E-Notes
April 29, 2005

In this issue of E-Notes, you'll find:

A.  SAVE THE DATES: UPCOMING VOICES EVENTS
*  Whiffenpoofs Benefit Concert - May 4
*  Foster Care Financing Reform Forum - May 12
*  Youth Spirit Awards - May 25

B.  NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM CT VOICES
*  Making Up for Lost Ground: 10 Key Points About the Proposed FY 2006
Budgets
*  The Connecticut Corporation Business Tax:  Frequently Asked Questions
*  The Crisis in Funding for State-Funded Child Development Centers
*  K-12 and Higher Education in Connecticut
*  More Children Receiving Preventive Dental Care in HUSKY Program, But Most
Still Do Not Get Preventive Visits
*  Seven Things You Should Know About The Tax Foundation Report on "Tax
Freedom Day"

C.  WATCH OUR VIDEOS OF INFORMATIVE SPEAKERS


A.  SAVE THE DATES: UPCOMING VOICES EVENTS

1.  Whiffenpoofs Benefit Concert - May 4

If you haven't yet RSVPed for the Whiffenpoofs benefit concert for CT Voices
for Children on Wednesday May 4, we still have seats available!  Please
reserve yours quickly.  Yale University's renowned a cappella group has
recently sung at The White House (and on West Wing!), on the Jane Pauley
Show and the Today show, and each summer take a three-month-long
round-the-world tour, bringing their spirit and voice across the globe.
Please join us on May 4 from 6 to 8 pm at the Carousel at Lighthouse Point
in New Haven.

The suggested minimum donation is $100 (all but $35 of your donation is
tax-deductible). Please RSVP as soon as possible by phone (203-498-4240) or
e-mail (veronica@ctki...) and make your check payable to Connecticut
Voices for Children.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/announcement_25.html

2.  Foster Care Financing Reform Forum - May 12

CT Voices will host a forum on options for the state and federal government
to reform the financing of child welfare and foster care services to improve
services and outcomes for children in DCF care (or at risk of placement into
DCF).  Carl Valentine (one of the nation's experts on child welfare
financing options) and John O'Brien (a national expert on the Medicaid
rehabilitation option) will be joined by Professor Mark Testa of the
University of Illinois (who has been central to the Pew Charitable
Trust-funded Fostering Results initiative that seeks federal financing
reforms).  The experts will address topics such as:
*  CT-specific recommendations for reform
*  Options for restructuring current financing as a catalyst for program
change
*  Options for maximizing federal Medicaid and child welfare funds
*  The recommendations of the national Pew Commission on Children in Foster
Care
*  The potential impacts of federal budget changes on Connecticut's child
welfare system

The forum will take place on Thursday, May 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
in Room 1B of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.  Further details
will be posted on the CT Voices Web site.   If you are interested in
attending, please e-mail katiem@ctki....

3.  Youth Spirit Awards - May 25

Connecticut Voices invites you to join us at the 9th Annual Youth Spirit
Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 25, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  This
year's ceremony will take place at The Lyceum, 227 Lawrence Street, in
Hartford.  Our special guests will include Governor M. Jodi Rell and
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

The Youth Spirit Awards recognize Connecticut youth who have shown an
extraordinary ability to overcome adversity. Come hear the issues and ideas
that are on the minds of young people today.  The event is free and open to
the public.

Please RSVP by phone 203-498-4240, fax 203-498-4242 or e-mail
veronica@ctki... by May 13.  For a list of this year's awardees, see
our Web site:
http://www.ctkidslink.org/announcement_27.html


B.  NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM CT VOICES

1.  Making Up for Lost Ground: 10 Key Points About the Proposed FY 2006
Budgets

This report highlights key points of comparison between the two FY 06
proposed state budgets: one proposed by Governor Rell and the other by the
Appropriations and Finance Committees, including that: a) the two budgets
differ by just 1.6% and both increase spending in FY 05 by more than $1
billion to make up for the steep cuts made in the last deficit years; b)
despite new proposed new spending under both budgets, proposed funding in FY
06 would be less than FY 02 actual spending for many state agencies and less
than is necessary to maintain current services for many more; c) both
budgets would exceed the state spending cap to secure additional federal
Medicaid funding; d) both budgets include new funding to compensate for
federal funding cuts and partially funded federal mandates (such as No Child
Left Behind); and e) the Finance Committee's proposed budget would go
further than the Governor's in addressing the structural deficit and making
CT's overall state and local taxes more fair, since it relies on a more
progressive income tax and transfer tax that would be paid only by our
wealthiest families, and not on sin taxes as the Governor proposes.  

The report also discusses, in some detail, the ways in which the current
definition of the spending cap works at cross purposes to its original
intent - to tie state budget growth to growth in CT's economy.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_233.html

2.  The Crisis in Funding for State-Funded Child Development Centers

This short report demonstrates that diminishing state funding has put child
care centers in a fiscal squeeze, threatening the survival of the centers
and access to quality child care for Connecticut families. It combines an
analysis of state budget cuts in recent years with a survey of state-funded
child care centers, examining the impact of these cutbacks.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_228.html

3.  The Connecticut Corporation Business Tax: Frequently Asked Questions

This updated fact sheet addresses common questions and misunderstandings
about corporate taxes and tax expenditures in Connecticut.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_157.html

4.  K-12 and Higher Education in Connecticut

A fact sheet highlighting key data on K-12 and higher education in
Connecticut.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_232.html

5.  More Children Receiving Preventive Dental Care in HUSKY Program, But
Most Still Do Not Get Preventive Visits

Thousands more children are receiving dental care from the state's HUSKY
health insurance program, continuing a three-year trend of gradual
improvement, according to this study. However, despite these gains, most
children (60%) enrolled in HUSKY did not get any preventive dental care.
Although pediatric and dental health care guidelines call for two preventive
visits per year, few children (13%) had more than one preventive visit in
2003.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_229.html

6.  Seven Things You Should Know About The Tax Foundation Report on "Tax
Freedom Day"

The Tax Foundation annually releases a national report on "Tax Freedom Day,"
which it defines as the day when Americans have earned enough money to pay
their total tax bill for the year. As this fact sheet outlines, the report
includes much erroneous and misleading information.
http://www.ctkidslink.org/pub_detail_230.html


C.  WATCH OUR VIDEOS OF INFORMATIVE SPEAKERS

If you couldn't make it to recent CT Voices informational forums, you can
watch them from the comfort of your armchair!  We've posted several
streaming videos of Voices-sponsored event to our Web site.

Speakers at our February State Budget Forum, addressing the impact of
proposed state and federal budget proposals, included:

*  Shelley Geballe & Ellen Scalettar, CT Voices for Children
*  Spencer Cain, Office of Fiscal Analysis
*  Sharon Parrott, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
*  Robert Tannenwald, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
http://www.ctkidslink.org/video.html

Also, recent speakers at the Inventive Views series, co-sponsored by
Partnership for Strong Communities and CT Voices, included:

*  Robert Tannenwald, Director, New England Public Policy Center at the
Federal Reserve of Boston
*  Barry Nalebuff, Author of "Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to
Solve Problems Big and Small"
http://www.ctkidslink.org/inventive.html

-----------------------------------------

Connecticut Voices for Children
New Haven office: 33 Whitney Ave, New Haven CT 06510, (203) 498-4240
Hartford office: 60 Gillett St, Hartford CT 06105, (860) 548-1661
www.ctkidslink.org
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