Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 16 - General Assembly
Section 2-53m. - Annual report card on policies and programs affecting children.

(a) The joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, in consultation with the Office of Fiscal Analysis, the Office of Legislative Research and the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, shall maintain an annual report card that evaluates the progress of state policies and programs in promoting the result that all Connecticut children grow up in a stable living environment, safe, healthy and ready to lead successful lives. Progress shall be measured by primary indicators of progress, including, but not limited to, indicators established in the final report of the former Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee prepared pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of public act 09-166*, of state-wide rates of child abuse, child poverty, low birth weight, third grade reading proficiency, and the annual social health index developed pursuant to section 46a-131a. For each indicator, the data shall also be presented according to ethnicity or race, gender, geography, disability and, where appropriate, age and other relevant characteristics. The joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children shall prepare the report card on or before January 15, 2018, and annually thereafter. On or before January 15, 2018, and annually thereafter, said committee shall make the report card available to the public on the Internet and on the web site of the General Assembly and shall transmit the report card electronically to (1) members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and human services, (2) the Commissioners of Children and Families, Education and Public Health, (3) the Child Advocate, (4) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and (5) the Chief Court Administrator.

(b) On or before January 15, 2012, the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, in consultation with a working group of representatives of state agencies and departments, community organizations, private provider agencies operating programs that impact the well-being of children and families, parents and other caretakers of children, child advocacy organizations, health care professionals that serve children and families, schools, and child care providers, shall identify or develop (1) an indicator for measuring whether children are living with their families and have stability in their living environments, (2) secondary indicators for measuring progress within each area of children's well-being related to measuring progress in their health, safety, stability, education and future success, including, but not limited to, food security, and (3) key measures of performance of the state child welfare system, including, but not limited to, (A) rates of repeat maltreatment among victims of child abuse and neglect; (B) placement in out-of-home care among children at risk of abuse and neglect; (C) child fatalities involving child abuse or neglect; (D) rates of reunification and permanency for children removed from their homes; and (E) the developmental and health status and educational progress of children served by the child welfare system and other appropriate measures of well-being and preparation for success in life. Not less than annually, the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children shall: (i) With the assistance of the working group, review the adequacy of primary and secondary indicators, system-level performance measures, and related data resources for such indicators and measures, and determine whether there are more appropriate alternatives to monitoring progress in achieving the result that all Connecticut children grow up in a stable living environment, safe, healthy and ready to lead successful lives, and (ii) in consultation with the results-based accountability subcommittee of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, identify programs within the child welfare system that make a significant contribution to achieving such result and require the entities administering such programs to prepare annual report cards employing the results-based format developed by said subcommittee.
(P.A. 11-109, S. 1; P.A. 14-122, S. 2; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 132; P.A. 17-60, S. 5; P.A. 18-182, S. 5.)
*Note: Section 1 of public act 09-166 is special in nature and therefore has not been codified but remains in full force and effect according to its terms.
History: P.A. 11-109 effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 14-122 made technical changes; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “Commission on Children” with “Commission on Women, Children and Seniors”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-60 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee” with “former Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee”, replace reference to Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee with reference to children's committee re preparing report card, and replace “2012” with “2018”, and amended Subsec. (b) to make technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 18-182 amended Subsec. (a) to include disability as an indicator, effective July 1, 2018.

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