Friday, March 15, 2013
Summaries |
CT Philanthropy Leader Steps Down Nancy Roberts, who has led the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy since 1991 through a period of great change and growth, left the organization at the end of March. During her tenure, Nancy led the Council to a leadership role in the State and within the Regional Association of Grantmakers movement nationwide. Her skill in connecting funders across the state and in facilitating partnerships and collaboration has been a key component in the growth of the organization. "Retiring was a challenging decision for me," she says, "as I will miss the state and national collaboration and partnerships that are so unique to this field, and being at the heart of Connecticut's philanthropic community. I will cherish the professional and personal friendships I've made and look forward to watching the Council and our region's philanthropic sector grow and thrive." Kim Healey, executive director of the NewAlliance Foundation and chair of the Council Board, adds, "Nancy's extraordinary vision and leadership have enabled the remarkable growth of and impact upon the region's philanthropic community and has made the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy one of the region's premier resources on philanthropy." In addition to her role as President of the Council, Nancy serves on the Governor's Cabinet on Nonprofit Health and Human Services and the Hartford Seminary board. She served on the Task Force for the Early Learning Race to the Top Proposal, is a past Chair of the Board of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, served as chair of the Forum's Accountability Initiative, and served on the International Coordinating Committee for the World Wide Initiative for Grantmaker Support (WINGS). The national search for Nancy Roberts' successor was conducted by a Search Committee of the Board led by former Council Board Chair Patricia Baker, President and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. The new president of the Council will be formally introduced at the Connecticut Philanthropy Summit on May 9, 2013. For more information about Roberts' announcement. |
Four CT School Districts Receive $1.8 M to Advance Student Centered Learning The Connecticut school districts of Hartford, Manchester, Meriden and New Haven, are among the seven New England urban school districts receiving more than $3 million in grants from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF). Each will receive a 20-month grant of $450,000 to support systemic remodeling efforts that will better equip students with the critical thinking, problem solving and communications skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The grants initiative, New Approaches in Urban Districts (New Approaches), is designed to help low-income districts build capacity to enable more students to achieve at a higher level through student-centered learning. We are proud to work with these districts as they strive to shape the future of learning by implementing more personalized and tailored approaches," said NMEF President and CEO Nicholas C. Donohue. "I am impressed to see The Nellie Mae Education Foundation make such a significant investment in enhancing the teaching, learning and leadership culture of these communities," said Stanford Professor of Education and former education advisor to President Obama, Linda Darling-Hammond. For more information: Isabel Black, 617-933-5013, iblack@solomonmccown.com. |
New Britain project leads to 28.6% drop in chronic truancy Hedy Chang, the founder of San Francisco-based Attendance Works, has been working with the New Britain schools for the past year to tackle chronic absenteeism, thanks to funding from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain (CFGNB). And the early results are very encouraging. The school district reports chronic absenteeism - defined as students missing 10 percent or more of school days - has improved by an impressive 28.6 percent district-wide in grades K through 8. District wide, chronic absenteeism currently stands at 15 percent, while the figure at the end of last school year was 21 percent. Director of Attendance Joe Vaverchak says he is most pleased with the improvement at the kindergarten level. Last year, 29 percent of New Britain kindergarteners were chronically absent; the current figure stands at 20.97 percent. The Chronic Absenteeism Initiative is part of the Community Foundation's signature "First Years First" investment in early childhood development, says CFGNB President Jim Williamson. For more information: Jim Williamson, (860) 229-6018 x306, jim@cfgnb.org. |
