2022-03-10@4:19pm–Today’s vehicle fire was in the 300 block of Fairfield Avenue which was the parking lot behind Lafayette Square according to radio reports. The fire was extinguished with a dry chemical extinguisher.
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2022-03-10@2:49pm–#Fairfield CT– Police were dispatched to Shoprite on Black Rock Turnpike AND Stop and Shop on Villa Avenue for people playing the violin at the stores and impeding traffic. Violins is never the answer….
GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES FEDERAL APPROVAL OF CONNECTICUT’S FAMILY FIRST PREVENTION PLAN
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration has received notification from the U.S. Children’s Bureau that the Family First Prevention Plan submitted by the State of Connecticut has been approved.
The plan was written in response to the Family First Prevention Services Act signed into law as part of the U.S. Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. This legislation represents a major shift in federal policy leading to families having greater access to mental health services, substance use treatment, and in-home skill-based parenting supports intended to stabilize families and keep them safely together. It also sets forth enhancements for kinship providers and expectations when children require a treatment intervention in a congregate care facility.
“This prevention plan is designed to enhance the well-being of all of Connecticut’s children, youth, and families,” Governor Lamont said. “I am very proud of the collaborative and deliberate approach taken by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families to lead this effort. This is Connecticut’s plan and one that will lead to our children having a brighter future.”
Family First is being utilized as a tool, as part of Connecticut’s overall prevention strategy, to assist in building upon an existing infrastructure with the goal to prevent maltreatment and children entering foster care. The plan is unique in its approach from others around the country as supports are outlined not solely for families known to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, but for any family experiencing specific behaviors, conditions, or circumstances placing them at increased risk for maltreatment and involvement with the child welfare system.
“We have reimagined our system to not only serve those families who come to our attention but have also taken a bold approach to develop supports for families upstream and within local communities resulting in them actually being diverted from involvement with the child welfare agency,” Connecticut Department of Children and Families Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes said. “We need to continue to lift the negative stigma of seeking help and this plan sets the framework for early intervention right in your own community.”
More than 400 community partners were involved in the development of the plan, including parents and youth with lived experience, decision makers throughout state government, community organizations, advocates, and contracted providers.
“Our priority was to ensure that the voices of children and families were truly at the center of the work,” Commissioner Dorantes stated.
Multiple “parents as experts” conversations were designed to actively seek input from families on their perspective about how supports can best be delivered to promote family well-being and prevent maltreatment.
Major intended outcomes of Connecticut’s Family First Prevention Plan include:
Upstream approach that looks to prevent child maltreatment and families requiring child welfare involvemen tEnhancement of existing Evidence Based Programs available within local communities leading to families remaining safely together Establishment of standards and oversight for children requiring placement into a treatment setting Coordinated approach to supporting kinship providers Encourages cross-system collaboration and partnerships emphasizing equitable access and outcomes.
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(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong released the following statement after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain approved the $6 billion Purdue bankruptcy plan.
“No settlement will ever come close to addressing the magnitude of suffering and harm caused by Purdue and the Sackler family. But in reaching this $6 billion settlement we recognized that we could not stall this process forever for victims and our sister states. I thank the Bankruptcy Court for its approval, and for its support for the hearing tomorrow that will give victims and survivors the opportunity to speak directly to the Sacklers and share the damage and destruction they have caused. We are not done fighting for justice against the addiction industry,” said Attorney General Tong.
Attorney General Tong announced last week that he had negotiated an agreement that forces Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family to pay $6 billion to victims, survivors, and states for their role in the opioid epidemic—40 percent more than the previously vacated settlement appealed by Connecticut. This is a civil settlement. This plan does not release the Sacklers from any potential future criminal liability.
Attorney General Tong has said the agreement enables Connecticut to use a portion of the settlement funds to establish an Opioid Survivors Trust to directly aid survivors and victims of the opioid epidemic.
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2022-03-09@6:14pm–#Fairfield CT– #cttraffic– Tonight’s car fire is being hosted by Fairfield on I-95 southbound near exit 21.2022-03-09@6:14pm–#Fairfield CT– #cttraffic– Tonight’s car fire is being hosted by Fairfield on I-95 southbound near exit 21.
2022-03-09@12:32pm–#Bridgeport CT — A school bus was sideswiped by a car at Blackham School on Thorme Street. There was no reported injuries.
