Maria Horn

• COVID-19 Weekly Update. Click Here
• Transformative Mental Health legislation signed. Click Here
• Nuvance Health Community Health Needs Assessment Survey. Click Here
•  Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index (CHAI) released. Click Here
• Investments to support aspiring educators announced. Click Here
• Deadline for CT Summer at the Museum Grants extended. Click Here
• DEEP increases lifeguard starting pay to $19/hour. Click Here
• Passport to CT Wine Country has gone digital! Click Here
• Connecticut 2022 State Parks Season kicks off. Click Here
• Providing information to Connecticut residents Click Here

Transformative Mental Health legislation signed
 

In February, at the beginning of the 2022 legislative session, my legislative colleagues and I committed to addressing our children's mental and behavioral health needs.

I'm pleased to share that we delivered on our commitment. On Wednesday, three transformative pieces of legislation were signed into law so that our children can access the care they need to be their best, authentic selves.
 
The three laws, which include SB 1, SB 2, and HB 5001, take critical steps to strengthen our state's mental and behavioral health system, which experienced unprecedented strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. These laws, in combination with the historic budget adjustment bill, will:

• Expand 24/7 emergency mental health response and create walk-ins for mental health emergencies
• Address shortages of mental health staff in our schools by offering grants to local schools to hire social workers, counselors, and psychologists
• Provide mental health training to parents, students, and pediatricians
• Expand school-based health centers to develop mental health programming
• Create a state oversight and coordination of a state response to kids' mental health needs

It is more important than ever for us to invest in mental health. As state legislatures across the country cut funding for these vital services, in Connecticut, we're choosing to make critical investments in the health of our children and our state's future.

Report using Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index (CHAI) released

A new report was released this week that utilized the groundbreaking Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index (CHAI) tool to analyze the effects of recent health care legislation.

The report titled Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index: Findings from the CHAI Interactive Tool, reveals approximately 8,500 additional Connecticut households would be able to
afford their basic needs, if policy changes to increase the affordability of healthcare are implemented.

The Office of Health Strategy (OHS) and the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) released the Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index (CHAI), in June 2021, an interactive living tool used to measure the impact of various policy models on Connecticut families’ ability to make ends meet.

The new findings in the report measured impacts of the cost of basic needs, income inadequacy rates, and affordable healthcare rates by using the following policy models: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Premium Tax Credit, Covered Connecticut, and the Cost Growth Benchmark.

The ARPA Premium Tax Credit (PTC), a refundable tax credit designed to help eligible individuals and families pay for qualified health plans, purchased through the federal or state exchanges. The CHAI measured the impact of the lack of the ARPA PTC and concluded that the cost of health insurance for households in the individual marketplace can be significant burden on basic needs.

By removing the premium tax credit income cap for individuals and families purchasing insurance through the individual insurance marketplaces results in a 5.9 percentage point decrease of income inadequacy rates—a decrease of over 7,500 households estimated to have income insufficient to meet their basic needs.

Overall, this model estimates that if the temporary ARPA provision was available in 2019, nearly 31,000 additional households would be defined as having affordable healthcare.

The Covered Connecticut Program was established on July 1, 2021, an initiative to provide Connecticut residents with health insurance coverage at no cost.

The Covered CT model estimated over 17,000 additional households will be defined as having affordable healthcare costs as a result of the expanded eligibility of the Covered Connecticut program.

By tying the rate of hospital spending growth to the cost growth benchmark, the model estimates that 14,000 additional households will attain affordable healthcare according to the Connecticut Household Healthcare Spending Target. Further analyses will be performed, including tying the rate of pharmaceutical and overall health care spending to the rate of the annual cost growth benchmark. These analyses will likely substantially increase the number of households with affordable healthcare. Testing further additional proposed actions will allow policymakers to predict the direct impact of their proposals on affordability.

Additional budget items passed this session, such as the child tax credit, will be factored into further analyses.

OHS and OSC worked with researchers from the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington School of Social Work to develop this tool and prepared the report.

Investments to support aspiring educators announced

This week new investments to defray certification-related testing costs for aspiring educators in Connecticut were announced.

A total of $2 million dollars of federal, state-level reserve American Rescue Plan Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP-ESSER) funding is being dedicated over a two-year period, which includes $750,000 in year one and $750,000 in year two. The remaining $500,000 is being set aside for educators of color and other educators who will be completing their student teaching in urban school districts.

This funding will be dispersed to each of the Educator Preparation Programs across the state that opt into the program. This program will be administered by the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Talent Office. The Talent Office will convene a meeting with education preparation programs in the coming weeks detailing the process to apply for and disperse these funds.

