CT Ranks #12 in USA in Foreign Born Residents

California, at 27.2 percent, New York, at 22.2 percent, and New Jersey, at 21 percent, are the only states with more than 20 percent of their residents having been born in foreign nations.  According to data from the Pew Hispanic Center 2010 American Community Survey, rounding out the top 10 states in percentage of foreign born citizens is Nevada (18.8 percent), Hawaii (17.9 percent), Texas (16.4 percent), Massachusetts (14.9 percent), Maryland (13.9 percent) Illinois (13.7 percent), and Arizona (13.4 percent).  Connecticut comes in at #12 with 13.2 percent of its residents being foreign-born, just behind Washington State’s 13.3 percent and tied with the District of Columbia.

The Migration Policy Institute notes that the largest share of the foreign-born population in Connecticut were from Latin America.  Of the total foreign-born population in Connecticut in 2010, 3.6 percent were from Africa, 22.0 percent from Asia, 28.5 percent from Europe, 42.1 percent from Latin America (South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean), 3.4 percent from Northern America (Canada, Bermuda, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon).  The top three countries of birth of the foreign born in Connecticut were Poland, Jamaica, and India.

The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide.

More College Degrees Is Target for National Goal, CT Employers

According to recent projections, 67% of all jobs in Connecticut in 2020 will require a career certificate or college degree. Connecticut remains one of the more educated states in the nation, with 45.9% of its young adults having earned a college degree by 2010.  But that falls far short of the projections for employers’ needs by 2020, as well as a national goal set by President Obama of making the U.S. first in the world in the percentage of adults with college degrees – with the national target of 60 percent by 2020. Although Connecticut currently remains above the national average of 39.3%, new data from the U.S. Department of Education, reported by the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC), shows that between 2009 and 2010, the rate of young people with college degrees went down in Connecticut and 15 other states, while nationwide the number increased slightly.

For Connecticut to reach the national goal, as well as the projected needs of employers, the state’s public and private institutions will need to increase the percentage of Connecticut residents earning degrees.  CCIC reports that independent colleges and universities award nearly half of Connecticut’s bachelor’s degrees and Connecticut residents make up 30% of first-year, full-time undergraduate student body.  Among public institutions, the newly merged ConnSCU system (12 community college and 4 universities) has the largest number of undergraduate students, followed by the University of Connecticut, including its branch campuses.

Public Health Data Becomes Compelling Poster Series at Capitol

Students from the Yale School of Public Health collaborated with colleagues at the School of Art to develop original public health posters – using graphic design and stark statistics to focus on a number of critical public health challenges. The posters created through this unique collaborative effort are on display at the State Capitol’s lower concourse adjacent to the Legislative Office Building, arranged by the Connecticut Office of Health Reform and Innovation. A total of 28 students (14 pairs) participated in the inaugural project, which seeks to provoke awareness, stimulate thought and change behavior through the use of visually powerful posters to educate and motivate broad sectors of society about some of today’s pressing health issues, such as obesity, breast cancer screening, self-respect and child development.

Among the statistics and information highlighted in the posters:

• The increase in size of food portions between 1982 and 2012 (5x larger)
• The difference in breast cancer survival rates with early detection (30% vs. 97%)
• Food alternatives to daily for lactose intolerant individuals
• 80% of blindness is preventable

The idea for “The Art of Public Health” was conceived a year ago, according to the Yale News, at the conclusion of a course taught at the Yale School of Public Health by assistant professor Catherine Yeckel. She challenged the class to apply and translate theoretical scientific knowledge into a public health campaign to educate the public on a specific health topic.

The student teams met for one-on-one sessions together and with faculty mentors throughout the academic year, during which they discussed their particular health issue and how it might be captured and represented visually. Julian Bittiner, a critic in the Department of Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art, guided the visual communication process.

“The Art of Public Health” may go on tour following the State Capitol exhibition in Hartford, which followed a similar exhibition on the Yale campus in New Haven earlier this year.

