Crisco announces $300,000 housing-rehab grants

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. , D-Woodbridge, today announced the award of two $300,000 grants – one each for housing rehabilitation projects in Ansonia and Derby.
Crisco said the grants are part of the federal government’s Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, administered in Connecticut by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Crisco worked on behalf of both the Ansonia and Derby applications while they were under consideration by DECD officials. Projects to qualify for funding through the Small Cities Grant program usually include economic development initiatives, construction of affordable housing, and improvement of municipal facilities or community centers.

“The Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program is vital to the well-being of small cities like Ansonia and Derby, this year allowing them to pursue general rehabilitation projects that simply must be completed to improve the quality of life for residents, and completing them without increasing local property taxes,” Crisco said. “I’m grateful for the favorable consideration by DECD officials of these local applications.”

In a general sense, the collaborative federal/state program provides financial assistance to low- and moderate-income applicants for a variety of housing rehabilitation needs including window and roof replacement, other weatherization improvements, and heating system upgrades.

“In each of these cities, the plan to use these funds to rehabilitate designated housing stock clearly demonstrates the value of the state’s Small Cities Grant program, because if either city was left on its own, there simply wouldn’t be enough money in the budget to address the issue,” Crisco said. “It’s always very gratifying to see how these partnerships – in this case between all three levels of government – bring beneficial projects to fruition, bringing relief to residents and municipal budgets alike.”


The above is a press release from Crisco's office.

Crisco: School readiness options coming to Ansonia, Naugatuck, Hamden

Senator lauds education reform

 State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, this week welcomed confirmation from the governor’s office of 46 new school readiness opportunities for eligible children in Ansonia, Hamden, and Naugatuck.
The 21 new pre-kindergarten slots in Ansonia, 10 in Hamden, and 15 in Naugatuck are among the 1,000 created statewide by this year’s new public education reform law.

Beyond these opportunities to help early learners acquire essential skills for kindergarten, the new law enhances primary school reading programs, creates or fortifies 20 school-based health centers, and establishes ten school-based family resource centers.

“When this bill was under consideration I felt strongly the state should maximize its commitment to school readiness, and I’m delighted the resulting law provides for 1,000 young students, 46 of them right here in the 17^th Senatorial District,” Crisco said. “These opportunities will help ensure these students enter kindergarten with adequate and age-appropriate communications and math skills. “

“Just as importantly, school readiness programs help teachers, parents, and students alike identify potential obstacles to learning so they can be addressed in a timely fashion, and they provide social and emotional readiness as well,” Crisco added.

All told, $6.775 million in new funding for increased access to high-quality early childhood education is made available through PA 12-116, An Act Concerning Education Reform. 

The slots are to be administered through the Connecticut School Readiness program, a state Department of Education initiative designed to strengthen and increase access to high-quality preschool for children ages three and four.

“Connecticut has an additional, time-sensitive need to emphasize school readiness among its youngest students so every one of them is fully prepared to maximize his or her educational opportunity,”  Crisco said.  “Connecticut has an untenable achievement gap between its highest-performing students and those who don’t perform as well. Early childhood education to ensure school readiness is the best antidote for that achievement gap.”

The above is taken from a release from Crisco's office.  

Crisco backs Supreme Court ruling on health care

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, Senate chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, today embraced the decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court upholding the major tenets of the federal Affordable Care Act. 

Crisco said many aspects of healthcare reform undertaken by the federal government have already been enacted in Connecticut.

As insurance committee chairman Crisco has successfully expanded insurance coverage to include new screening and diagnostic procedures, has worked to improve consumer options and increase transparency with regard to insurance rates, and has supported economies of scale, giving more people access to coverage through insurance pooling.

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling provides dramatic reaffirmation that we’re on the right track with regard to healthcare reform in Connecticut and encourages us to recommit to the process already underway,” Crisco said. “The goal remains to provide increased access to affordable, high-quality healthcare – we believe expanding the pool of those insured sufficiently spreads risk and responsibility to control costs for individuals, families, businesses, and both private and public insurers.”

Crisco said Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange is another initiative meant to make information about health insurance options available to residents, and will play a key role as the state continues preparing for full ACA implementation in 2014.

“Connecticut has made great strides in its approach to improved healthcare, through preventative care, expanded options for consumers and insurance providers alike, and with optional, extended coverage for children through the age of 26,” Crisco said. “Today’s decision upholds our belief that effective healthcare reform must include all stakeholders, must be comprehensive in its scope in terms of coverage, cost, and eligibility, and perhaps most importantly of all, must be ongoing.”

“I heartily endorse the decision announced today and look forward to further implementation of healthcare reform in Connecticut so more residents have access to affordable, meaningful health insurance coverage,” Crisco said.

This is from a release from Crisco's Senate office.

Crisco wins expansion of captive insurance incentives

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco Jr., D-Woodbridge, Senate chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, won legislative approval this week for his continuing work to make Connecticut more receptive to the nations’ captive insurance industry.  