CT Health warns HUSKY parents about Governor's budget A new policy analysis by Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) warns that Governor Malloy's budget proposal to change HUSKY A (Medicaid) eligibility requirements in 2014 and 2015 may make it harder for 37,500 low-income parents to afford health insurance. According to the newly-released "Consequences of Proposed Eligibility Reduction of HUSKY A Parents," the new proposal would require HUSKY parents to purchase federally subsidized private insurance through Connecticut's health insurance exchange, Access Health CT. "While reducing state costs, the total cost of health insurance would increase for this group through the exchange and consumers would pay the difference," asserts Elizabeth Krause, vice president of Policy and Communications at CT Health. The University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Health Law and Economics conducted the analysis for CT Health. For more information: Maryland Grier, (860) 724-1580 x21, Maryland@cthealth.org. |
CL&P partners with community colleges to recruit workers With nearly half of its utility workers looking toward retirement, and with years of training required to replace them, Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) has teamed up with the Connecticut Community Colleges and Bismarck State College (BSC) to refill the ranks through a robust educational training effort. CL&P's Electric Power Technology Program features academic courses at a community college, online courses through BSC, hands-on training at CL&P's Training Center, and field internship experiences at a CL&P work center. "Instead of waiting for students to finish school and then begin the 48-month training program, their training begins with internships while they're taking courses focused on industry-specific topics," says Bill Herdegen, CL&P President. Adds Sharon Gusky, College of Technology Coordinator at Northwestern Connecticut Community College: "The courses through Bismarck provide access to industry-specific technology programs that were not previously available at the colleges, and the internships provide real-life experience as well as a means to help pay for college." Fourteen students are currently enrolled in the program and completed their first internship during the winter break. When they graduate next year, they will have earned an associate degree and be prepared for a career as a utility line mechanic or cable splicer. CL&P is now accepting applications for the 2013 class, with internships beginning this June and classes beginning in August. For more information: Theresa Gilbert, (860) 665-2405. |
Farmington Bank supports 3-year battle against teen substance abuse Farmington Bank is renewing its partnership with Farmington FOCUS to sponsor three more years of "Prevention Works Week", an annual session of in-class student workshops and peer mentoring about substance abuse and healthy choices for Farmington High School 10th graders, parents, and faculty. The bank previously funded the effort from 2007-2010. Farmington FOCUS is an organization of parents, educators, social service, health care, and law enforcement professionals working together to reduce teen substance abuse. Prevention Works Week is run by Freedom from Chemical Dependency Education Services, a nonprofit substance abuse and prevention organization based in Newton, Massachusetts. This year's "Week" will be held in December. For more information: Tom Andrea, Sullivan & LeShane Public Relations, (860) 560-0001, TAndrea@CTPR.com. |
Institute shows 12 communities how to "mine" state health data Twelve Connecticut cities and towns are making sense of a long underutilized state database so they can better target their communities' childhood needs. Coordinated by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI), the Early Childhood Health Data Institute is providing $5,000 grants, training, and a personalized database for "mining" valuable information from the state Department of Education's Early Childhood Health Assessment Record, also known as the "yellow form." Each yellow form includes indicators such as height and weight, vision and hearing screening, dental health, developmental delays, chronic diseases (asthma, allergies, diabetes and seizures), and whether the child has a medical home. "Historically, it has been very difficult to access community-specific early childhood health data [from the yellow forms]," says Judith Meyers, President and CEO of the Children's Fund of Connecticut and its subsidiary CHDI. "The yellow forms are a wealth of health information for communities and for the state. We are excited to help mine this data source so communities can accurately target and efficiently address their most pressing early childhood health and development issues." Bridgeport, Bristol, Chaplin, Coventry, Danbury, East Hartford, Mansfield, Middletown, Norwalk, Stafford, Stamford, and Vernon are participating in the first round of the Data Institute. The project is jointly funded by the Children's Fund of Connecticut, the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, and the Grossman Family Foundation. For more information: Julie Tacinelli, (860) 679-1519, tacinelli@uchc.edu. |
