October — a Month to Focus on Improving Children’s Lives

Gov. Ned Lamont with children at the Bridge Family Resource Center in West Hartford after an update on the baby bonds program. A recent report ranked the state high on child well-being while warning about the effects of learning loss. CREDIT: MARK PAZNIOKAS / CTMIRROR.ORG

While many social problems are interconnected year-round, October is a time to confront several of the most serious — from preventing bullying and substance abuse, to raising awareness about domestic or intimate partner violence.

It’s also the month designated for action around youth justice: endeavoring to keep young people on positive paths, out of the juvenile delinquency system that can become a training ground for adult crime. Let’s consider such challenges, toward progress for the next generation and our entire state.

The issues begin with parenting stresses and early childhood, with implications for education, the economy and workforce, as well as public health, safety, and well-being. Poverty and racism are major factors, but suffering occurs across all communities, ethno-racial and socio-economic groups. Housing scarcity and untreated mental illness, exacerbated by alcohol and drugs that can fuel child neglect, are among other related troubles.

We can acknowledge this broad context but narrow the scope to priorities that the 119K Commission is raising around some 119,000 Connecticut residents ages 14–26, “disconnected” from school or work or “at risk” of becoming so. Yet we must also attend to what happens before the age of 14.

“Particularly vulnerable subgroups” and “intensive supports provided by community-based organizations”

Specifically, let’s address what the 2023 Dalio Education report called for: an “increasing focus on particularly vulnerable subgroups,” including “young people involved in child welfare.” (p. 48) Subsequently, Amanda Olberg of the Connecticut Opportunity Project at Dalio Education pointed to “in-school risk factors, such as attending a high-poverty high school or participating in alternative education, as well as out-of-school risk factors, such as previous involvement with the Department of Children and Families [DCF] or Connecticut’s Homeless Response System.” She continued, “young people who are disconnected need intensive supports provided by community-based organizations to help them reconnect to education and employment pathways.”