Bolinsky Lauds ‘Reach Out and Read Connecticut’ Program

HARTFORD- As a member of the legislature’s Education committee, State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-106 Newtown) attended a Reach Out and Read Connecticut informational hearing on an early childhood literacy program at the State Capitol today.

The informational briefing took place with legislators, pediatricians, researchers and early literacy experts from Reach Out and Read.

Panelists discussed early brain development, literacy and language acquisition, parental engagement and the importance of a child’s first 1,000 days. Reach Out and Read is working within pediatric primary care to promote the vital role parents play in their child’s developing literacy skills, school readiness and social and emotional development.

“The Reach Out and Read program is a fabulous way to foster reading at a very young and impressionable age,” said Rep. Bolinsky

Studies have shown parents who receive books and literacy counseling from their pediatricians are more likely to read to their young children and to bring more books into the home. Read a summary of the research that supports Reach Out and Read.

Reach Out and Read pediatricians in Connecticut prescribe books to their youngest patients and encourage families to read together. Currently, 70 hospitals and clinics in Connecticut participate in the Reach Out and Read program, serving nearly 40,000 children and families in the state.