LCO 1 of 9 General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1511 January Session, 2025 AN ACT CONCERNING DISCONNECTED YOUTH. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Subdivision (9) of section 10-262f of the general statutes is 1 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2 2025): 3 (9) "Foundation" means (A) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1990, 4 three thousand nine hundred eighteen dollars, (B) for the fiscal year 5 ending June 30, 1991, four thousand one hundred ninety-two dollars, 6 (C) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992, four thousand four hundred 7 eighty-six dollars, (D) for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1993, June 30, 8 1994, and June 30, 1995, four thousand eight hundred dollars, (E) for the 9 fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, June 30, 1997, and June 30, 1998, five 10 thousand seven hundred eleven dollars, (F) for the fiscal year ending 11 June 30, 1999, five thousand seven hundred seventy-five dollars, (G) for 12 the fiscal years ending June 30, 2000, to June 30, 2007, inclusive, five 13 thousand eight hundred ninety-one dollars, (H) for the fiscal years 14 ending June 30, 2008, to June 30, 2013, inclusive, nine thousand six 15 hundred eighty-seven dollars, [and] (I) for the fiscal [year] years ending 16 June 30, 2014, [and each fiscal year thereafter] to June 30, 2025, inclusive, 17 eleven thousand five hundred twenty-five dollars, and (J) for the fiscal 18 year ending June 30, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, twelve 19 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 2 of 9 thousand four hundred eighty-eight dollars. 20 Sec. 2. Subdivision (25) of section 10-262f of the general statutes is 21 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 22 2025): 23 (25) "Total need students" means the sum of (A) the number of 24 resident students of the town for the school year, (B) for the school year 25 commencing July 1, [2021] 2026, and each school year thereafter, (i) 26 [thirty] forty per cent of the number of children eligible for free or 27 reduced price meals or free milk, (ii) [fifteen] twenty per cent of the 28 number of children eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk 29 in excess of the number of children eligible for free or reduced price 30 meals or free milk that is equal to sixty per cent of the total number of 31 resident students of the town for the school year, [and (iii) twenty-five] 32 (iii) thirty-five per cent of the number of resident students who are 33 multilingual learners, as defined in section 10-76kk, and (iv) fifty per 34 cent of the number of resident students who are children requiring 35 special education and related services, as such terms are defined in 36 section 10-76a. 37 Sec. 3. Section 10a-57g of the general statutes is repealed and the 38 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 39 (a) As used in this section: 40 (1) "Connecticut Preschool through Twenty and Workforce 41 Information Network" or "CP20 WIN" means the Preschool through 42 Twenty and Workforce Information Network maintained in the state. 43 (2) "Data definitions" means the plain language descriptions of data 44 elements. 45 (3) "Data dictionary" means a listing of the names of a set of data 46 elements, their definitions and additional meta-data that does not 47 contain any actual data, but provides information about the data in a 48 data set. 49 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 3 of 9 (4) "Data elements" mean units of information that are stored or 50 accessed in any data system, such as a student identification number, 51 course code or cumulative grade point average. 52 (5) "Meta-data" means the information about a data element that 53 provides context for that data element, such as its definition, storage 54 location, format and size. 55 (6) "Participating agency" means the Connecticut State Colleges and 56 Universities, Department of Education, Labor Department, the Office of 57 Early Childhood, The University of Connecticut, the Connecticut 58 Conference of Independent Colleges, the Department of Correction, the 59 Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch, each regional 60 workforce development board or any entity that has executed an 61 enterprise memorandum of understanding for participation in the CP20 62 WIN and has been approved for participation pursuant to the terms of 63 the enterprise memorandum of understanding. 64 (7) "Preschool through Twenty and Workforce Information Network" 65 or "P20 WIN" means a state data system for the purpose of matching 66 and linking longitudinally data of state agencies and other 67 organizations to inform policy and practice for education, workforce 68 and supportive service efforts, including, but not limited to, the purpose 69 of conducting audits and evaluations of federal and state education 70 programs. 71 (8) "Enterprise memorandum of understanding" means a 72 foundational multiparty agreement that sets forth the details of how 73 data is shared and the respective legal rights and responsibilities of each 74 party within the data sharing process, by which the same foundational 75 agreement may be used for new agencies to sign on to the data sharing 76 process and without having to re-sign as agencies sign on or off of such 77 agreement. 78 (9) "Disconnected youth" means individuals who are fourteen to 79 eighteen years of age, inclusive, and are at risk of dropping out of school 80 or have dropped out of school. 81 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 4 of 9 (10) "Disconnected young person" means individuals who are 82 nineteen to twenty-six years of age, inclusive, and are not engaged in 83 the workforce, pursuing further education or developing a skill to 84 improve employment opportunities. 