Connecticut is changing...

1
20

• Connecticut is changing...

2
20

• The economy is red hot. There is money and
  opportunity...

3
20

• And our workforce for the next 20 years has
  already been born.

4
They are Connecticuts children and youth.
5
Will they be ready to become Connecticuts next
generation of workers, parents, inventors,
citizens, leaders?
?
Will their skills and accomplishments enable
Connecticut to retain its leadership position in
The New Economy?
6
The answers to these questionsare largely up to
us.
7
SCHOOL READINESS AND WORKFORCE READINESS TWO
SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Connecticut Voices for Children Leadership
Fairfield 2000 September 2000
8
Today, a New Economy is clearly emerging It
is a knowledge and idea-based economywhere the
keys to wealth and job creationare the extent to
which ideas, innovation, and technology are
embedded in all sectors of the economy.
Source The State New Economy Index, July
1999
9
From The State New Economy Index Benchmarking
Economic Transformation in the States, July
1999 For most of the 20th century, the
vitality of the US economy was determined by the
success of its major manufacturing industries.

• Today, information, technology, communications,
  and intellectual capital, rather than energy and
  raw materials, power business.

10
The National Governors Association Has
Identified Five Key Factors in the New Economy
? Increasing competition at a global scale
? Progress fueled by technology

• ? Demand for skills and knowledge in the
  workforce

? Growth driven by innovation, invention and
re-invention by small and large businesses
? Continual pressure for deregulation
11
Connecticuts New Economy is Flying High

• ? CT ranks 5 in the US on The New Economy Index
• ? CT as a whole has a 2.3 statewide unemployment
  rate (June 2000 seasonally adjusted)
• ? CT ranks 1 in the US in per capita income
  (39,167) and in median income for a family of
  four (75,534, in 1998)
• ? CT has had eight straight years of General Fund
  surpluses 1.5 BILLION in the last three years,
  and over 500 million in FY 1999-2000.

12
But The Prosperity of Connecticuts New Economy
Has Not Reached All Families

• ? Since 1989, Connecticut has had a 127 increase
  the in the proportion of poor working families,
  the greatest in the US.

? Between 1989 and 1998, our child poverty rate,
as measured by the federal poverty level (16,700
for a family of four), rose from 7 to 12.
Today, 96,000 CT children live at or below the
federal poverty level -- 40,000 more than in
1989. 2/3s of CTs poor children live in
families with at least one working parent.
? Based on eligibility for the Free and Reduced
Price Meal Program, 25 of CTs children are
poor, and 2/3 of Connecticuts school districts
have had an increase in this measure of poverty
since 1992-3.
13
CTs Lower and Middle Income Families Lost
Economic Ground Between the Late 80s and Late
90s, and the Gap in Real Income Increased
14
What Annual Income Is Needed in Connecticut for
Economic Self-sufficiency? (OPM CT
Self-Sufficiency Standard, 1999)

• Family with one infant and one school age child
• (1999)
• 2 Working Parents Single Working
  Parent
• Middletown Region -- 39,723 34,695
• Northeast Region -- 40,300 35,320
• Waterbury Region -- 40,876 35,897
• New Haven Region -- 41,097 36,166
• Stamford-Norwalk -- 52,895 48,081

15
SOME IMPORTANT CT FAMILY CHANGES

• I. More children have working mothers
• II. Parents have less time with children
• III. Risks to children continue and more are
• cared for out of their homes
• IV. More children in single parent families
• V. Single parents are disproportionately poor

16
More Children Have Working Mothers

• 27 of CT women with children under 6 worked in
  1970. In 1995, 65 did.
• 41 of CT women with children under 18 worked in
  1970. In 1995, 72 did.

17
Parents Have Less Time with Children

• In a 1997 study, 70 of all employed parents felt
  they did not spend enough time with their
  children.
• Between 1979-1998, the annual work hours of
  middle class couples with children increased from
  3,041 to 3,600 --
• nearly 13 extra weeks of work per year.

18
More Children Live In Single Parent Families

• From 1970 to 1996, CT families headed by a single
  parent increased from 10 to 27.
• It is estimated the 1/2 of US children born in
  the1980s and in the 1990s will live apart from a
  parent before age 18.

19
Single Parent Families Are Disproportionately
Poor

• 62 of CTs working poor families are headed by
  single mothers (as compared to 48 nationally).
• Single CT mothers, with children under age 18,
  are
• 17 times more likely to be poor than CT couples
• with children the same age.

