The Connecticut After School Network's mission is to promote young people's safety, healthy development and learning outside the traditional classroom.
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The mission of SEL4CT is to empower Connecticut children of all ages to thrive in school and life by supporting effective social and emotional learning programs, policies, and practices in communities throughout the state.
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The Connecticut Children’s Collective is a network of local partnerships creating positive outcomes for Connecticut’s children and families.
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The Connecticut Network for Children and Youth is the home of three initiatives: the Connecticut After School Network, SEL4CT — the social emotional learning alliance for Connecticut, and the Connecticut Children’s Collective.
We’ve always been grounded on what children, families and caregivers need. Founded in 1989 as the Connecticut School Age Child Care Association, we’ve grown and evolved over the years to take on new initiatives while staying true to our core vision of building a Connecticut where children and youth grow up safe, healthy, happy, and well-educated. While 80% of children’s time is spent outside the traditional classroom, we know that focusing all of our efforts on ensuring all kids in our state have access to high quality, affordable after school and summer programs isn’t enough.
With our new broader focus on the whole child, we are also spotlighting the fact that children don’t grow up in a vacuum – they are a part of a family, a neighborhood, a school district, a community. It’s the adults in these overlapping circles that care the most about their children, and should have the most to say about what opportunities and supports they all need to achieve this vision. That’s why we’ve clarified our mission to be more inclusive and better describe what we do:
We bring people together through strong local and statewide partnerships to help children, youth and families thrive.
So join us – help build the infrastructure in your community, the skills and strengths in your family, to help make the world a better place starting right here at home.
The Network’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Connecticut Network for Children and Youth believes that working with families, communities, and schools has the power to connect people from every culture, race, socio-economic status, age, ability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. These groups are the fabric of our communities, and we are committed to offering programs, training, and resources that are representative and inclusive of all people. The Connecticut Network for Children and Youth celebrates its diversity and welcomes all who wish to work on improving the lives of children and families in Connecticut.
The Network’s Content Accessibility Policy
The Connecticut Network for Children and Youth is committed to making our content accessible to all members of all communities. This continuous commitment means our training, resources, social media content, and programs are curated with best practices for accessibility to ensure that all can engage. Platforms and guidelines change frequently, and we will update our practices to comply. CTNCY will hold ourselves accountable to the following practices:
Click to Read Practices
- Use plain language
- Use person-first language instead of ableist language
- Use inclusive terms and phrases (avoid language that can perpetuate harmful stigmas)
- Offer accessible social media descriptions (alt text)
- Capitalize the first letter of each word in hashtags
- Include representation in your photos and videos
- Caption your video content
- Avoid using custom fonts in social media profiles and posts
- Use emojis in moderation
- Make graphics accessible for people with vision impairment
- Be careful placing text over images
- Create trigger warnings
- Review your accessible social media frequently
- Keep up to date on accessibility best practices
If you see that something is missing from this list, please email us at info@ctncy.org.
