Children
research guide
- Table of contents
The Office of Legislative Research writes nonpartisan reports for legislators on various topics. Recent reports related to the Committee on Children’s subject areas include:
Child Pornography Possession and Other Sex Crimes Convictions – 2024-R-0041
Laws on the Use of Cameras in Child Care Facilities – 2023-R-0008
Points of Entry for Early Childhood Care and Education in Connecticut – 2023-R-0249
2023 Acts Affecting Children – 2023-R-0146
Termination of Parental Rights in Sexual Assault Cases – 2022-R-0283
Department of Children and Families Reunification Process – 2022-R-0057
Parental Control and Teenagers’ Rights – 2022-R-0197
Department of Children and Families Language Interpretation and Translation Services – 2022-R-0267
Child Care Staffing Ratios in Connecticut and Select States – 2022-R-0212
Acts Affecting Children – 2022-R-0138
Connecticut Law on Background Checks for Child Care Employees – 2021-R-0105
State agencies
Dept. of Children and Families
State boards, commissions, and task forces
Office of the Child Advocate Advisory Committee
Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity
Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee
State Interagency Birth to Three Coordinating Council
Federal government
Administration for Children and Families – part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services; promotes the economic and social well-being of families
Children’s Bureau – part of the Administration for Children and Families; focuses on the health and well-being of children
Child Welfare Information Gateway – part of the Children’s Bureau
Other organizations
Connecticut Voices for Children
Other online resources
Research guides by the Judicial Branch Law Libraries:
Connecticut law about child abuse and neglect
Connecticut law about child custody and visitation
Connecticut law about child support
Connecticut law about leaving a child alone
Marquette Benefits & Social Welfare Law Review – Marquette University Law School; access through HeinOnline from anywhere with a Connecticut State Library card, or through Westlaw.
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) – from the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES): “provides access to bibliographic records of journal and non-journal literature from 1966 to the present.”
National Academies Press – Legislative Library subscription; see librarian.
NCSL Child Support and Family Law Legislation Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation from 2012-present.
NCSL Child Welfare Enacted Legislation Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation from 2012-present.
NCSL Early Childhood Legislation Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation from 2019-present.
NCSL Juvenile Justice Bill Tracking Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Tracks legislation from 2008-present.
NCSL Maternal and Child Health Database – from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tracks legislation from 2017-present.
Social Science Database – from ProQuest: “Social Science Database offers indexing and full text for hundreds of academic journals, providing extensive coverage across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, communication, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology.” Access from anywhere with a Connecticut State Library card.
Please note this is not an exhaustive list. Contact the library for these and other reports.
Background check precertification processBackground check precertification process – by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to PA 18-137 s.25
Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) expenditure and priority group enrollment report – quarterly report by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to CGS 17b-749(k)
Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity annual report – pursuant to CGS 2-128(b)
Conditions of confinement for incarcerated youth age 15 to 21 at Manson Youth Institution and York Correctional Institution – biennial report by the Office of the Child Advocate; pursuant to CGS 46a-13l(a)(12)
Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership annual report – by the Dept. of Children and Families, Dept. of Social Services, and Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services; pursuant to CGS 17a-22m
Connecticut Birth to Three System annual data report – by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to CGS 17a-248b
Connecticut children’s behavioral health plan – annual report by the Dept. of Children and Families and the Children’s Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board; pursuant to CGS 17a-22bb and CGS 17a-22ff
Connecticut Family Support Council annual report; pursuant to CGS 17a-219c
Dept. of Public Health licensure of the Alfred J. Solnit Children’s CenterDept. of Public Health licensure of the Alfred J. Solnit Children’s Center – by the Dept. of Children and Families; pursuant to SA 19-16
Detention diversion and release planDetention diversion and release plan – by the Judicial Branch and the Dept. of Children and Families; pursuant to PA 16-147 s.5(b)
Early childhood accountability report – annual report by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to CGS 10-503(c)
Family assessment response program annual data report – by the UConn School of Social Work, Performance Improvement Center; pursuant to CGS 17a-101g(g)(11)
Feasibility of decreasing time between child’s arrest and initial court appearance, and of weekly reporting program between child’s arrest and adjudicationFeasibility of decreasing time between child’s arrest and initial court appearance, and of weekly reporting program between child’s arrest and adjudication – by the Judicial Branch; pursuant to PA 21-33 s.13
Findings and recommendations to improve care for children with developmental disabilities and their families – two reports by the Medical Assistance Program Oversight Council’s Developmental Disabilities Work Group; pursuant to CGS 17b-28(k)
Frequency and use of physical restraint and seclusion on children and youth 20 or younger at Manson Youth Institution – annual report by the Dept. of Correction; pursuant to CGS 17a-22bb(g)