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(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding regarding the vote in the Connecticut General Assembly’s Education Committee approving the settlement agreement that his administration recently negotiated in the Sheff v. O’Neill case:
“This settlement we reached will end more than 30 years of litigation and court oversight, ensuring that in the years ahead thousands of Hartford students will have increased access to high-quality educational opportunities in diverse environments. Our administration remains committed to enacting policies that provide every child – regardless of their zip code or family income level – with the opportunity to receive the skills necessary to allow them to succeed as adults. The implementation of this settlement represents a major step forward in growing that opportunity for children in Hartford, and I thank legislators on the Education Committee for recognizing the importance of approving this plan.”
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Let’s welcome Keisha from Little Rainbow Daycare & Nursery located at 356 Center Street in Bridgeport. They are currently enrolling new students.
They accept children from 2 months to 12 years old and they even provide transportation. They offer before and after school care and even children from last minute school cancellations.
Keisha can be reached on my mobile at 203-345-3267 or at their website: https://www.lrdaycare.com/ Or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Little-Rainbow-Daycare-Bridgeport-CT-103817162181614/
(Newington and Hartford, CT) – Watch for Me CT, a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office and the Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center, has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the National Road Safety Foundation to further its ongoing efforts to reduce traffic crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists.The grant is specifically designed to develop a program to recruit and train youth in the Yard Goats Young Ambassadors Program, an afterschool initiative run by the Hartford Yard Goats, a minor league baseball affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The young people will be trained to teach bicycle and pedestrian safety to their peers, culminating with a community-wide safety event and the creation and distribution of multilingual educational materials. The Young Ambassadors will also receive a complimentary bicycle, helmet, and lights for their commitment to educating their peers.
Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death for children in the United States. Almost one-third of all pedestrian fatalities and half of the cyclists killed in crashes were children under age 15, according to an NYU Langone School of Medicine study, which analyzed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics over a 15-year period.In Connecticut, an estimated 1,500 pedestrian and 550 bicyclists are hit by drivers every year.“Whether walking, bicycling, or scooting, youth are at an increased risk when they share the road with drivers,” said Amy Watkins, Program Specialist, Watch for Me CT. “This grant affords us the opportunity to educate our young residents – especially youth in urban communities and communities with low-incomes, which have historically been overlooked – about pedestrian and bicycle safety and reduce crashes and fatalities on our roads and highways.”A surge in dangerous driver behavior during the pandemic – speeding, and impaired and distracted driving – has put the U.S. on track for the deadliest year on the roads in more than a decade. The impact of dangerous driving has fallen disproportionately on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), as outlined in a 2021 Governors Highway Safety Association study confirming that BIPOC are overrepresented in traffic crash fatalities.“We look forward to continuing our work to improve safety, especially with the youth in communities that have been historically underserved through this proven peer-to-peer learning environment,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti said. “This program will help a wide range of young people develop critical active mobility safety skills and will encourage broader changes that will benefit all road users.”For more information about pedestrian and bicyclist safety, visit watchformect.org.
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Madison, CT- Bob Stefanowski, candidate for Governor of Connecticut, responds to Finance, Revenue and Bonding and Education Committees Joint Informational Forum on the State’s School Construction Program:
“Leaders need to lead and not blame others for their lack of oversight. It was startling to hear the Lamont Administration looking to displace blame and responsibility onto municipalities, many of whom have come out publicly stating that top level officials in the Lamont Administration forced them to use certain contractors in school construction projects,” said Stefanowski. “Claiming the towns have ultimate authority over school construction decisions while they’re being pressured by the state to pick certain vendors, and then pulling funding for these projects, not only misplaces blame, it punishes our communities in need rather than holding the Lamont officials responsible.”
“Governor Lamont is reneging on millions of dollars in funding to municipalities because of corruption within his own Administration,” said Stefanowski. “Now municipalities who are struggling to make budgets whole while avoiding property tax hikes that impact their communities are left to figure out how to fund school construction because the Governor left them high and dry.”
“Completely legitimate questions were asked by a Democrat State Representative regarding who was supervising Deputy OPM Secretary Diamantis, but the Representative’s questions were said to be out of order by Lamont Administration officials as well as the Democrats leading the forum,” said Stefanowski. “This is why we need an immediate and complete investigation by the legislature to answer the pressing questions of how this abuse of the public trust was allowed to happen.”
“If legislators cannot even get their legitimate questions answered by this Administration, it begs for broader authority and oversight by the Legislature,” said Stefanowski. “This Governor has consistently dodged the question about who in his Administration is making decisions, about who authorized the transfer of school construction out of the Department of Administrative Services and over to OPM, and why his Deputy Secretary at OPM was let go,” said Stefanowski. “We’re talking about potentially billions of dollars in taxpayer funds that may have been corrupted, and this Administration has been less than forthcoming with answers.”
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