Two reports: CT, 4 states cut juvenile lockup with no increase in crime Five states - including Connecticut - have dramatically reduced youth incarceration rates with no resulting increase in crime, according to two new reports released by the Justice Policy Institute and the Tow Foundation. Juvenile Justice Reform in Connecticut: How Collaboration and Commitment Have Improved Public Safety and Outcomes for Youth and Common Ground: Lessons Learned from Five States that Reduced Juvenile Confinement by More than Half found that Connecticut, Arizona, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Tennessee all reduced youth confinement by more than 50% between 2001 and 2010, yet none showed an uptick in juvenile crime. "The success across these diverse states in reducing the number of youth in confinement shows that there is no reason other states can't halve their populations as well," says Peter Leone, PhD., acting executive director of the Justice Policy Institute. "And the fact that some of the highlighted states made progress without a major realignment in funding means that economic factors should not be an excuse to avoid reform efforts." Juvenile Justice Reform in Connecticut highlights the past 20 years of Connecticut's success in reducing from 680 in 2000 to 216 in 2011 (nearly 70%) the number of youth who were placed into detention centers, correctional training schools, and/or other residential facilities. The report notes that the state has also closed one of its three state-operated detention centers, and reduced the under-18 population in Connecticut's adult prisons from 403 in January 2007 to 151 in July 2012. Meanwhile, Connecticut spent $39 million on family-focused adolescent treatment programs in 2009, vs. only $300,000 in 2000. For more information: Diane Sierpina, The Tow Foundation, (203) 761-6604, diane@towfoundation.org. |
Webster Bank commits $1 million to affordable housing loan fund The Housing Development Fund (HDF) welcomed Webster Bank as the newest member of its SmartMove Homeownership Fund. With Webster Bank's $1 million commitment, the fund now totals $54.2 million. The fund offers low-interest loans to qualified first-time homebuyers to help them make their down payment and avoid paying for mortgage insurance. Since 2005, the SmartMove program has assisted more than 1,200 individuals and families to buy their first home in 56 towns and cities in Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven Counties. Webster Bank is already part of HDF's MultiFamily Loan Fund, which lends to individuals and small-to-medium-sized developers who are in the early stages of building portfolios of rental properties, including affordable units. For more information: Kathy Luria, Webster Bank, (203) 578-2396, kluria@websterbank.com. |
Better reimbursement leading to more children's dental coverage Children enrolled in HUSKY A are using dental care services at a rate nearly the same as privately-insured children, thanks to an increase in reimbursement rates to dental providers and other administrative changes, reports a new brief from the Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health). According to Impact of Increased Dental Reimbursement Rates on HUSKY A-Insured Children 2006-2011, 158 of Connecticut's 169 cities and towns experienced double-digit increases in children using dental care services between 2006-2011, more so than anywhere else in the United States. During that time, participation by private dentists in Medicaid more than doubled. In 2006, 416 dentists submitted at least one Medicaid claim versus 937 in 2010, the brief reports. "This increase in access to dental care services means that fewer low-income children will experience oral disease, pain and infection, and days lost from school because of inadequate access to basic dental care," said President & CEO Patricia Baker. For more information: Maryland Grier, (860) 724-1580 x21, Maryland@cthealth.org. |
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Transitions and Announcements |
On April 4, in a special ceremony at the State Capitol, the 1772 Foundation will receive the 2013 Harlan H. Griswold Award for Historic Preservation for outstanding leadership by a private foundation. The award is presented by the Department of Economic and Community Development's Historic Preservation Office and the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Harlan H. Griswold was an incorporator of the Connecticut Trust and longtime chairman of the Connecticut Historical Commission. "The 1772 Foundation has [made] a major commitment to invest in its historic museums and other historic properties in need of maintenance and restoration projects," notes Executive Director Mary Anthony. "Since 2011, it has invested $385,000 in 37 historical societies, museums, and other heritage groups across the state." |
The Fund for Greater Hartford recently bid farewell to three board members who had fulfilled their terms: CHRISTEL FORD BERRY, CHRISTOPHER MORRILL, and Justice RICHARD PALMER. Replacing the departing members are:
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