A new report finds the well-being of Connecticut's kids is wavering in the pandemic's aftermath. The state ranks 8th in the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data Book, up from 9th last year.

While the state advanced kids' economic well-being, progress stagnated in education. Fourth graders not proficient in reading and eighth graders not proficient in math grew exponentially.

Emily Byrne, executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, said the report's recommendations can improve children's academic performance.

"Ensuring access to low or no-cost school meals, reliable internet connections and a place to study, and time to be with friends, teachers, and counselors," she said. "Another recommendation is around expanding access to intensive tutoring for students who are behind in their classes."

She added improving a family's economic security contributes to a child's learning ability, and said the state should invest in families and children through a state child tax credit. Connecticut's General Assembly considered legislation establishing such a credit during its legislative session. It would have provided families $600 per child for up to three children. But the bill failed to pass.

Another issue Connecticut is dealing with is chronic classroom absences.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said states and schools should track chronic absenteeism as many states don't track this data by grade.

"Good data can lead to good policy," she explained. "So, it's important that states look at chronic absenteeism data that schools collected, they look at it by grade, and they look at strategies that can be deployed that can reduce chronic absenteeism, particularly since it's at an all-time high."

A Connecticut State Department of Education report finds absenteeism declined to 20% from almost 24% in the 2022-2023 school year. This means around 28,000 more students were attending school. Despite this, absenteeism for all students still exceeds pre-pandemic levels.

CORRECTION: The number of reports to Virginia Child Protective Services that are found to include abuse or neglect is just under 3,000. An earlier version of this story said 'more than 1,000.' (4:17 p.m. MDT, Dec. 30, 2024) )

Virginia's child welfare system grapples with a surge of unfounded reports that critics say stem from overly broad mandatory reporting laws, disrupting families and straining resources.

Just under 3,000 of more than 90,000 annual reports to Child Protective Services are 'founded,' meaning abuse or neglect was determined to have occurred after an investigation, said Valerie L'Herrou, deputy director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center's Center for Family Advocacy.

L'Herrou explained that some parents are forced into impossible choices because of poverty, and can face neglect accusations even though their actions stem from economic necessity, not intentional disregard for their children's well-being.

"And that's when the nosy neighbor picks up the phone and calls CPS," she said, "and so these are the kinds of things: a family's water gets turned off because they can't afford to pay their water bill and so kids show up to school unbathed, and the teacher calls CPS."

L'Herrou said agencies such as the Virginia Department of Social Services are now classifying some situations as "Poverty Adjacent Neglect," acknowledging that families often lack the resources they need. She advocated for solutions that address these root causes, including raising the minimum wage, strengthening programs such as SNAP and TANF, and expanding access to affordable child care.

Mandatory reporting laws have also created a dilemma for teachers, doctors and other professionals. Anna Daniszewski, a staff attorney for family defense at the VPLC, emphasized that people often fail to recognize the enduring and traumatic consequences of a false report to Child Protective Services.

"There's still harm in a call that leads to an assessment or inquiry or investigation that turns out to be unfounded," she said. "Depending on if the report is about a bruise on an arm, a child might be strip-searched, and that's obviously traumatic, or even just the experience of having CPS knock on your door."

Advocates have said one solution would be using family resource centers to allow parents to ask for help without the fear of involving CPS. They also want better training for mandatory reporters.

Teachers are the top reporters of neglect and abuse, and groups such as the American Federation of Teachers now support an approach known as "mandated support," giving them a broader range of options beyond mandatory reporting.

A Missouri-based therapy dog has an inspiring journey that began as a homeless stray on the streets of Los Angeles.

Olive, a ten-pound poodle mix, is now the lead character in a new children's book titled, "Olive, She's All Love." She was rescued by Brandon McMillan, host of CBS's "Lucky Dog," where she received specialized training and became a certified therapy dog.

Lisa Groves-Bax, a children's advocate and owner of Therapy Paws, became Olive's owner in 2016, where the dog has been used to comfort Missouri children in the court system and inspired Groves-Bax to share her story. She said their mission to support kids who are hurting extends beyond the courtroom.

"There's schools, there's foster homes, there's libraries, all these places who are wanting a therapy dog just to help with kiddos," Groves-Bax outlined. "We have 23 certified handlers along with their certified therapy dogs, and three currently in training."

Olive is scheduled to visit Glasgow's Lewis Library and grade school Jan. 8 for an event for kindergartners through grade five.

Deborah Zemke, illustrator of the book, will also be there to share more about Olive's work. She said working on this book brought about a unique experience in her career.

"I've done a lot of books. This is the first time that I've, like, met my hero character in person before I started," Zemke recounted. "That was kind of unusual and kind of fun."

"Olive, She's all Love" can be found online and at local bookstores.


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Child tax credits offer a financial lifeline to parents and can lift children out of poverty, according to a report from New Mexico's Voices for Children.

Jacob Vigil, deputy policy director for the nonprofit, noted in addition to federal child tax credits, New Mexico is one of 16 states with its own child tax credit. He said the credits, including refundable credits, are among the most effective ways to fight poverty because they return money directly to families who know best how to address their specific needs.

"These tax credits play a really important non-stigmatizing role in providing assistance to families in most need of support," Vigil explained.

In New Mexico, Vigil pointed out the state returned $132 million to almost 240,000 households this year through the state's child tax credit program. The credit varies by income level, with the largest credits available to low-income families. Because it is refundable, families can receive the full amount for which they are eligible regardless of their tax liability.

Studies show generous tax credits can lead to long-term improvements in health and higher earnings in adulthood, and also improve school performance, which increases college attendance rates. According to Vigil, extra federal child tax credits provided to families during the pandemic had a huge effect on the state's children.

"With the expansion of the federal CTC and it being refundable temporarily in 2021, that was 450,000 kids -- and that's 95% of the child population -- 32,000 children lifted out of poverty," Vigil reported.

Post pandemic, the federal child tax credit is no longer fully refundable, which means 36% of New Mexico families earning the lowest incomes are unable to access the full federal credit, while at the same time, a married couple making up to $400,000 receives the full amount of the tax credit.