20
Risks to Children Continue and More Are Cared
for Out of Their Homes

• Abuse/Neglect In 1994, there were about 7,200
• open child abuse/neglect cases at DCF.
• Now, there are more than 14,000 open cases.
• Out-of-Home Care The number of children in
  out-of-home care continues to grow from 2,377
  in 1994 to 9,980 in 1999.

21
The National Governors Association Has
Identified A Critical Downside Of The New
Economy
Job growth in the new economy has become more
polarized (with) high-skill, high-wage,
technical and professional jobs that tend to be
full-time with generous benefits and low-skill,
low-wage, service jobs
that are often part time with few
benefits
22
In Connecticut, Service Jobs Have Replaced
Manufacturing Jobs 1989 - 2000

• Total Service Jobs Gained 123,000
• Manufacturing Jobs Lost 99,000
• (as of 7/00)

23
The Wages of Many New CT Service Jobs Qualify
Employees Children for the School Lunch Program

• Average Annual Wages -- Top 10 CT Service Sector
  Jobs
• Added Between 1992-1998
• Management and PR 86,189 Amusement
  Recreation 21,999
• Medical Offices/Clinics 62,333 Personnel
  Supply Services 22,927 Computer Related
  74,802 Misc. Business Services 29,956
• Home Health Care 20,260
• Nursing/Personal Care 25,760
  Residential Care 23,218
• Child Day Care 13,675
• Source The CT Economic Digest, December 1999

24
Why Does This Matter? Because Research Shows
That Child Poverty Has Predictable Negative
Outcomes

• ? Health problems--such as low birth
  weight, asthma and lead poisoning
• ? The risk of growing up in in unsafe home and
  neighborhood circumstances
• ? Impaired cognitive development
• ? Poor school outcomes

25
Katherine McFateThe Rockefeller Foundation

• The relationship between income inequality and
  educational inequality isat the core of our
  concern about the long-term social impacts of
  inequality.
• American education tends to fall short in
  providing a good education for the bottom 20 to
  30 of the income distribution.
• Source Economic Policy Review (Federal Reserve
  Bank of NY, 1999)

26
CT Ranks High Among States on National
Educational Performance Measures

• CT ranks 1 on 4th grade reading as well as 8th
  grade reading and writing (NAEP)
• CT ranks 5 in the nation on combined SAT scores
  (1019)
• CT ranks 7 in the nation on students passing AP
  exams (71)

27

• Yet Significant Educational Performance
  Disparities Exist Across Our Communities
• Students in ERG A -- as compared to ERG I -- are
• 2x more likely to attend preschool
• 5x more likely to pass the CMT at Grade 4
• 7x more likely to pass the CMT at Grade 8
• 12x more likely to pass the CAPT in 10th grade
• 14x more likely NOT to drop out of high
  school
• Source Strategic School Profiles, CT Department
  of Education, 1998-99
• Source KIDS Count Data Book, 1999

28
In CT, Higher Education Equals Higher Income

• Educational Level Median Salary
• No HS Degree
  14,920
• HS Degree 21,680
• Associates Degree 29,749
• Bachelors Degree 40,695
• Masters Degree 52,771
• Professional/Doctoral Degree
  93,714
• Source US Census, 1997
• Source KIDS Count Data Book, 1999
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation

29
Post-Secondary Education Is A Defensive Necessity
In Connecticuts The New Economy
30
Yet, CTs Cumulative High School Drop Out Rates
Are Too High

• Connecticuts 1998-99 cumulative drop out rate
  was 14.3.
• Source Strategic School Profiles, 1999

31
Finally, Many CT Families Are Caught in The
Digital Divide

• Unequal access to electronic information and
  services, and technology by
• Race
• Income
• Geography and Community
• Gender
• Age

32
Why Does This Matter? Because of the Critical
Role of Technology in The New Economy

• The number of US households connected to the
  Internet will increase from 44.4 million in 2000
  to 60 million in 2004.
• In 1998, Internet business transactions were
  valued at 43 billion. By 2003, IT business
  transactions are expected to reach 1.3 trillion.
• In 1999, American consumers spent 20 billion
  online. In 2004, they will spend an estimated
  184 billion, an increase of 900.
• By 2006, 49 of all private sector employees will
  work in industries that produce or are heavy
  users of IT equipment or services.

