A new state program will train people who frequently work with children and adolescents how best to recognize and respond to mental disorders. The initiative was created as a result of landmark gun legislation Gov. Malloy signed into law last month and is part of an effort at both the state and national level to improve mental health first aid in schools. Early intervention, advocates say, can help prevent tragedies that result from undiagnosed mental health disorders.
“Making mental health training more easily accessible will prepare primary care professionals, families, school personnel and educators to identify and understand students in crisis, improve early intervention when students are displaying disturbing or threatening behavior in schools and ensure these young people receive the treatment they require,” said Malloy.
At the end of May, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will hold a five-day training program to certify 30 people. Once certified, those individuals will teach Mental Health First Aid in communities across the state to teachers, social workers and other “interested parties.”
The state House of Representatives granted final legislative approval to a bill that restores state veterans benefits those discharged under the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
Senate Bill 70 applies to veterans who were denied federal benefits due to the policy barring gays and lesbians from serving in the armed services.
Under the bill, those veterans would now be eligible for an array of state benefits, including residency in the state veterans home and burial in the state cemetery for veterans.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) has demonstrated in his campaign that he is at least capable of jumping into the Senate’s divisive gun control debate after releasing an attack ad that targets his opponent, Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez, on guns.
“Gomez is against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting,” a voice narrates. The ad then plays a clip of Gomez saying he does not support banning high capacity magazines.
“Markey blames me for the horrific Newtown shooting,” Gomez said in response to the ad, accusing his opponent of “exploiting a tragedy for political gain.”
Whether the ad will result in a successful election for Markey is yet to be determined, but the fact that a candidate in a high-profile U.S. Senate race has paid for an ad on this topic does reflect a shift since Newtown. After the legislation itself was defeated, advocates vowed to make gun control an election issue in 2014 midterm elections. Ads like these suggest they have done so sooner.
State Rep. Toni Walker, the co-chairwoman of the legislature’s powerful appropriations committee, made an impassioned plea to preserve the social services safety net in the face of looming budget cuts.
“We’re in a crisis, my friends,” Walker, D-New Haven, told members of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, who were gathered for a symposium at the legislative office building Friday morning. “I’m being told that people are proposing that we cut $400 million more out of the budget.”
Walker urged those in the audience to contact lawmakers to lobby them against additional cuts.
“I don’t like to use names so I won’t do that, but I will say if you do call legislators, call them from either Wethersfield or Middletown, or Milford or Waterbury because they seem to feel that we spend too much money,” Walker said.
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Gina McCarthy, former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
This was the second vote the committee scheduled on McCarthy’s nomination after Republicans last week boycotted a meeting – drawing sharp criticism from Democrats who cried obstructionism.
The committee vote was split 10-8, down party lines. McCarthy’s nomination will now go to the full Senate for consideration. Four years ago, McCarthy was confirmed by the full Senate to lead the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. She also previously worked for former Republican Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney.
Sen. Blumenthal on Thursday signed onto legislation to address a growing crisis over sexual assault in the military. A Department of Defense Report released last week found that in fiscal year 2012 there were 26,000 cases of sexual assault, a 37 percent increase from the previous year.
The Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 has 18 co-sponsors in the House and Senate. It would separate the chain of command influence from the prosecution of crimes committed in the military. It would prevent high-ranking officers from being able to influence the decision of how a sexual assault case is prosecuted.
Today he will hold a press conference in Hartford with women’s rights advocates to urge Congress to address the issue.
House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero maintained his position Thursday that no one ever left $5,000 in cash in his office refrigerator, despite testimony to the contrary by a cooperating witness at a trial in New Haven.
Cafero made his statement following the release of a new video of Cafero and the witness that was shown Thursday at the criminal trial in the campaign finance scandal that led to last year’s Congressional defeat of House Speaker Christopher Donovan.
“I stick by my story 1,000 percent,” Cafero told Capitol Watch.
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The state Senate unanimously passed a bill that places strict new limits on the use of tanning beds by teenagers.
The bill has proven controversial in years past but on Thursday, it cleared the chamber after less than 10 minutes of debate. The agreement this year “reflects a consensus compromise that really does meet the public health needs of the state, recognizing that this practice is in fact dangerous with long term consequences,” said Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney.
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Connecticut would become the first state in the nation to mandate the recycling of mattresses, whose disposal has become an ongoing problem in major cities.
The measure passed by 28 to 8 in the state Senate on Thursday afternoon, coming after bipartisan approval in the state House of Representatives by 117 to 21. Some of the negative votes came from senators who opposed the fee that will be charged on all consumers – even those in areas where mattress disposal is not a major issue.
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A highly controversial bill that threatened to remove municipal legal notices from newspapers suffered a blow Tuesday, but the bill was still alive Thursday at the Capitol.
The bill was placed on the “foot” of the Senate calendar, which means that the Senate will not be voting on the measure in the immediate future and possibly will not vote at all. Traditionally, a bill placed on the “foot” of the calendar lacks the necessary support for passage.
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