Connecticut’s Financial Education Celebrated on National Financial Awareness Day

State and education officials highlighted the importance of a new law adding financial literacy instruction to high school graduation requirements as part of a Wednesday press conference marking National Financial Awareness Day.

The press conference, held in the Legislative Office Building, served to raise awareness of the benefits of financial planning and to alert Connecticut residents to available assistance programs. During the event, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon spoke of the importance of financial literacy.

“What we know is that if we start early, if we get people to have financial awareness at an early age, we really can make a difference in their life and not just in their life but in the trajectory of their family because if we can stop that generational illiteracy when it comes to finances and make [them] more aware, that is going to dramatically change that family’s future,” Scanlon said.

The focus on improving financial literacy coincides with a new statute, meant to ensure that Connecticut students are equipped with financial skills before leaving high school. Last year, the state legislature passed a requirement that high school students receive at least a half-credit of personal financial management prior to graduation.

The financial literacy law received bipartisan support in the legislature and was passed nearly unanimously in the state Senate, where only Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, opposed it.

On Wednesday, state Rep. Jeff Currey, an East Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee, said Connecticut students entering their sophomore year in high school would be the first class to graduate under the new requirement.

Barbara Angelicola-Manzolli, a teacher at Lewis Mills High School and longtime advocate of making personal finance a graduation requirement, said the law made Connecticut the 21st state to adopt a similar standard.

“We have to teach [students] to save at a young age,” Angelicola-Manzolli said. “So what these gentlemen are doing by encouraging families and encouraging students to start saving at a young age — that’s the first key.”

Avery Rhinesmith, an incoming senior at Lewis Mills, was one of the students who received financial instruction from Angelicola-Manzolli. Rhinesmith discussed the important considerations she took from the class including saving money, planning for a career, and planning for later stages of life.

“Barbara also went over how to do our taxes, which is something, as a 17-16 year-old, not many kids know how to do,” she said. “I know that there’s a long form and a short form and how to fill both out.”

Throughout the press conference, Scanlon and State Treasurer Erick Russell sought to raise awareness of financial planning programs like MyCTSavings, a state-run retirement savings plan, the Connecticut Higher Education Trust, as well as Connecticut’s Baby Bonds program.

However, Russell said that residents needed a strong foundation to make the best of those programs.

“As we think about all the opportunities and programs that are out there in Connecticut, they only work if folks have the financial education to really maximize those opportunities,” Russell said.

Posted by Hugh McQuaid

International Overdose Awareness Day

Saturday, August 31 marks a somber anniversary. In honor of the more than 1,400 opioid deaths experienced in Connecticut each year – meaning 1,400 families and countless friends and colleagues losing a loved one and nearly four people passing away per day in that time – and more than 80,000 total overdoses nationwide in 2023, August 31 commemorates International Overdose Awareness Day.

This date leads to significant increases in drawing attention to the resources available to individuals struggling with substance use disorder and addiction, helping them seek treatment and recovery; it also is meant to aid families and loved ones of those struggling with addition, helping them best practices in caring for those close to them.

A secondary focal point of International Overdose Awareness Day is its effort to reduce the stigma that sometimes shrouds substance use disorder and can prevent people from seeking aid. Substance use disorder doesn’t discriminate and is an illness that can impact anyone, far from societal assumptions of addition being a personal or moral failing. These indications changing and becoming less harmful to the individual play a vital role in helping people accept treatment, which can and does save lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute on Drug Abuse, three of four people who struggle with addiction recover from the condition.

Addiction and substance use disorder, especially regarding the opioid epidemic, are increasingly dangerous for the public. The CDC reported in 2022 that 80% of deaths from overdose in Connecticut were caused primarily by fentanyl, a synthetic narcotic that can be extremely dangerous and has grown in use in recent years. This means that connecting those in need with the care they deserve is more important than ever, as the possibility of overdose has grown precipitously with fentanyl’s increasing spread.

Connecticut has many resources available to those experiencing substance use disorder and their loved ones to prevent more grief and mourning, as each life lost sends a ripple effect through the lives of those who love them. Since 2019, Connecticut has had the LiveLOUD campaign in place, which uses social media, radio, transit and billboard ads to connect with people actively using fentanyl, heroin or prescription opioids and their families and communities. www.LiveLOUD.org offers support and treatment options on this complicated issue and information on how to spread awareness of addition.