85 (b) There is established a Connecticut Preschool through Twenty and 86 Workforce Information Network. The purpose of the CP20 WIN is to 87 establish processes and structures governing the secure sharing of 88 critical longitudinal data across participating agencies through 89 implementation of the standards and policies of the Preschool through 90 Twenty and Workforce Information Network. 91 (c) The CP20 WIN shall be governed by an executive board that shall 92 provide oversight of such network. Said executive board shall include, 93 but need not be limited to, the chief executive officer of each 94 participating agency, or their respective designees, the Chief Workforce 95 Officer, or the officer's designee, and the Secretary of the Office of Policy 96 and Management, or the secretary's designee. The duties of the 97 executive board shall be to: 98 (1) Advance a vision for the CP20 WIN including a prioritized 99 research agenda with support from the Office of Policy and 100 Management. 101 (2) Convene as needed to respond to issues from the data governing 102 board. 103 (3) Identify and work to secure resources necessary to sustain CP20 104 WIN funding. 105 (4) Support system implementation, maintenance and improvement 106 by advocating for the CP20 WIN in regard to policy, legislation and 107 resources. 108 (5) Advocate and support the state's vision for the CP20 WIN. 109 (6) Have overall fiscal and policy responsibility for the CP20 WIN. 110 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 5 of 9 (7) Ensure that, in any circumstances in which public funds or 111 resources are to be jointly utilized with those from private entities, such 112 arrangements are governed by appropriate agreements approved by the 113 Attorney General. 114 (8) Establish a data governing board to establish and implement 115 policies related to cross-agency data management, including, but not 116 limited to, data confidentiality and security in alignment with the vision 117 for CP20 WIN and any applicable law. In establishing such policies, the 118 data governing board shall consult with the Office of Policy and 119 Management, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-67n and 120 other applicable statutes and policies. 121 (d) The executive board established pursuant to this section may 122 appoint advisory committees to make recommendations on data 123 stewardship, data system expansion and processes, and such other areas 124 that will advance the work of CP20 WIN. 125 (e) On or before January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the Chief 126 Workforce Officer may, in consultation with the Chief Data Officer and 127 the Labor Commissioner, submit to the administrator of CP20 WIN a 128 request for data and analysis of such data for the purposes of assessing 129 performance and outcomes of the state's workforce system. Such data 130 and analysis request shall be completed by the administrator of CP20 131 WIN not later than August 15, 2022, and annually thereafter. 132 (f) On or before January 1, 2027, the executive board shall develop a 133 data sharing process by which data may be shared that is relevant to 134 identifying populations of disconnected youth and disconnected young 135 people and measuring the effectiveness of programs designed to 136 support such populations. Such data sharing process shall include, but 137 not be limited to, (1) specifying the data elements relevant to identifying 138 such populations, such as rates of school suspension or expulsion, rates 139 of arrests and convictions and employment rates, (2) establishing 140 metrics to measure the effectiveness of programs designed to support 141 disconnected youth and disconnected young people, and (3) developing 142 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 6 of 9 a public dashboard by which such program effectiveness measures may 143 be publicly accessible in a manner that does not disclose personally 144 identifiable information and is in accordance with the Family 145 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 USC 1232g, as amended 146 from time to time. 147 Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) Not later than July 1, 2027, each 148 regional council of governments shall establish a youth success 149 oversight board within such council to oversee the needs of and services 150 available for disconnected youth and disconnected young people, as 151 defined in section 10a-57g of the general statutes, as amended by this 152 act, who reside in the planning region governed by such regional 153 council of governments. The membership of such board shall include, 154 but need not be limited to, representatives of public and private 155 organizations that engage with such disconnected youth and 156 disconnected young people. Each board shall be responsible for (1) 157 mapping regional needs and maintaining a current database of service 158 providers, (2) ensuring engagement around the planning region 159 concerning the populations of disconnected youth and disconnected 160 young people, (3) providing resources to implement integrated case 161 management between service providers, (4) establishing service 162 provider accountability by setting a rate schedule for services based on 163 the program effectiveness reported through CP20 WIN pursuant to the 164 provisions of subsection (f) of section 10a-57g of the general statutes, as 165 amended by this act, and (5) any other duties specified by such regional 166 council of governments. 