Connecticut
CT ‘baby bonds’ program discussed at Federal Reserve conference
Connecticut officials joined advocates and researchers at the Federal Reserve on Thursday to talk about the state’s trailblazing ‘baby bonds’ program, and how it might ultimately serve as a proving ground for efforts around the country.
The program, which launched in July 2024, invests $3,200 on behalf of babies enrolled in Connecticut’s Medicaid program, HUSKY. More than half the babies born in Connecticut are to mothers on Medicaid, and around 15,600 babies are expected by be enrolled in the program annually. Eligible participants live in every one of the state’s cities and towns.
Connecticut is so far unique in passing sustained, state-level support for the concept, but small experiments are popping up around the country, including one through private philanthropy in Georgia and a temporary program for children in foster care in California who were impacted by COVID. Several other states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, are considering baby bonds-type programs.
The conference Thursday kicked off with a conversation between Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell and Darrick Hamilton, a professor at The New School and an economist who is credited with helping to create the concept. They discussed Connecticut’s first in the nation program, and how it may be planting the seeds of a national movement.
“We’re building political momentum, we start local,” said Hamilton, who is the founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. “But at the end of the day, to make this come into fruition, we’ve really got to get the federal government involved to ensure that all children of the United States will be able to get into that vehicle of wealth building.”
Russell spoke about his childhood growing up in New Haven, sweeping the floor and working the register after school at his parents’ store. No one he knew as a kid owned their own home and working paycheck to paycheck was a way of life.
Russell said he is trying to end poverty in Connecticut, and baby bonds are but one of many strategies required to achieve that goal.
“We understand that baby bonds, by itself, is not the solution to that problem,” Russell said. “This is a piece to the puzzle as we continue to make key investments in things like education and early child care and bringing down the cost of housing.”
Baby bonds can provide funds for a down payment on a home, money to open a business or pay for school. But officials said the existence of the funds may also help in less obvious ways: baby bonds can encourage a family to imagine a child’s future and plan for it. The funds could stave off gentrification by creating a cohort of people who are able to cash in at around the same time and even pool resources to support their neighborhood. And they help link parents to state supports through a positive vehicle.
“There’s a huge lack of trust between members of the community and government,” Russell said. “Now we actually have this positive way of connecting with people, right? Connecting with parents who are saying, ‘My child is going to have access to this resource and this opportunity that I could have never imagined.’”
A recipient must be between 18 and 30 years old to use the funds, pass a financial literacy test, and be a Connecticut resident. That money is expected to eventually be worth at least $11,000 and as much as $24,000, depending when the recipient chooses to cash in the bond.
Though the initiative received strong support from many political leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont nearly killed the program in 2023. The decision to draw from a surplus in Connecticut’s special reserve fund instead of borrowing money, as was originally planned, allowed Lamont and Russell to reach a compromise and the program was finally launched in July 2023. In fact, as Russell mentioned during the conference, the so-called baby bonds ended up not being bonds at all.
At Thursday’s event, the history of political infighting wasn’t discussed. Rather, advocates and researchers focused on the promise of the program and the synergy with another initiative: ‘guaranteed income.’
Stanford University researchers Max Rong and David Grusky explained why, based on their research modeling, simultaneously offering families guaranteed income and baby bonds may be a superior approach to offering a more generous version of only one of these programs.
The researchers said that guaranteed income can prove meaningful to help families from falling into poverty, relieving the stress of financial pressure from caregivers so they can form healthy attachments with their children and afford day to day expenses that keep them healthy and safe. However, just providing that cash is unlikely to allow a family to save the kind of money they need to ultimately open a business, buy a home, afford higher education and ultimately build generational wealth. On the other hand, a single infusion of money — a cashed-in baby bond— cannot undo years of underinvestment.
“You might think it doesn’t matter if you just do one or the other,” Grusky said. “What this suggests is that, given data about how the world works, you actually need both.”
