, to $12.50 as of January 1, 2020. Thereafter, it will be adjusted annually for inflation until it reaches $15.00.

Delaware enacted a two-step increase in 2018. The rate rises from $8.25 to $8.75 effective January 1, 2019, and will increase again to $9.25 effective October 1, 2019.

Eighteen states began 2018 with higher minimum wages than the previous year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight states (Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, and South Dakota) automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living, while eleven states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington) increased their rates due to previously approved legislation or ballot initiatives.

Seattle, Washington’s largest city and half of the state’s population, has moved toward a local minimum wage of $15 per hour, based on a city law passed in 2014 that incrementally increased the local minimum over several years.