33
On Technology Measures, CTs Public Schools Rank
Poorly Against Those In Other States

• Connecticut ranks 42 out of all states in the
  infusion of technology in its K-12 public
  schools.
• CT ranks among the bottom ten on school-based
  technology sophistication, along with
  Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

34
And Children in Poorer Families have Less Home
Access to Computers and the Internet
35
It will take political will and imaginative
policies in education, economic development, and
social safety nets to harness the potential of
the new technologies to reverse the trend of
rising inequality. Laura Tyson, Haas School of
Business, Business Week, January 10, 2000
If states do not respond to these challenges and
create the right environment for businesses and
workers to succeed, they will lose the human and
physical capital that powers economic growth.
National Governors Association, 1999
36
What Does This All Mean In Fairfield County?
37
Fairfield County Districts By Highest and Lowest
ERG

• ERG A ERG B ERG H ERG I
• Darien Bethel Danbury Bridgeport
• Easton Brookfield Norwalk
• New Canaan Fairfield Stamford
• Redding Greenwich
• Ridgefield Monroe
• Weston New Fairfield
• Westport Newtown
• Wilton Trumbull

38
1998 Per Capita Income By Town and ERG
39
1997-98 of Children Whose Parents Have At Least
a Bachelors Degree By Town and ERG
40
1997-98 of Kindergartners Who Attended Formal
Preschool By Town and ERG (state average 72)
41
1998 of 4th Graders Who Passed the CMT State
Goal in Reading By Town and ERG
42
School enrollment 1998-99 by Town and ERG
43
There is now only one CT child for every three CT
adults. We have no children to waste...
Connecticuts workforce for the next 20 years has
already been born.
44

• School Readiness Policy Issues
• I. Kids must be ready for school
• --Connecticuts children need stable, caring,
  functionally literate adults in their lives while
  they are young and the opportunity for
  learning-based preschool experiences so they
  start school ready to learn
• --They also need economically secure, safe and
  healthy home and neighborhood environments while
  they are in school, so they arrive ready to learn
  each day
• Source KIDS Count Data Book, 1999
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation

45

• School Readiness Policy Issues
• II. Schools must be ready for kids
• --Schools must be appropriately staffed and
  resourced, including with technology. And schools
  must be safe places open for activity through
  afternoon hours
• --Schools need strong formal partnerships with
  parents, other agencies serving kids and
  families, and with the business community
• --Schools need to address, through curriculum and
  enrichment activities, the varied learning
  backgrounds, experiences and styles of todays
  young people

46

• Some Questions to Frame A School and Workforce
  Readiness ACTION Agenda For The Connecticut
  Business Community
• I. Start Early
• 1. Do your business practices promote parental
  involvement among your employees when their kids
  are young?
• 2. Are you willing to advocate for learning-based
  preschool opportunities for all kids in your
  community and our state

47

• Some Questions to Frame A School and Workforce
  Readiness ACTION Agenda For The Connecticut
  Business Community
• II. Expect Public Accomplishment By All of CTs
  Kids
• 1. Does your business or organization expect CTs
  youngsters to be able to read at grade level by
  4th grade and to be technologically competent by
  6th grade?
• 2. Will your organization participate in creation
  of real opportunities for young people, beginning
  in middle school, to learn about and experience a
  wide range of work and career options?
• 3. Will you use your considerable power of
  persuasion to support changes in policy, program
  and resources to accomplish this?

48

• Some Questions to Frame A School and Workforce
  Readiness ACTION Agenda For The Connecticut
  Business Community
• III. Dont Accept Less than High School
  Completion
• 1. Will your business or organization work to
  continue and expand opportunities, linked to
  career and work opportunities, that encourage and
  incentive school completion?
• 2. Will you support the expansion of need-based
  aid for higher education for CTs future college
  students?

49

• Some Questions to Frame A School and Workforce
  Readiness ACTION Agenda For The Connecticut
  Business Community
• IV. Focus on Parents and Their Learning Too
• 1. Does your business have resources that can
  assist parents to re-invent their skills and
  competence appropriate to economic requirements
  and opportunities in The New Economy?
• 2. Can your business offer media and marketing
  help to send the message about the importance of
  lifelong learning and skills re-invention?

50
20

• Connecticuts workforce for the next 20 years has
  already been born. What happens next is largely
  up to us...

51

• For more information or for a copy that you can
  use
• contact
• CT Voices for Children
• 203.498.4240
• Janice Gruendel, Ph.D. -- JMRab_at_aol.com
• Shelley Geballe, JD, MPH -- Yalie4567_at_aol.com
• www.ctkidslink.org