Laura Clancy, the executive director of The Bridge Project, a guaranteed income program for new moms which recently launched in Connecticut, asked the room to simply trust mothers, who tend to have good judgment about what their kids need. She ended her panel by encouraging the audience to consider the power of imagination in initiatives like baby bonds and guaranteed income, and how thinking outside the box might help us upend the inequities we take for granted.
“What have we come to accept that is unacceptable?” she asked.
Rain early today and tapering to spotty drizzle through midmorning! Other than a spotty western CT shower late today it will try to dry out. Some sun, breezy and nicer Friday with some scattered showers at night and for early Saturday morning. On the chilly side this weekend with lots of 50s and another system going by just to our east Sunday that could clip eastern CT with a shower. We have been in a cycle of nice Mondays and that is the plan next week again!
Early this morning: Umbrella weather! Rain, heavy at times. Lows 45-50.
Today: Scattered showers during the morning. Drying out for much of the state with some late day partial clearing. A shower though for western areas. Cool with highs only in the 50s.
Tonight: More clearing with lows in the 40s.
Tomorrow (May 1st): Much nicer! Sun and clouds, warmer with highs in the lower to middle 60s. Scattered showers at night.
Saturday: Some morning showers moving out. Lots of clouds and cool with highs only in the middle to upper 50s.
Sunday: Lots of clouds, breezy and cool with highs in the upper 50s to about 60. Rain could clip eastern CT. during the morning!
Monday: Mostly sunny with highs in the 60s.
Tuesday: Sun to clouds with highs in the middle 60s.
Wednesday: More showers with highs in the middle 60s.
Thursday: Rain likely with highs in the middle 60s.
In April, two babies were relinquished at Connecticut hospitals under the state’s Safe Havens Act, according to the state Department of Children and Families. The babies were surrendered to Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children’s at the University of Connecticut Health Center, DCF said.
The Safe Havens Act, which was enacted 25 years ago, allows a parent to give up their infant to hospital emergency room staff anonymously and without the threat of prosecution. DCF then places the baby in a preapproved adoptive home.
At a Wednesday press conference, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said the Safe Havens Act has had “an incredible impact” and called it “life-saving.”
“Those women who find themselves in a situation where they deliver a baby and they cannot or they do not want to raise that baby, they may feel incredibly isolated and challenged and judged, and they may feel they have nowhere to turn,” Bysiewicz said.
Under the law, a baby may be surrendered at a designated location by a parent, relative or advocate for the child, and the parent has 30 days to change their mind and begin working with DCF to see if reunification is possible. There are 37 medical centers in Connecticut — 25 of them hospitals — that allow babies to be surrendered 24 hours a day.
Pam Sawyer, a former state representative who spearheaded the law’s passage, said she intended it to be “so simple it could be shared in the school bus.”
But two babies relinquished in the same month — though these are the only two babies relinquished so far this year — marks a spike from the usual trend. Since the law went into effect, a total of 60 babies have been relinquished. And in 2025, just one baby was surrendered the whole year.
Co-chair of the General Assembly’s Committee on Children, Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, outlined a number of issues that could lead a parent to give up their baby, such as inadequate housing or financial instability.
The Committee on Children advanced a bill this session that would establish a task force to study the voluntary surrender of infants — including considerations for the best way to provide such a program without perpetuating “racial, ethnic, health, economic and socioeconomic disparities” among parents looking to surrender.
The bill passed the state Senate on April 15 and awaits a vote in the House.
Some lawmakers and advocates have suggested adding another option for parents considering giving up a baby — temperature-controlled chambers known as “baby boxes” that are installed within the exterior walls of a surrender location to allow parents to relinquish the infant anonymously.
Once a baby is left in the box device, alerts are sent to staff and to 911 dispatch centers. The boxes are designed with bassinets, and equipped with electricity, air conditioning and heating, but they’re not federally regulated. Lori Bruce, a researcher and bioethicist at Yale University, pointed this out during her testimony at a public hearing on the legislation Feb. 17.