Innovative Teen Research to Focus on Food Justice, Impact on Health

What are the connections between urban youth and nutrition?  Does the lack of easy access to high quality, nutritional food and the abundance of less healthy food sources impact the health and well-being of people in our cities – especially children – and contribute to chronic health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma? The Hartford-based Institute for Community Research (ICR) is launching an innovative research project to find out – with area teens learning how to conduct the research, then asking the questions and compiling the data, and then coming forward to advocate solutions based on their research.

“Food Fight! A Teen Participatory Action Research Project to promote an Equitable Food System,” is a collaboration with Hartford Food System (HFS) and ICR.   The project is the first of its kind in New England to involve youth in Participatory Action Research (PAR) for food justice.  It will increase teens knowledge of the subject, encourage leadership and critical thinking, and provide the tools necessary to identify problems in the community and seek appropriate solutions.

Over five weeks, beginning July 16 and continuing through August 17, about a dozen teens in the ICR program will learn about food justice, global/local food systems, and the challenges of producing and making nutritious inexpensive food available in urban areas. They will develop their own research questions focusing on food availability and accessibility. Using participatory research methodology such as systematic observation, pile sorting, surveying, in-depth interviewing, videography and photography, they will collect data reflecting problems in food availability, accessibility, affordability and quality and develop solutions to address these issues.

The teens trained at ICR in PAR methods will join forces with teens in the HFS summer programs who will be learning how to produce nutritious food for local consumption.  A $10,000 grant from The Perrin Family Foundation is funding the food justice project. Food justice seeks to ensure that the benefits and risks of where, what, and how food is grown, produced, transported, distributed, accessed and eaten are shared fairly across society.

As the initiative unfolds, teens will become advocates for food justice in their communities. At the end of the summer they will present their results to other Hartford youth, the public, and policymakers as a way to use the data collected to contribute to positive changes in the Hartford food environment.

The Institute for Community Research is a not-for-profit organization that conducts community-based research to reduce inequities, promote positive changes in public health and education.  ICR celebrates it’s 25^th anniversary in October.  Hartford Food System is a not-for-profit that focuses on fighting hunger and improving nutrition in Hartford’s low income neighborhoods.  The Perrin Family Foundation is committed to providing equal opportunities for children and young adults to lead safe, productive and creative lives.

AG Settlement with JP Morgan Chase Brings $1 Million to CT

Ten Connecticut municipalities, agencies, education institutions and not-for-profit entities are now eligible for more than a million dollars in restitution through a $92 million settlement reached with JP Morgan Chase & Co. (“JPMC”) last year, according to the Connecticut Attorney General's Office.  Details have been provided to the 10 entities  explaining  how they can receive restitution through the settlement, which was reached as part of an ongoing nationwide investigation into alleged anticompetitive and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives industry. Connecticut led the multi-state investigation with Illinois, New York and Texas for the working group of 24 states and the District of Columbia.  The Connecticut entities eligible to participate in the settlement and receive restitution totaling $1,035,233.12 are:

• Quinnipiac University – eligible for $280,669.12
• Fairfield University – eligible for $243,371.96
• The Corporation for Independent Living – eligible for $213,424.99
• South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority – eligible for $128,341.50
• Town of Stratford – eligible for $100,426.14
• Yale University – eligible for $19,918.50
• Town of Fairfield – eligible for $15,858.61
• City of Bridgeport – eligible for $14,166.03
• Connecticut Housing Finance Authority – eligible for $9,850.88
• The Westminster School – eligible for $9,205.41

“Issuers including state and municipal government agencies and not-for-profit organizations entrusted taxpayer money to JPMC, and the company violated that trust by steering those funds into rigged or tainted municipal derivatives contracts,” said Attorney General George Jepsen, co-chair of the Antitrust Committee for the National Association of Attorneys General. “While it is up to each, individual entity to decide whether or not they want to participate in the settlement, I believe that the settlement is appropriate and will compensate these entities for the losses arising from this financial institution’s wrongful conduct.”

