Meriden State Senator Earns Recognition as ‘Children’s Champion’

Even before the events of Newtown last December, Meriden State Sen. Dante Bartolomeo said she believed strongly in the need to revamp the state’s childhood mental health system.

That was why she took the reins when appointed to the school safety subcommittee of the legislature's Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety – and her efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The CT Early Childhood Alliance this week recognized Bartolomeo, D-Meriden, as a ‘Children’s Champion’ for her work on a bill to create a comprehensive, early childhood mental health system in Connecticut.

Her bill, S.B. 972, passed the house unanimously in May and sought to revamp the system in Connecticut to better address childhood mental health needs.

“It really starts to create a framework around behavioral mental health. Young children have not always been included in that conversation,” said Maggie Adair, Executive Director of the CT Early Childhood Alliance. “It’s an excellent bill. Senator Bartolomeo did an amazing job spearheading that effort.”

The eight-section bill presented a plan to reduce mental, emotional and behavioral health issues in children through enhanced prevention, early identification and intervention, better communication across agencies, consistency between home visitation programs, and other initiatives, according to Bartolomeo’s press aide Lawrence Cook. 

“I entered the political arena by advocating for my children and the children of Meriden,” said Sen. Bartolomeo, who is Senate Chair of the Children’s Committee, served on the Meriden City Council as the liaison to the Board of Education, and helped create an all-day kindergarten system throughout the city.

“When elected to the Senate it was my hope that I could affect positive change for all Connecticut children. I am thrilled that the first award I have received as a state senator is as a children’s champion,” she said.

The CT Early Childhood Alliance is a statewide membership and advocacy organization committed to improving developmental outcomes in the areas of learning, health, safety and economic security for children ages birth through eight.

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