September 18, 2012

FAWCETT LAUDS BRIEFING ON PROGRESS
IN BUILDING CHILDREN'S REPORT CARD

Connecticut children are used to receiving report cards, but what about measuring the policies and programs meant to help them grow up safe, healthy and successful? An online “report card” being developed by the legislature will help in doing just that.

State Rep. Kim Fawcett, vice chair of the legislature’s Select Committee on Children, hailed the committee’s briefing last week on its progress in creating an interactive website for the Report Card at CTkidsreportcard.org.

Under legislation adopted in 2011, the committee is required to develop an annual Report Card to help the public evaluate state policies and programs affecting children. The legislation further requires applying results-based accountability (RBA) principles to the effort, so that anyone reading the Report Card can see exactly how well a program is doing in achieving its goals and where changes might be needed.

Rep. Fawcett said the Report Card is crucial in ensuring that the state spends its tax dollars wisely and effectively. “We need to make sure that the state is using its resources as efficiently as possible,” she said. “We must make sure that we’re using correct data to drive our policies.”

Though the Report Card remains under development and contains limited statistical information now, it eventually will include much more, she said.

Connecticut Network (CT-N) video and documents from the presentation can be found on the Commission on Children website, at www.cga.ct.gov/coc/reportcard.htm