Additionally, those seeking treatment can also access state resources through www.CTAddictionServices.com or call 1-800-563-4086 to get connected to local treatment services.

International Overdose Awareness Day marks a somber occasion, but also has the potential to save lives. By treating addiction with the seriousness it deserves we can achieve much stronger results in helping individuals receive the care they need.

Posted by Joe O’Leary

Connecticut Pushes for Reduced Screen Time as Students Head Back to School

As students return to school and families prepare for another academic year, Connecticut is trying to bring a new perspective to the classroom – one with much less screen time.

Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker have urged local school districts to consider implementing recommendations regarding use of personal technology like smartphones in schools. The guidance was approved by the State Board of Education and recommends restricting use of cell phones during the school day to keep students engaged, support their emotional well-being and strengthen their interpersonal and social communications.

According to Common Sense Media, 43% of children ages 8-12 have their own phone, while that number leaps as high as 95% for students ages 13-18; half of children nationally get their first smartphone by the age of 11. In a study, adolescents used their phones anywhere from four to 16 hours per day, depending on usage strategies; 97% of students reported using phones during school hours for time periods ranging from just a minute to a max of 6.5 hours.

In recent years, policies trying to keep students off their phones have grown significantly across the country. Some states, like Florida, have fully banned students using cell phones during classes, while other policies are less strict. Some schools limit use only during classroom time, while others prevent their use all day. Strategies range from drop-off points in individual classrooms to Yondr pouches, which lock phones inside until students leave school for the day. According to Education Week, nearly 77% of schools bar non-academic use of phones during school hours.

This push is gaining steam, with the U.S. Surgeon General saying children under the age of 14 shouldn’t use social media and studies connecting screen time with mental health issues, including a tie between depression and phone use. World Metrics reported that 73% of teachers believe cell phone usage in schools harms learning, nearly half of students have cheated using their phones and two in five teachers have received complaints from students about inappropriate content on phones. While three in four students say cell phones help them stay organized and manage their schedules, schools with no-phone policies are reporting positive results.

Rice University reported that studies continually support policies limiting phone use, with 61% of parents and more than 90% of principals supporting school phone bans, citing their potential to impede focus, increase cyberbullying, as well as other issues. The New York Times reported that cell phone bans reduced cyberbullying in Spain and led to female students improving their grades.

In its development of the policies, the State Board of Education recommended removing cell phones from elementary and middle schools, with high schools given some ability to determine what “excessive use” entails. The board recommended that high schools develop policies that turn off cell phones and keep them out of sight in classrooms to help students focus on learning. It cited existing policies that range from school to school including in Torrington, Milford and Lisbon

Posted by Joe O’Leary

Connecticut Taxpayers Eligible for Free Filing Software This Winter

Starting this tax season, Connecticut filers will be able to file their taxes online, directly with the IRS for free with IRS Direct File.

IRS Direct File is a free, online tax filing option that started as a pilot program for the past filing season, when it helped 140,000 taxpayers to claim more than $90 million in refunds and save an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs. The U.S. Treasury is expanding the program to all 50 states, allowing taxpayers across the country to save money this tax season.

Direct File was created with funds allocated by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which has allowed the IRS to improve customer service in-person, over the phone and online — ensuring that taxpayers can claim all the benefits and deductions they are eligible for.

“Direct File is a great resource for taxpayers everywhere and I am thrilled that now, thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, Connecticut residents will have an alternative option to for-profit filing software,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said. “This will save taxpayers time, money and stress this winter — while ensuring that they will receive every deduction and benefit they are owed.”

Users who filed their taxes with Direct File during its pilot run reported a high degree of satisfaction and quick answers to their filing questions. In a GSA Touchpoints survey of more than 11,000 Direct File users, 90% of respondents ranked their experience with Direct File as “Excellent” or “Above Average.” A majority of survey respondents who filed taxes in the prior year reported having to pay to prepare their taxes last year

Posted by Garnet McLaughlin

Lawmakers and Labor Leaders Seek Support for Workers Struggling with Addiction

A group of Senate Democrats and Connecticut labor leaders called Tuesday for substance use disorders to be considered occupational hazards in some fields in an effort to provide support for impacted workers while reducing turnover-related costs for employers.