Home Visitation Program Consortium annual report – pursuant to CGS 17a-22gg
Investigation, assessment and case-planning procedures for children with intellectual and developmental disabilitiesInvestigation, assessment and case-planning procedures for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities – by the Dept. of Children and Families; pursuant to PA 18-71 s.2
Lead poisoning prevention efforts: childhood blood lead surveillance and lead hazards inspection and abatement activities – annual report by the Dept. of Public Health; pursuant to CGS 19a-111i(a)
Nurturing Families Network annual report – by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to CGS 17b-751b
Plan for waiver of licensure requirements for certain providersPlan for waiver of licensure requirements for certain providers – by the Dept. of Public Health; pursuant to PA 22-47 s.1
Plan to establish licensure by reciprocity for speech and language pathologists and occupational therapistsPlan to establish licensure by reciprocity for speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists – by the Dept. of Public Health; pursuant to PA 22-81 s.26
Racial justice data, activities and strategies – annual report by the Dept. of Children and Families pursuant to CGS 17a-6e
RBA (Results-Based Accountability) children’s report cardRBA (Results-Based Accountability) children’s report card – by the Committee on Children; pursuant to CGS 2-53m
Remote Learning Commission reportRemote Learning Commission report – published by the state Dept. of Education; pursuant to PA 21-2 s.387 June
School readiness and child day care spaces – quarterly report by the Office of Early Childhood; pursuant to PA 16-3 s.94 May
START: Homeless youth program – annual report by the Dept. of Children and Families and the Dept. of Housing; pursuant to CGS 17a-62a
Task Force to Study the Comprehensive Needs of Children in the State final reportTask Force to Study the Comprehensive Needs of Children in the State final report – pursuant to PA 21-46 s.30
Two-Generational (2Gen) Initiative annual report – by the Two-Generational Advisory Board; pursuant to CGS 17b-112l
For OLR Reports and other materials related to the Committee on Children’s work, index headings include:
Child Abuse
Child Advocate
Children And Families Department
Children’s Rights
Juveniles
Juveniles-Delinquency
Juveniles-Employment
Juveniles-Legislation
Juveniles-Pregnancy
The library assigns topical index headings to all OLR Reports and keeps hard copies of the reports organized by these index headings. Reports from 1994 to the present are in the library’s file cabinets (aka the “vertical files”) in the red-tabbed folders, as well as online in full text. Older reports are in two sets of bound volumes (one set for the 1970s, and one for 1980-1993) on the library’s shelves.
The same index headings the library uses for OLR Reports have been used to organize over 600 subject files of materials such as newspaper clippings, court decisions, press releases, pamphlets, and other resources that would be more difficult to locate if they were dispersed throughout the library’s general collection. The subject files are in the blue-tabbed folders in the file cabinets. (Many of the items in these folders have also been digitized by the library, and their electronic versions can be found in the library’s intranet catalog.)
Research guides by the Judicial Branch Law Libraries:
Best Interest of the Child Standard in Connecticut
Child Abuse and Neglect in Connecticut
For the past several years, almost all newly published items added to the library’s collection have been in electronic format only. These items are accessible in full text through the library’s intranet catalog. Many old print materials have also been digitized and uploaded to the library’s catalog.
To get a general sense of a subject’s history, however, you may find it useful to browse the library stacks in certain locations to see print copies of older publications (and the occasional newer item that was published both electronically and in print). For publications related to children, call number ranges include, but are not limited to:
312.92 demographic statistics by age
351.847 public administration – services to the young
362.7 problems of and services to young people
362.82 problems of and services to families
365.42 institutions for juveniles
364.1555 child abuse
371 schools and their activities; special education
372 elementary education
Hard copies of mandated reports that were produced only once or as a limited series are shelved by the number of the act that required the report. Hard copies of mandated reports produced regularly with no set end date (for example, state agencies’ annual reports) are shelved in the stacks by subject.
Infant and toddler fatality reportInfant and toddler fatality report – published by the Office of the Child Advocate, 2023
Investigation of Manson Youth InstitutionInvestigation of Manson Youth Institution – by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2021
Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee 2021-2024 strategic planJuvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee 2021-2024 strategic plan
Juan F. v. Malloy Exit Plan status report – semiannual report by the Dept. of Children and Families Court Monitor’s Office
Kids count data book: state profiles of child well-being – annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Public findings letter: review of critical incidents involving children, including the death of Kaylee S.; recommendations for fatality prevention, transparency, and accountabilityPublic findings letter: review of critical incidents involving children, including the death of Kaylee S.; recommendations for fatality prevention, transparency, and accountability – by the Office of the Child Advocate, 2023
The state of early childhood during the COVID-19 pandemicThe state of early childhood during the COVID-19 pandemic – by CT Voices for Children, 2021
Photo: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Cropped. CC BY 2.0