Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) Announces 119K Commission

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) today announced the creation of the 119K Commission on At-Risk and Disconnected Youth, a state-wide coalition of leaders on a mission to getting 60,000 at-risk young people back on track. The Commission will host its first meeting on Tuesday, March 26th, meeting every month through October 2024. The full schedule can be found on the Commission’s website: 119Kcommission.org.

The announcement of the 119K Commission continues the work done during CCM’s five regional forums in the fall, held to promote awareness of the crisis affecting young people in Connecticut (ages 14 to 26) who are at-risk or disconnected from education or employment. This initiative aspires to help develop solutions in response to the report, “CT’s Unspoken Crisis: Getting young people back on track.” Commissioned by Dalio Education and authored by Boston Consulting Group.

“CCM again is compelled to act. This 119K Commission will use the work done by Dalio Education and the Boston Consulting Group, coupled with the feedback/lessons learned through our forums, as its guide to create an actionable statewide strategy that seeks to tackle this crisis,” said Joe DeLong, CCM Executive Director and CEO.

“This is an issue that is affecting towns big and small. I’ve said that the nearly 120,000 children at-risk or disconnected should be a wake-up call for all of us. The partnerships and ideas that the Commission will seek to cultivate and flush out will help it to deliver on the promise of getting these young people back on track.”

The Commission will have eight regional, public meetings across the state over eight months. The first six meetings will also include a public hearing portion. Members of the public are encouraged to join Commission members in person to submit written comments, provide oral testimony, or to simply be in attendance. Alternatively, the Commission welcomes members of the public to submit written testimony whether or not they plan to join the Commission in person. The public’s input will be invaluable to the Commission as they seek to shape a statewide strategy.

Here are the 119K Commission Members:

  • Josh Brown, Co-Chair, Domus
  • Elinor Carbone, Co-Chair, Mayor, City of Torrington
  • Andrew Ferguson, Co-Chair, Co-CEO, Dalio Education
  • Arunan Arulampalam, Mayor, City of Hartford
  • Danielle Chesebrough, First Selectman, Town of Stonington
  • Joseph DeLong, Executive Director and CEO, CCM
  • Justin Elicker, Mayor, City of New Haven
  • Ben Florsheim, Mayor, City of Middletown
  • Mike Freda, First Selectman, Town of North Haven
  • Laura Hoydick, Mayor, Town of Stratford
  • Chris Lippke, First Selectman, Town of Canterbury
  • Mike Passero, Mayor, City of New London
  • Caroline Simmons, Mayor, City of Stamford
  • Erin Stewart, Mayor, City of New Britain
  • Danielle Wong, Mayor, Town of Bloomfield

CCM is the state’s largest, nonpartisan organization of municipal leaders, representing towns and cities of all sizes from all corners of the state, with 168 member municipalities.We come together for one common mission — to improve everyday life for every resident of Connecticut.

We share best practices and objective research to help our local leaders govern wisely. We advocate at the state level for issues affecting local taxpayers. And we pool our buying power to negotiate more cost-effective services for our communities.

Here is a link to the landing page for the 119K Commission: 119KCommission.org.