Crisco’s latest initiatives were included in one of the state budget implementation bills approved during Tuesday’s Special Session.

Captive insurance is an emerging strategy for financial risk management in business, in which companies, groups of companies, or associations form subsidiaries specifically designed to protect and insure the assets of the parent company, group, or association.

“As more and more business entities find it more and more difficult to secure traditional insurance coverage these captive insurance arrangements are growing in popularity, and I want to be sure Connecticut is receptive to this emerging industry in terms of its regulatory climate,” Crisco said. “I’m pleased to have received legislative support for the revisions included in this week’s budget implementers.”

Crisco said this week’s legislation eliminates the state’s separate, non-lapsing account dedicated to captive insurance-related fees and assessments and simply directs that revenue to the state’s general Insurance Fund.

“The more we can streamline our state regulations specific to these types of reinsurance strategies the more likely we are to attract new business and capital to our state from this growing sector,” Crisco said. “Connecticut has become more receptive to captive insurance companies because legislation enacted last fall underscores our intention to expand the definition of ‘Insurance Capital of the World’ into this new part of the industry, and this week’s success continues that trend to promote economic development and generate jobs and revenue.”

Crisco said the captive insurance option for companies is likely to become more and more popular because in-house premiums are often lower and likewise, in-house claims procedures are often less complicated and time-consuming.

The above information is from a release from Crisco's office. 

Crisco supports education reform bill

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, today voted with a Senate majority for a comprehensive package of public education reforms deemed a priority for the session. Crisco said the bill begins the lengthy process of reform with a goal to provide Connecticut children and families a chance to capitalize on all the opportunities inherent in a good education.

Crisco said the bill represents compromise among many of the governor’s original proposals, priorities of legislative leaders, and suggestions from stakeholders: teachers, administrators, parents, reform advocates, and policy experts.

“As an integral part of a sustained economic development strategy, public education reform is properly placed in the spotlight this year,” Crisco said. “These meaningful changes address everything from school readiness for young children, to the turnaround of failing schools, to teacher certification and evaluation standards, all with the goal of preparing students for the 21st century’s global marketplace.”
Crisco highlighted several landmark reforms and initiatives among the lengthy and painstakingly negotiated legislation:

• 1,000 new school readiness slots, recognizing the undeniable value of early childhood education.
•  At least 20 new or expanded school-based health clinics, understanding that a healthy mind depends upon a healthy body.

• At least 10 new Family Resource Centers, to involve more families in their children’s education.

• Two new literacy initiatives, because reading proficiency is the foundation of learning in every discipline and subject area.

• Direct intervention of the state Department of Education at under-performing schools, utilizing School Governance Councils comprised of administrators, teachers, parents, and other local talent.

• Incentives for and evaluations of ever-improving, professional teachers and administrators, acknowledging and respecting that no one is better suited to improve student achievement than the teachers who lead Connecticut’s classrooms and the principals and superintendents who lead Connecticut’s schools and school districts.

•  Modest funding increases for vocational/technical and vocational/agricultural schools, charter and magnet schools, and a kindergarten through 8th grade science initiative, with a move to a uniform accounting system to better track school funding and accurately gauge per pupil costs from district to district.

The above release was provided by Crisco's office.

Crisco wins Senate vote for study of pediatric disorder's causes, treatment

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, Senate chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Monday ushered through the Senate his bill to compel a study of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS).
Crisco said language of the bill requires an exploration of the ‘research on, diagnoses made and treatments prescribed’ for the syndrome.

He said PANDAS seems to be caused by strep or other infections, when antibodies made to fight the infection mistakenly attack instead the portion of the brain that controls thought and muscle function.

“The incidence of PANDAS, while still rare, is increasing at an alarming rate and compounding our concern is the suddenness with which it strikes: I read about one case in which parents sent their child to school one morning without a worry and then were called mid-morning about their child’s acute case of PANDAS,” Crisco said. “This bill will launch an examination of this phenomenon with results due back to the General Assembly by next January 1.”

Crisco explained one of the first obstacles to a complete understanding of PANDAS is the fact there is no test for the condition but rather, doctors use a combined diagnosis of up to five individual criteria.

“PANDAS cannot be treated with antibiotics as most other infections are treated because in this disorder the infection isn’t the culprit – the antibodies are,” Crisco said.
 “Another unsolved aspect of the puzzle is seemingly arbitrary susceptibility to PANDAS: the condition seems related to streptococcal or other infections but will not develop in every child who winds up with a strep infection.”

“In order for our state to better understand this emerging condition and prepare itself to help residents stricken by it we simply have to learn more about it and this initiative sets in motion that exploratory phase,” Crisco added. “This bill received the approval of three separate legislative committees and I’m delighted with today’s favorable Senate vote – I now call upon our counterparts in the House for their prompt review and approval.”


This information was released by Crisco's office.