“Even our hairdryers, even tongue depressors, all sorts of much more basic tools require regulation,” Bruce said.
The boxes are intended to be anonymous, but that’s not always possible when they are installed at places like firehouses, which have cameras all around the building.
Bruce said the boxes also remove the opportunity for any face-to-face interaction between the parent and a public service worker who might offer access to resources like crisis counseling — or simply ask if they are okay.
Baby boxes have been installed in 20 states so far, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Sawyer said she is in favor of the baby boxes, but only after more research.
“I love the idea, but I don’t know that they’re quite there yet,” she said. “My view still is that it’s advocacy and teaching” that will help those who need the Safe Havens Act the most.
Many Connecticut families are struggling to find housing or living in cramped, run-down apartments that get more expensive each year. Take for example “Sam,” a mother of two in her mid-30s. After fleeing from an abusive relationship, Sam stayed in a shelter for a period of time, but found it difficult to find a safe apartment for her and her children.
In an interview with Dr. Tricia Lewis, Sam said, “When I was first looking for an apartment, it was hard to find one because… the rents are so high [and] because a lot of landlords want cash on the spot. And if you don’t have the cash on the spot, they don’t want to deal with you.”
Sam looked for several months to find a suitable apartment, being turned away multiple times due to her source of payment, a housing voucher. This search caused a great deal of stress and worry for Sam, as it does for many other Connecticut residents who are priced out or discriminated against in their housing search.
We can do better for our people – Connecticut families need more quality, affordable housing options.
Connecticut faces a housing shortage of up to 380,000 units, and the average renter makes only $22.69 per hour, which is significantly less than the $35.42 required for a modest, two-bedroom apartment.
Under the House Bill 5396 known as “YIGBY” (Yes in Gods Backyard), Connecticut now has an opportunity to address this situation. This bill would make it easier for religious organizations like churches and synagogues to build affordable housing on their own land which often goes untouched. Religious organizations are already in a position to support this being that they look for ways to benefit and support the community around them.
This approach is not only practical, but also essential. The supply and demand for housing in Connecticut are significantly out of balance. Zillow data shows that rents and property prices have been rising gradually in recent years, putting pressure on individuals with middle-class and lower-class incomes. Renting families will continue to become more unstable as a result of this tendency if nothing is done. YIGBY provides a cost-effective and efficient means of expanding the housing supply without needing additional land for development.
This bill is particularly important because of the link between housing and health. The affordability crisis is a public health issue, not just a housing problem. Health can deteriorate when a family’s housing costs exceed half of their income. Families in “cost-burdened” situations are more likely to experience chronic stress, which is directly linked to heart disease and hypertension, and they are less likely to seek preventative care.
Children who experience this degree of housing uncertainty are exposed to toxic stress, which has an impact on their long-term academic success and brain development. Stable housing allows individuals to maintain employment, access healthcare, and build supportive social networks. It improves mental health, lowers ER visits, and makes children’s surroundings safer. In this way, investing in housing is also an investment in public health infrastructure.
YIGBY guidelines, according to their opponents, might give religious organizations unique rights to override local zoning laws. It is important to note that zoning regulations have frequently been utilized to keep affordable homes out of high opportunity neighborhoods, perpetuating racial and economic segregation.
The YIGBY strategy lowers needless obstacles that impede prompt solutions; it does not entirely eliminate oversight. “Restrictive zoning is one of the biggest constraints on housing supply in high-cost areas,” according to housing expert Jenny Schuetz. If Connecticut wants to increase housing access and health outcomes, these limitations must be addressed.
Connecticut lawmakers should move quickly by passing YIGBY legislation. By doing this, religious organizations could re-purpose their property, more affordable housing options would be available for Connecticut families, and one of the primary causes of health disparities in the state would be addressed. More importantly, it would show a commitment to innovative, community-based solutions that prioritize human well-being and dignity.
Isabela Lizano is a junior at Sacred Heart University, majoring in Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health.
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