Sen. Saud Anwar, a South Windsor Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Public Health Committee, pitched the change during an afternoon press conference in the Legislative Office Building.

Backed by Sen. Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, and representatives of several labor unions, Anwar described a link between common work-related injuries and addictions that often result from use of pain management drugs.

“They take pain medicines to try to continue to do their shift and whatever work is in front of them,” Anwar, a medical doctor, said. “This is a vicious cycle and before you know it they are dependent on these medications — highly addictive chemicals — and then they are seeking heroin and things that they can get relatively, unfortunately, more easy access to.”

Moving these conditions under the umbrella of occupational diseases would make affected employees eligible for prevention and treatment options as well as workers compensation. Anwar and Hochadel said they hoped to see the legislature address the matter during next year’s session.

Hochadel shared the divergent stories of two teachers who struggled with substance use stemming from stresses and injuries associated with their jobs. One, who was met with a punitive response from his employer, sank deeper into addiction and eventually died. The other, who was supported by her employer, recovered, remained on the job and has now been sober for 10 years.

“These are the kind of results that we should aspire to,” Hochadel said. “Results that end with workers back on the job rather than dying in a hospital bed. We have to recognize that substance abuse is an illness and an occupational hazard.”

Workers whose jobs require them to perform strenuous and repetitive tasks are often at heightened risk of on-the-job injuries and eventual substance use disorder.

Construction workers are injured at a rate 77% higher than the national average and more than half of workers’ compensation claims involve opioid prescriptions for on-job injuries, according to the Midwest Economic Policy Institute.

Kyle Zimmer serves as the director of health & safety and director of the members assistance program for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478. During Tuesday’s press conference, he said the effort to classify substance use disorder as an occupational hazard was long overdue. Zimmer described substance use as a safety issue impacting both workers and employers.

“It’s costing labor, it’s costing management a huge amount of money for lost time worked, insurance costs, replacing somebody that is either disabled or, God forbid, a fatal injury on the job site, which has happened,” Zimmer said. “I’m sick and tired of burying fellow tradespeople.”

Posted by Hugh McQuaid

Governor Declares State of Emergency in Response to Flooding

Gov. Ned Lamont declared a state of emergency Monday as historic flooding resulted in significant infrastructure and property damage as well as at least two deaths in southwestern Connecticut.

In a press release, the governor said the declaration could help to expedite the arrival of federal resources to assist state and local crews managing the response to the severe rainfall and flash flooding responsible for extensive damage in the southwest region of the state.

“The sudden and severe flooding has caused significant damage to infrastructure in the western portion of the state, resulting in evacuations, rescues, and more than two dozen road closures that we anticipate will need to be closed for an extended period,” Lamont said.

Meanwhile, state and local officials staged a midday press conference in Oxford, where crews had been working to assist residents and visitors stranded by infrastructure damage like washed out roads and bridges.

George Temple, the town’s first selectman, reported that two residents had died after they were swept away in severe flood waters.

“This is a tragic and devastating day for Oxford,” Temple said.

State officials described extensive rescue and response efforts, including the evacuation of around 50 campers who were stranded in Southbury’s Kettletown State Park after flood waters washed out access routes.

As rescue operations began to shift to damage assessment and repair efforts, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was working to ensure the viability of dams across the affected area, DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.

The rainfall and subsequent flood damage fit a pattern of more extreme weather events that have become increasingly common in recent years, Dykes said.

“This is a very historic and unprecedented rainfall event and it’s consistent with the accelerating impacts of climate change,” she said.

Officials advised motorists in the area to exercise caution on local roads. Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said that at least 27 state roads were closed in the area. Road closures could increase as crews continue to evaluate infrastructure damage, he said.

Eucalitto encouraged drivers to obey all posted road closures and avoid flooded routes.

“If there are cones or barrels or caution tape up, I strongly am encouraging everyone to adhere to those signs,” he said. “Do not cross those roadways. We don’t necessarily know what is underneath the pavement. The pavement could have been undermined, the bridges could have been impacted by scouring.”

Motorists can find updates on road closures at CTroads.org.

Posted by Hugh McQuaid