§ 17b-112l — Initiative for two-generational service delivery to encourage educational, health and workforce readiness and self-sufficiency.

Connecticut § 17b-112l

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 17b: Social Services
• Ch. 319s: Financial Assistance

Text

(a) There is established a two-generational initiative to disrupt cycles of poverty and advance family economic self-sufficiency. The initiative shall collaborate across public and private sectors to support early childhood care and education, health and workforce readiness and economic self-sufficiency across two generations in the same household. Households may include, but need not be limited to, children and their mothers, fathers, noncustodial parents and other primary caregivers. (b) The Office of Early Childhood shall serve as the two-generational initiative's coordinating agency. The initiative may include review and consideration of the following, within available appropriations, to attain family economic mobility and success: (1) Coordination and delivery of programs that improve access to services and equity in opportunity to achieve family economic success. Such programs may include, but need not be limited to, early learning programs, adult education, child care, housing, apprenticeship and job training, transportation, financial literacy, health and mental health services, and sufficiently supported pathways to family-sustaining workforce opportunities, offered at one location, whenever possible; and (2) Alignment of state and federal resources around the family including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant funds, and services to equip such families with the tools and skills needed to overcome obstacles and engage opportunities. (c) Implementation of the initiative shall foster the comprehensive two-generational service delivery approach for early care and education and workforce readiness in learning communities that may include, but need not be limited to, New Haven, Hartford, East Hartford, West Hartford, Norwalk, Meriden, Windham, Enfield, Waterbury and Bridgeport. The initiative shall be implemented in partnership with parent and family leaders to determine the priorities and challenges of low-income households. Coordinators of the initiative shall foster a peer-to-peer exchange and technical assistance in best practices between learning communities that shall be shared with the advisory board established pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The staff of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as the administrative staff to the learning communities. (d) A Two-Generational Advisory Board shall be established as part of the initiative to advise the state, the legislature and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management on how to foster family economic self-sufficiency in low income households through a comprehensive two-generational service delivery approach for early child care, education and workforce readiness. The board shall work in partnership with philanthropic organizations, as available, to provide support, technical assistance, guidance and best practices to the participating communities in the initiative designated pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. The board shall consist of (1) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall serve as a cochairperson; (2) one member of the Senate appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall serve as a cochairperson; (3) one member representing the interests of business or trade organizations appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; (4) one member with expertise on issues concerning physical and mental health appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; (5) one member with expertise on issues concerning children and families appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; (6) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; (7) one member appointed by the Governor; (8) representatives of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations and scholars who are experts in two-generational programs and policies, including, but not limited to, at least one such representative and scholar with experience in developing strategies to achieve racial equity and social justice; (9) parent or family leaders representing low-income households selected by the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, who shall constitute one-fourth of the board; and (10) other business and academic professionals as needed to achieve goals for two-generational systems planning, evaluations and outcomes selected by the cochairpersons. The Chief Court Administrator, or the Chief Court Administrator's designee, shall serve as ex-officio members of the advisory board. The staff of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as the organizing and administrative staff of the advisory board. (e) Not later than July 1, 2020, pursuant to the advisory authority established in section 3-125 , the Office of the Attorney General, in consultation with the Two-Generational Advisory Board, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Chief Data Officer appointed pursuant to section 4-67p and the Connecticut Preschool through Twenty and Workforce Information Network, established pursuant to section 10a-57g , shall develop a uniform interagency data sharing protocol to remove legal barriers to promote cross-agency and cross-sector collaboration under this section to the fullest extent permitted under state and federal laws. (f) Not later than December 31, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Two-Generational Advisory Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, shall file a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a , to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, education, housing, human services, labor, public health, transportation and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. The report shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) Shared indicators and goals for interagency collaboration developed pursuant to section 1 of public act 19-78*, (2) improvements in Two-Generational Initiative service coordination and streamlined resources, (3) methods of improved family engagement to assure continuous feedback from family leaders regarding the priorities and challenges of low income households, and (4) recommendations to (A) improve systems, policy, culture, program, budget or communications issues among agencies and service providers on the local and state levels to achieve two-generational success; (B) eliminate barriers to two-generational success; and (C) improve data sharing within and between agencies to inform systems and policy direction to achieve family economic success. (g) Within available appropriations, parent and family participants of the Two-Generational Initiative may be compensated for time and travel related to Two-Generational Advisory Board meetings and Two-Generational Initiative activities related to asset building, leadership and community engagement. *Note: Section 1 of public act 19-78 is special in nature and therefore has not been codified but remains in full force and effect according to its terms.