As part of the July 2011 settlement, JPMC agreed to pay $65.5 million in restitution to affected state agencies, municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit organizations that entered into municipal derivative contracts with the company between 2001 and 2005.  Municipal bond derivatives are contracts that tax-exempt issuers use to reinvest proceeds of bond sales until the funds are needed or to hedge interest-rate risk. In April 2008, the states began investigating allegations that certain large financial institutions – including national banks and insurance companies and certain brokers and swap advisors – engaged in various schemes to rig bids and commit other deceptive, unfair and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives market.

The wrongful conduct took the form of bid-rigging, submission of noncompetitive courtesy bids and submission of fraudulent certifications of compliance to government agencies, among others, in contravention of U.S. Treasury regulations.  The objective was to enrich the financial institution and/or the broker at the expense of the issuer – and ultimately taxpayers – by depriving the issuer of a competitive, transparent marketplace. As a result, state, city, local and not-for-profit entities entered into municipal derivatives contracts on less advantageous terms than they would have otherwise.

15,000 CT Children Struggle with Hunger, Study Shows

Connecticut’s overall child food insecurity rate is 18.8 percent, or which translates to 151,530 children struggling with hunger statewide, according to a recent study from the Connecticut Food Bank and the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, Feeding America.    Food insecurity is a phrase used by the USDA to describe lack of consistent access to adequate amounts of food for an active, healthy life.  The Child Food Insecurity 2012 Study shows that the number is unchanged from last year’s overall rate of 18.9 percent. In Connecticut Food Bank’s service area, which includes Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Windham Counties, the child food insecurity rate is 16.9 percent, or 99,610 children. The study shows Connecticut’s child food insecurity rates range from 14.9 percent in Middlesex and Tolland Counties, to 21.2 percent in Windham County.  Findings for the counties served by Connecticut Food Bank are:      

County                    Percent                      Number of Food Insecure Children

• Middlesex                   14.9%                                            5,260
• Fairfield                       15.5                                              35,110
• Litchfield                     16.5                                                6,830
• New London              16.9                                                 9,990
• New Haven                 19.1                                              36,750
• Windham                     21.2                                                5,670

            Total                             16.9%                                             99,610        

According to the study, 48 percent of the food insecure children in Connecticut Food Bank’s service area do not receive federal food assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps), free or reduced price school meals, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), because their families earn over the income limit to qualify.

An executive summary of the study  is at www.feedingamerica.org/mapthegap.

"Most Wired" Hospitals in CT Use Techology to Benefit Patients

Six Connecticut hospitals have been designated as among the nation's "Most Wired" medical centers for leveraging the adoption and use of health information technology to improve performance in a number of key areas, according to Health Care's Most Wired 2012 Survey, which is the cover story in the July issue of Hospitals and Health Networks magazine.  The survey gauges how organizations are planning for, utilizing and securing information technology. According to the survey the "Most Wired" hospitals are focused on expanding and utilizing information technology that protects patient data, and optimizes patient flow and communications. All of the hospitals on the list, for example, check drug interactions and drug allergies when medications are ordered as a major step in reducing medication errors. Virtually all (93%) employ intrusion detection systems to protect patient privacy and security of patient data.

Hartford Hospital made the annual list for the sixth consecutive year.  Connecticut hospitals among the Most Wired also include: Middlesex Health System, MidState Medical Center, St. Francis Care, William W. Backus Hospital, and the Yale New Haven Health System.

A record number of hospitals — more than 200 — earned Most Wired status in the 14th annual survey.  Among the other tidbits in the survey:  Wondering which social media sites the Most Wired are using?  The survey found that 94% are on Facebook, and 80% use Twitter and You Tube.

Federal Arts Funds Provide Critical Revenue for Municipalities

Connecticut communities seeking grant funds from the National Endowment for the Arts to fund local projects are frequently looking around the corner for the next approaching deadline to file grant applications.  The challenging economy that has reduced funding from various sources, which makes the NEA funds more imperative than ever. If past is prologue, at look at where some of NEA’s money in Connecticut was awarded in 2012 is worth a look as applications are submitted this summer for funding to be decided, and awarded,  next year.

