Connecticut Data Collaborative to Participate in Cross-Sector Initiative Led by Connecticut Children’s

Connecticut Children’s is leading a five year, multi-partner, cross-sector effort designed to improve the lives of children in North Hartford under a new $30 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Among the partners is the Hartford Data Collaborative, an initiative within the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData).

The Connecticut Data Collaborative is proud to join with Connecticut Children’s and all the partners in this important work, and broaden the breadth and scope of the Hartford Data Collaborative initiative, an ongoing collaboration with Hartford agencies and community leaders that facilitates data sharing, integration, and analysis to optimize services and outcomes for Hartford residents.

Connecticut Children’s was selected as one of seven grantees across the country in the latest round of funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods Program. Connecticut Children’s will receive $6 million in the first year of the grant period to begin this important work that will ensure every child in Hartford’s Promise Zone has access to the tools and education for a successful career path. In addition to the five year, $30 million grant, partners involved in the project plan to contribute $36 million in matching funds over the five year period, bringing the total investment in North Hartford to $66 million.

Under the grant, Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health will lead an effort to design, implement, and evaluate the North Hartford Ascend Pipeline, in collaboration with the city of Hartford and additional partners. The pipeline will serve as a comprehensive prenatal through career effort designed to help children in North Hartford reach their full potential by improving academic outcomes, developmental trajectories, long-term well-being, and quality of life.

By integrating cross-agency data, The Promise Zone of North Hartford will be able to identify pipeline services captured in one system that impact the outcomes in another; anticipate service needs and opportunities; proactively tailor programs to meet needs; and prioritize investments in pipeline services that have the greatest impact and return on investment.

The Hartford Data Collaborative will facilitate the ethical and permissible sharing of data; streamline existing data sharing processes; link siloed data sets; and improve data transparency among providers and residents. Responsibilities, within the cross-sector initiative, include:

  • mapping provider and referral systems in collaboration with the evaluation partner;

  • inventorying provider data systems and collection methods to identify data fields being collected;

  • enhancing the capacity of service providers through capacity building activities such as training workshops, learning collaboratives, and individual technical assistance; and

  • linking and integrating data to understand and improve the outcomes of Hartford residents.

As the grant application explained, “Data integration, paired with a comprehensive, multi-faceted evaluation plan, will enable the longitudinal tracking of children and families to monitor the short, moderate-, and long-term outcomes on Promise Neighborhood Program Performance Indicators, as well as other indicators of well-being and quality of life.”

In applying for the grant, Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health organized key partners in a months-long effort to develop the cross-sector proposal. The Office is nationally recognized for its work in collaborating with partners across sectors to build stronger child serving systems and strengthen families to support their children’s optimal well-being.

This grant, including the required local matching funds, represents a public-private partnership in which 45% of the $66 million total investment over five years will come from the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, 26% of the $66 million total investment ($17 million) will come from non-governmental sources.

Partners in the project include Capitol Region Education Council, Capitol Workforce Partners, City of Hartford, Community Health Services, Fund for Greater Hartford, Hartford Data Collective, Hartford Promise, Hartford Public Library, Hartford Public Schools, InterCommunity, North Hartford Promise Zone, San Juan Center, The Children’s Museum, The Village for Families & Children, United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, United Way of Connecticut, UConn Health, University of Hartford Center for Social Research, and Wheeler Clinic.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you are interested in learning more about The Hartford Data Collaborative, check out our infographic or FAQ’s. If you would like to connect, please contact HDC staff at gfernando@ctdata.org or keikel@ctdata.org

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Hartford Data CollaborativeMichelle Riordan-Nold