Legislative History

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 401; P.A. 16-79, S. 1; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 153; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 141; P.A. 18-19, S. 1; 18-129, S. 2; P.A. 19-78, S. 2; 19-117, S. 124.) History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-79 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re persons who may be included in households, add provision re pilot sites to be informed by members of low-income households and peer-to-peer exchange and add provision defining “Greater Hartford”, amended Subsec. (b)(1) to add “, including, but not limited to, health and mental health services,”, amended Subsec. (c) to add provisions re member representing interests of business or trade organizations, member with expertise on issues concerning children and families, member of transportation committee, member of education committee and not more than 6 members of low-income households, amended Subsec. (e) to add references to education, housing, public health and transportation committees, delete former Subdivs. (1) to (4) re report to detail numbers of families served, adults who have obtained jobs, children who have improved academically and adults who have received and completed job training and enrolled and obtained certificates or degrees in educational courses, add new Subdivs. (1) to (5) re statements in report and redesignate existing Subdivs. (5) and (6) re cost of program and recommendations to expand program, respectively, as Subdivs. (6) and (7), and made technical changes, effective June 1, 2016; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (c) by making a technical change and replacing “Commission on Children” with “Commission on Women, Children and Seniors”, effective July 1, 2016; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provisions re pilot program, adding reference to initiative, replacing reference to academic and job readiness support services with provisions re two-generational service delivery approach, and promotion of systemic change, substantially amended Subsec. (b) including by adding provisions re Office of Early Childhood to serve as two-generational initiative's coordinating agency and matters for initiative's review and consideration, deleted provisions re workforce liaison, deleted former Subsecs. (c) and (d) re interagency working group and coordinators of two-generational programs, respectively, added new Subsec. (c) re initiative to foster comprehensive two-generational service delivery approach for early care and education and workforce readiness in learning communities, added new Subsec. (d) re Two-Generational Advisory Council, amended Subsec. (e) by replacing provisions re information to be included in report with provisions re same, and made technical and conforming changes, effective October 31, 2017; P.A. 18-19 added new Subsec. (e) re facilitation of data sharing, redesignated existing Subsec. (e) as Subsec.(f) and amended same to add reference to labor committee, add Subdiv. (4) re recommendations on improved data sharing, and make a technical change, effective May 25, 2018; P.A. 18-129 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by designating existing provision re the household as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) re coordinated state-wide reading plan for students in kindergarten to grade three, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 19-78 substantially amended Subsec. (a) including by replacing “foster family economic self-sufficiency in low-income households through a comprehensive two-generational service delivery approach” with “disrupt cycles of poverty and advance family economic self-sufficiency”, replacing “promote systemic change to create conditions across local and state public sector agencies and private sector” with “collaborate across public and private sectors” and adding reference to children, substantially amended Subsec. (b) including by deleting reference to executive branch, adding “to attain family economic mobility and success”, adding reference to apprenticeship, adding “sufficiently supported pathways to family-sustaining workforce opportunities”, replacing reference to state and local support systems around the household with reference to state and federal resources around the family and deleting provisions re coordinated state-wide reading plan for certain students, development of long-term plan to coordinate, align and optimize service delivery of relevant programs state wide and partnerships between state and national philanthropic organizations; amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “informed by members of low-income households within these communities” with “implemented in partnership with parent and family leaders to determine the priorities and challenges of low-income households”, and adding reference to learning communities, deleting former Subsecs. (d), (e) and (f) re Two-Generational Advisory Council, adding new Subsec. (d) re Two-Generational Advisory Board, adding new Subsec. (e) re uniform interagency data sharing protocol to promote collaboration, adding new Subsec. (f) re report by Two-Generational Advisory Board, adding Subsec. (g) re compensation for parent and family participants of Two-Generational Initiative, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2019 (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 19-117, “Commission on Women, Children and Seniors” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity”); P.A. 19-117 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) by replacing “Commission on Women, Children and Seniors” with “Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity”, effective July 1, 2019.