More than 13,000 kids enrolled in ‘baby bonds’
Program awards a $3,200 bond to every child in the state born on Medicaid
HARTFORD — More than 13,000 children across 166 towns have been enrolled in Connecticut’s new “baby bonds” program aimed at reducing wealth inequality in the state, the Office of the Treasurer said this week.
As part of the baby bonds initiative, all children born after July 1, 2023 whose births are covered by HUSKY Health (Connecticut’s program for administering Medicaid) receive a bond from the state worth $3,200, to be accessed when the recipient reaches adulthood and seeks to pay for college, buy a home, save for retirement or start a business.
Children are automatically enrolled in the state’s baby bonds fund when they are born, without their families having to apply or sign up. The bonds are expected to grow to between $11,000 and $24,000 by the time they can be claimed, the treasurer’s office says.
As of April 1, Bridgeport led all municipalities with 1,334 kids in the program, followed by Hartford with 1,087, Waterbury with 1,051, New Haven with 898 and Stamford with 654, according to state data.
Treasurer Erick Russell said Tuesday he expects about 15,000 kids will have been enrolled in the baby bonds program by July 1, consistent with early projections.
Though baby bonds participants are enrolled automatically, officials are seeking to raise awareness of the initiative through a new partnership with the Community Health Center of Connecticut, whose members will discuss it with eligible families.
“It’s about building broad statewide awareness with events like this, as we are continuing to campaign in communities across the state,” Russell said Tuesday, at a news conference at Wheeler Health. “But
Children are automatically enrolled in the state’s baby bonds fund when they are born, without their families having to apply or sign up.
it’s also about creating connections with service providers and community organizations who are on the ground in our communities ... wanting to make sure they are disseminating information so families know how to really maximize this opportunity.”
Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation baby bonds program launched last year after extensive wrangling between legislators, the treasurer’s office and Gov. Ned Lamont, who initially declined to authorize the program, saying he preferred other ways of helping reduce inequality in Connecticut. Ultimately, the governor agreed to a proposal from Russell to use $381 million in surplus funds from the state’s Teachers’ Retirement Fund to launch the initiative.
On Tuesday, Lamont praised the program and said he was happy with how it was ultimately structured.
“I think Eric has rolled it out brilliantly, and he did it without layering on a lot of debt, which was what I had worried about earlier,” the governor said. “He found a way to do it, and all the money goes right to the kids when they need it.”
Russell said he has heard from officials from numerous states, including Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Mexico, who are considering a baby bonds program similar to Connecticut’s.
In addition to Russell and Lamont, Tuesday’s news conference also featured officials from Wheeler Health, who praised the baby bonds program, as well as a Hartford mother who brought her infant son with her to the lectern.
Baby bonds “will definitely benefit my son, because for the others I had to do it from scratch,” she said. “So to get this (bond) to help towards college tuition, that will be a major step for myself and my family.”