Two categories worth a look:

Art Works I/Challenge America Fast-Track Grants/Literature Fellowships (Prose)

Number of Grants: 15          Total Amount: $384,000

Art Works II/Arts in Media/Partnerships

Number of Grants: 14          Total Amount: $1,152,100

Among the largest local grants was $50,000 to the New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas, which just concluded its two-week run in New Haven.  The NEA website includes a podcast presentation explaining the federal agency’s grant process, for communities interested in learning more.

Promoting Development of Teachers and Students in STEM

Demos, a New York-based policy and advocacy organization, and The New York Academy of Sciences have concluded a study suggesting solutions to one of the most often-cited reasons for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) achievement gap - a lack of skilled and trained teachers in the STEM fields. The greatest percentage of under-qualified teachers at the K-12 level is found in STEM disciplines – 40 percent of high school math teachers and 20 percent of science teachers in high needs areas lack a higher education degree in the subject they instruct.  The recruitment of highly qualified teachers into the STEM teaching workforce has received a tremendous amount of attention in the past few years – perhaps driven by the fact that math and science teacher turnover has increased by 33 percent over the past two decades.

California

The report discusses what teachers, administrators, educational leaders and interested citizens can do to improve teacher retention by encouraging and improving opportunities for collaboration, support, respect, openness, and commitment to student achievement and professional development within schools.  The report highlights Professional Learning Communities (PLC). A three-year longitudinal study of more than 300 teachers who participated in PLCs as part of the California Science Project Teacher Retention Initiative found that “Relevance of professional development, perceived classroom effectiveness, and identifying as part of a CSP-TRI professional learning community” were all predictors of classroom retention.

Connecticut

Earlier this year, Connecticut Public Radio’s program Where We Live focused a week-long series on STEM education in Connecticut, promoted this way:  “Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM): Connecticut’s strengths? Many of the state’s employers don’t think so anymore.”  In Connecticut,  an estimated 1,000 manufacturing jobs remain unfilled because applicants lack the skills they need.   Many middle and high school students seem to lose interest in studying STEM subjects.  The Alliance for Science and Technology in America reports that Connecticut will need to fill 232,000 STEM jobs by 2018.

Federal Support

Earlier this year, at the second annual White House Science Fair, President Obama announced a new $80 million Department of Education competition to support STEM teacher preparation programs. The investment will support innovative programs, such as those that allow prospective teachers to simultaneously earn a STEM degree and a teaching certificate. Another $22 million from philanthropic and private sources, including the Carnegie Foundation, Google and Dell, will complement the administration's STEM effort.

Underage Drinking Is Focus of Public Information Initiative

Young drinkers risk putting themselves on the road to addiction – 40% of those who drink before age 15 become alcoholics while only 7% of those who begin drinking at age 21 develop alcohol problems. That is one of the statistics that prompted the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut (WSWC) to launched www.talktomenow.org, a website developed to discourage underage drinking.  The new website is part of the organization’s Community Relations Program, developed to advance the prevention and reduction of underage consumption of alcohol and the misuse of alcohol in Connecticut through community education.

As part of the initiative, WSWC noted that:

• Brains aren’t finished developing until youth are in their mid-20’s, so young people may not have the judgment or impulse control to make good decisions all the time, especially regarding alcohol use.  Youth who drink are more likely than adults to consume large quantities of alcohol in a sitting.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for young people to drink until blacking out.
• Young minds have an incredible potential to learn, but heavy drinking during the teen years, even just once a month, can permanently damage learning, memory, decision-making and reasoning abilities and can short-circuit the brain “wiring” needed to become a responsible adult.
• A new survey shows that a college student’s GPA correlates directly to the amount of time they spend buzzed—and that students in general are studying less than ever.
• Schools (or parents) that want to predict how certain students will perform academically would do well to look at their drinking habits, according to new research.

The site also includes a list of "mythbusters," including this fact: Only one-third of underage drinking deaths involve auto crashes.  The remaining two-thirds involve alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries such as burns, drowning, and falls.

WSWC also administers a successful annual video contest for college students on the subject of underage drinking, with winning public service videos being aired on local television stations.