RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Improving Children's Access to Dental Care

• A collaborative advocacy effort in which Appleseed was active successfully persuaded the state's Appropriations Committee and budget negotiators for the 2007 legislative session to allocate $20 million to remedy serious shortcomings in the state's dental Medicaid program. As a result, under the anticipated federal court settlement of the related 8-year old Carr v. Wilson-Coker class action lawsuit, the state's Medicaid reimbursement rates will be roughly doubled – or more – for typical dental procedures. Strong support communicated by Appleseed Board members to General Assembly leaders at critical steps throughout this lengthy process helped achieve this outcome.
  
  
• Board member Dr. Mike Perl led the fund-raising for an immensely successful, weekend-long 2008 dental clinic that provided free dental care to more than 1,000 state residents. This “Connecticut Mission of Mercy” (or “CTMOM”) employed 190 volunteer dentists to serve individuals who cannot afford dental care.

Public School Education

• We completed handbooks containing legally-related information for parents on the following 5 topics which will be discussed at “Ask a Lawyer” parent forums:
  • Special Education: The Policies and Your Rights After the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) Process
  • Zero Tolerance Suspension & Expulsion Policies
  • Bullying and Your Rights
  • The Nuts and Bolts Of How Your School Is Funded
  • Rights and Regulations in Working Proactively with your Child's School District & Teacher
    
    
• We collaborated with the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (“ConnCAN”), the Connecticut NAACP and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights to hold a series of “Parent Empowerment Workshops” in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, New London and Waterbury to connect parents with the options and resources provided for them by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Other

• We distributed copies to over 850 seniors of the 100-page book “Connecticut Elder Law Resources” in attorney-led workshops at municipal senior centers across the state.
  
  
• We developed and distributed an 80-page guide entitled “Mental Illness, Your Client and Criminal Law” to Connecticut law firms and attorneys.
  
  
• We began improving access to mainstream financial services for immigrant groups by surveying in-state banks to determine which products and services they already offer to Connecticut immigrants. We also started distributing Appleseed's series of 9 bilingual financial education brochures that are specifically targeted to the immigrant consumer.
  
  
• We recruited critical partners for our pilot literacy program that helps children stay connected with their incarcerated and distant parents through use of secure e-mail. In 2008 training begins for the volunteer mentors from local corporations (Northeast Utilities, Pitney Bowes, GE, Xerox and IBM) that are critical to a pilot test for this program at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT.