Parent engagement is the focus of Tuesday's Commission meeting

We'll hear from panelists on the benefits of helping parents to get more involved in civic life. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Room 1-D of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Here's the agenda.

The Connecticut Network (CT-N) plans live coverage. Watch CT-N's website for info on repeat airings and watching the event on your computer.

11/19 meeting of the Speaker's Task Force on Children in the Recession

The Speaker's Task Force on Children in the Recession held its third meeting on Thursday, November 19, 2009, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. It took testimony from state and national experts on the following topics:

• The State of Working Connecticut
• Unemployment and Welfare in a Recession
• The American Dream and Hopes for College
• Youth: Gaps and Opportunities

Watch CT-N coverage of the meeting and read meeting documents

NOTE: The Task Force, as part of its plan to hear testimony from residents of each of Connecticut's five congressional districts, will hold a hearing for the 1st District at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 5, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Directions

The 1st District, represented in Congress by John B. Larson, includes these communities: Barkhamsted, Berlin, Bloomfield, Bristol, Colebrook , Cromwell, East Granby, East Hartford, East Windsor, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Hartland, Manchester, Middletown, New Hartford, Newington, Portland, Rocky Hill, Southington, South Windsor, Torrington, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Winchester, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.

Children in the Recession Task Force meets Thursday, November 19

The legislative task force formed by House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan to address the needs of Connecticut children and families impacted by the recession will meet at 10 a.m., Thursday, November 19, in Room 2-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Agenda (PDF) | Task force home page | Children in the Recession blog

Commission on Children meets Tuesday, Nov. 10

The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the conference room of the Commission's offices, at 18-20 Trinity Street in Hartford. Here's the agenda (PDF).

Children of Incarcerated Parents

In the Fatherhood section of our website, we've posted a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) that gives state governments a framework for helping the children of incarcerated parents. It points to research showing that such assistance can result in reduced recidivism for the parent, healthier development of the child, and fewer cases of incarceration across generations of families.

Children in the Recession Task Force holds first meeting

The Speaker's task force met for the first time on Tuesday, and there's lots of material from it. You'll find it on the Commission on Children's website. We'll be adding to it for the next few days, so check back!

Children in the Recession Task Force to meet Tuesday

The legislative task force formed by House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan to address the needs of children affected by the recession will meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, in Room 2-C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The Connecticut Network plans to cover it; check the CT-N website for program times.

Meeting agenda

More on the task force

A sample of student writing & artwork about 9-11

Immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Commission on Children began an annual practice of asking students throughout Connecticut to put their thoughts and feelings about the disaster into writing and artwork. As time went on, we also asked them to react to Hurricane Katrina and other matters affecting their world view. You can find all of that work on the Terrorism and Natural Disasters page of this website, but to mark the eighth anniversary of 9/11, we thought you'd be interested in samples -- from each of the towns that participated in the project -- focusing on that day. Most of it was submitted in 2006 and 2007. You'll find it here.

Come to our SNAP E&T workshop for cities and regions on September 8

You'll find out about opportunities for federal employment-training funds under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. You'll also hear progress reports from officials of communities that already are participating. The meeting will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in Room 1-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Download the agenda (PDF) | Learn more about SNAP E&T

Packet materials and other information will added to the website as the meeting approaches.

We've published our August newsletter

You'll find it here.

To read previous issues and sign up to receive future issues in your e-mail, go here.

Read our new blog: Children in the Recession

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert said it best: "With so much attention focused on the banking system and arguments over bailouts, the plight of America’s children in this severe economic downturn is getting short shrift." That's why we've begun highlighting news articles and other information on how children are faring in the crisis through our new blog, Connecticut Children in the Recession, at childrenintherecession.blogspot.com. (There's also a link on our home page.)

Check back often -- we're updating daily.

Read our June newsletter

You'll find it here.

Class of 2009 graduates from PLTI

With their families and state officials looking on, more than 170 parents from across Connecticut graduated on June 24 from the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), a family civics initiative of the Commission on Children.

More information and photos

Commission Meeting

The Commission on Children met today. Here's the agenda (PDF).

Among the actions taken:

-- Approval of minutes from the April 14 meeting (PDF)

-- Election of officers for 2009-2010. The following slate was elected unanimously:

• Chair: M. Alex Geertsma, M.D.
  
  
• Vice-Chair: George Coleman
  
  
• Secretary: Mary Grace Reed
  
  
• Treasurer: James P. Cordier (All Commission members)

Read Our May Newsletter

You'll find it here.

Read previous issues