The Connecticut State Department of Education is committed to ensuring all federal and state funds are properly used to serve the education community and has set up a thorough accountability process. Each grant will be monitored to ensure that expenditures align with the activities in their approved application. Information on individual grants can be publicly accessed online through the department’s Electronic Grants Management System, which is available at connecticut.egrantsmanagement.com.

• Black Rock State Park, Watertown
• Burr Pond State Park, Torrington
• Indian Well State Park, Shelton
• Sherwood Island State Park, Westport
• Silver Sands State Park, Milford, and
• Squantz Pond State Park, New Fairfield

  
In addition to the increased starting salary, DEEP Is providing all training required to work as a lifeguard at the State Park beaches and training time is paid. DEEP will be holding a pre-requisite swim test for applicants next weekend, on June 11 & 12. Applicants are encouraged to apply before the test on June 11^th.  

The basic duties of a lifeguard are: to monitor activities in swimming areas preventing accidents and providing assistance to swimmers at State Park beaches; to caution swimmers regarding unsafe areas; to maintain order in swimming areas; to rescue swimmers in danger of drowning and administer first aid and/or CPR as required; to participate in physical and rescue skills training; to perform general maintenance tasks and other related duties as required. Lifeguards must be strong swimmers.  

Hours of work are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 5 days per week, for a total of 40 hours. Most weekends and the July 4 holiday are mandatory. Minimum age of 16 for lifeguards, 18 for lifeguard supervisors. 
The final deadline to apply is June 17. To apply, go here: Lifeguard Program (ct.gov) 

For more information, contact Sarah Battistini at sarah.battistini@ct.gov or call 860-418-5958.  
 

Water temperatures continue to be cold this time of year, despite warmer air temperatures. There is a very real danger of hypothermia for swimmers, particularly children, who enter very cold water for any extended period.

Visitors to state parks should also be aware that while there will be lifeguards on duty at Hammonasset Beach and Rocky Neck State Parks, many locations will not have lifeguards on duty. It is important to remember that water safety is everyone’s responsibility.

If you do enter the water, remember:

• Parents and guardians: Watch your children. It only takes seconds for a child to drown, and this can occur silently.
• Be aware of underwater hazards: Natural swimming areas can have sudden drop-offs, holes, large rocks, or tree roots that can’t be easily seen from the surface. Diving and    jumping into these waters can be dangerous.
• Swim only in the designated areas and swim with a buddy.
• Take a swimming lesson: Swimming skills can help save lives. People of all ages should consider signing up for a swimming class offered at local YMCAs or municipal parks and recreation departments.
• Drink responsibly: Excessive alcohol consumption impairs judgment and reaction ability. Even prescription drugs may impair judgment. Swim sober.
• Know your limits, including physical fitness and medical condition
• Children, inexperienced swimmers, and all boaters should wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets.

Boating Safety

DEEP reminds all boaters that cold water temperatures create substantial dangers to recreational boaters, despite the possibility of warm air temperatures. Paddlers should exercise caution and use proper equipment, practice safety techniques, wear a life jacket (it’s the law through the end of May), and avoid dangerous situations. Paddlers should always be prepared for a sudden cold-water immersion. Over the last six years, Connecticut families have grieved the loss of seven paddler fatalities during spring’s cold water boating season.

Remember:
 

• Always wear your life jacket: Connecticut law requires anyone in canoes, kayaks, rowboats, or stand-up paddleboards to wear a properly fitting life jacket between October 1 and May 31. If a boater ends up in the water, a life jacket will make someone more visible to other boaters and will keep them afloat, significantly improving chances for survival.
• Do not paddle alone: Always paddle with a partner and know how to get back into the boat should someone fall overboard. When paddling with a partner, it is easier to get back into a boat or reach shore safely.
• Dress for cold water: Paddlers should dress for the water temperature not the air temperature. Water temperatures can vary greatly around the state during the spring, but all are still below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered cold water. Cold water immersion increases the risk of cold-water shock and involuntary gasp reflex which is a leading cause of drowning.
• File a float plan: Make a travel plan, including details on location and time of departure and return, and provide it to someone. Give them a call when boating has ended, and identify who to call in case of emergency.

       
Maintain a proper lookout: Damaged docks, pilings, and trees may be floating down rivers and into Long Island Sound. Boaters should be especially vigilant when they get out on the water to look for and avoid floating debris.

To learn more about cold water boating and paddling in Connecticut, visit the DEEP Boating website at portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Boating/Paddling/Paddling-in-Connecticut.

Be a Good Steward of State Parks

The state parks belong to everyone, so everyone has a responsibility to keep them clean for the next visitor. Dispose of any waste in a receptacle or take it with you if there isn’t one. If we all do our part, our state parks will stay beautiful for those who come after us.