Letter to Connecticut’s Residents

Envision a Connecticut where every young person has an equal opportunity to achieve their greatest potential; where families, schools, employers, public institutions, and communities support them along the way; and where people and systems help them get back on track when they struggle.

Imagine what Connecticut would be like for your child, their friends, and young people in your community if this were true. Imagine what it would feel like as a parent and resident. Imagine the benefits for children and taxpayers alike, and the example Connecticut would set for the nation.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Connecticut to achieve this vision, positively impacting every town across the state and helping tens of thousands of young people and their families. To do so, we must confront the statewide crisis affecting our young people and communities.

One in five young people – 119,000 in total – between the ages of 14 and 26 are at-risk of not graduating high school or have already disconnected from education and the workforce. This is a crisis that started before the pandemic, and that the pandemic accelerated.

Young people are struggling to navigate trauma and mental health challenges, overcome significant learning loss, and conquer persistent barriers to opportunity, including inequitable resourcing, housing, and transportation. They also shared feeling bored and lonely.

As adults, we are missing opportunities to collaborate with and in support of young people. The systems we lead are not serving them adequately. Our education system does not always provide young people the necessary skills to succeed in life and work. Our hyper-localized town governance systems too often allow young people to become functionally invisible as they move between agencies or across town boundaries. Decisions made over resources too often incentivize zero-sum competition as opposed to coordination between organizations working to help young people. Too often, we do not hold ourselves accountable for making the necessary choices to help all young people thrive in Connecticut.

The crisis we are facing affects every town and has enormous costs for Connecticut taxpayers. Connecticut is leaving $750M on the table every year by not confronting this statewide crisis, including $350M in lost tax revenue and $400M in government spending1 Conversely, addressing this crisis offers a substantial opportunity for economic self-sufficiency and family stability as well as economic growth and community revitalization, benefiting everyone in Connecticut.

We believe it is imperative to address this crisis. That is why the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities launched the 119k Commission in March 2024. We’ve developed a strategy that cuts this crisis in half – getting 60,000 young people back on track – over the next 10 years, and helps local municipalities proactively serve this population. The Commission has highlighted this number as a bold yet achievable goal with the right leadership and resourcing1

After eight months of listening and learning, we offer a strategy that emphasizes building and sustaining coalitions, establishing robust service coordination, increasing capacity in schools, non-profits, and public institutions, and finding ways to fund these efforts. This report lays out a 10-year strategy, but leadership and action are required now.

As Commissioners, including 11 bipartisan municipal leaders who represent cities and rural and suburban towns, we present this strategy to Connecticut residents because success will require everyone working together across communities in a sustained, collaborative manner. In Connecticut, we have the means to realize this generational opportunity; the question is whether we have the will. And that starts with all of us. Join us in building a Connecticut where every young person has the chance to reach their full potential. Together, we can make a difference.