167 Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) The Department of Public 168 Health shall, in partnership with an association of a school-based health 169 centers in the state, establish a program for the provision of such 170 services to students in the state through telehealth. In establishing such 171 program, the department shall determine the regions of the state that 172 lack sufficient mental health services to meet the needs of the population 173 of such regions and issue a request for proposals for the provision of 174 such services through telehealth to mental health service providers that 175 (1) are licensed by the department and provide mental health services 176 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 7 of 9 in person and through telehealth in the state, (2) have experience 177 providing mental health services through telehealth to at least one 178 school district, (3) have experience providing culturally competent 179 pediatric mental health services, such as providing such services in 180 multiple languages and to a diverse population of students, (4) are able 181 to provide high quality mental health services, (5) employ a sufficient 182 number of mental health professionals licensed in the state to meet the 183 needs of such program, (6) use a technology platform that can be made 184 available to each school district that participates in such program at no 185 charge, and (7) agree to bill health carriers for the provision of mental 186 health services through telehealth. The department shall review such 187 proposals and select one mental health service provider to provide such 188 services through telehealth to students in the state, provided the local or 189 regional board of education that governs the school in which such 190 student is enrolled enters into a contract for the provision of such 191 services pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. 192 (b) The Department of Public Health and the mental health service 193 provider selected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall develop 194 a model contract for local and regional boards of education to 195 participate in such telehealth mental health services program that 196 includes the terms specified in subdivisions (5) and (6) of said 197 subsection. 198 (c) Any local or regional board of education may participate in the 199 telehealth mental health services program, provided such board (1) 200 enters into a contract with the mental health service provider based on 201 the model contract developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, 202 (2) does not duplicate the services already being provided in the school 203 district through a school-based health center or other facility that 204 provides in-person mental health services to students, (3) does not 205 charge students for access to such telehealth services, and (4) 206 participates with the Department of Public Health and the provider in 207 any record-keeping and reporting requirements specified by the 208 department. 209 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 8 of 9 Sec. 6. Section 31-3mm of the general statutes is repealed and the 210 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 211 (a) The Labor Department, within available appropriations, shall 212 establish a program to distribute youth employment and training funds 213 for summer youth employment programs to regional workforce 214 development boards. 215 (b) Funds provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall be 216 allocated as follows: (1) Thirty-two and five-tenths per cent to Capitol 217 Workforce Partners; (2) twenty-two and five-tenths per cent to The 218 Workforce Alliance; (3) twelve and five-tenths per cent to The 219 Workplace, Inc.; (4) twenty-two and five-tenths per cent to the 220 Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Inc.; and (5) ten per 221 cent to the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board. 222 (c) For fiscal year ending July 1, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, 223 the Labor Department, within available appropriations, shall establish a 224 competitive grant program to distribute the youth employment and 225 training funds remaining after distribution pursuant to subsections (a) 226 and (b) of this section to nonprofit organizations in the state with a 227 demonstrated history of successful workforce development programs 228 for disconnected youth or a disconnected young person, as such terms 229 are defined in section 10a-57g, as amended by this act. The department 230 shall establish eligibility requirements for an organization to receive a 231 grant, including, but not limited to, (1) workforce development program 232 completion rates, and (2) after completion of such workforce 233 development program, job placement rates or rates of enrollment in 234 secondary or postsecondary education. On or before September 1, 2025, 235 the department shall post in a conspicuous location on its Internet web 236 site (A) a description of the competitive grant program, including, but 237 not limited to, the amount of funding available for each grant under 238 such program, (B) the eligibility requirements for an organization to 239 receive a grant, and (C) the application form for such competitive grant 240 program. 241 Substitute Bill No. 1511 LCO 9 of 9 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 July 1, 2025 10-262f(9) Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 10-262f(25) Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 10a-57g Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 New section Sec. 5 July 1, 2025 New section Sec. 6 July 1, 2025 31-3mm Statement of Legislative Commissioners: In Section 6(c), subdivision designators (1), (2) and (3) were changed to subparagraph designators (A), (B) and (C) for consistency with standard drafting conventions. ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP