Connecticut HB 5517: AN ACT CONCERNING REGIONAL PLANNING AND COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENTS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5517
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
AND ADDICTION SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
RECOVERY-FRIENDLY LANGUAGE AND VARIOUS REVISIONS TO
MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 4-67s of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
As used in sections 4-67s to 4-67x, inclusive, as amended by this act: 3
(1) "Prevention" means policies and programs that promote healthy, 4
safe and productive lives and reduce the likelihood of crime, violence, 5
substance [abuse] use, illness, academic failure and other socially 6
destructive behaviors. 7
(2) "Research-based prevention" means those prevention programs as 8
defined in this section that have been rigorously evaluated and are 9
found to be effective or represent best practices. 10
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 4-67x of the general statutes is 11
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 12
1, 2026): 13
(b) The ten-year plan shall contain: (1) An identification and analysis 14

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of the occurrence of child poverty in the state, (2) an analysis of the long-15
term effects of child poverty on children, their families and their 16
communities, (3) an analysis of costs of child poverty to municipalities 17
and the state, (4) an inventory of state-wide public and private programs 18
that address child poverty, (5) the percentage of the target population 19
served by such programs and the current state funding levels, if any, for 20
such programs, (6) an identification and analysis of any deficiencies or 21
inefficiencies of such programs, and (7) procedures and priorities for 22
implementing strategies to achieve a fifty per cent reduction in child 23
poverty in the state by June 30, 2014. Such procedures and priorities 24
shall include, but not be limited to, (A) vocational training and 25
placement to promote career progression for parents of children living 26
in poverty, (B) educational opportunities, including higher education 27
opportunities, and advancement for such parents and children, 28
including, but not limited to, preliteracy, literacy and family literacy 29
programs, (C) housing for such parents and children, (D) child care 30
services, as described in section 19a-77, after-school programs and 31
mentoring programs for such children and for single parents, (E) health 32
care access for such parents and children, including access to mental 33
health services and family planning, (F) treatment programs and 34
services, including substance [abuse] use treatment programs and 35
services, for such parents and children, and (G) accessible childhood 36
nutrition programs. 37
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 10-16b of the general statutes is 38
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 39
1, 2026): 40
(a) In the public schools the program of instruction offered shall 41
include at least the following subject matter, as taught by legally 42
qualified teachers, the arts; career education; consumer education; 43
personal financial management and financial literacy; health and safety, 44
including, but not limited to, human growth and development, 45
nutrition, first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in 46
accordance with the provisions of section 10-16qq, disease prevention 47
and cancer awareness, including, but not limited to, age and 48

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developmentally appropriate instruction in performing self-49
examinations for the purposes of screening for breast cancer and 50
testicular cancer, community and consumer health, physical, mental 51
and emotional health, including youth suicide prevention, substance 52
[abuse] use prevention, including instruction relating to opioid use and 53
related disorders, safety, which shall include the safe use of social 54
media, as defined in section 9-601, and may include the dangers of gang 55
membership, and accident prevention; language arts, including reading, 56
writing, grammar, speaking and spelling; mathematics; physical 57
education; science, which may include the climate change curriculum 58
described in subsection (d) of this section; social studies, including, but 59
not limited to, civics and media literacy, citizenship, economics, 60
geography, government, history and Holocaust and genocide education 61
and awareness in accordance with the provisions of section 10-18f; 62
African-American and black studies in accordance with the provisions 63
of section 10-16ss; Puerto Rican and Latino studies in accordance with 64
the provisions of section 10-16ss; Native American studies, in 65
accordance with the provisions of section 10-16vv; Asian American and 66
Pacific Islander studies, in acco