CT Paid Leave Authority committee previews new ad spots, PBS sponsorship and podcast plans

The CT Paid Leave Authority’s Outreach and Engagement Committee met virtually and reviewed a slate of outreach activities aimed at increasing awareness of Connecticut’s paid-leave program, including two new commercials, a PBS sponsorship, expanded podcast outreach and ongoing legislative monitoring.

Jessica (staff member, outreach) said the agency produced two new 30-second commercials — a female-focused spot (also recorded in Spanish) that centers on caregiving and a male-focused spot that highlights taking leave for a serious personal health condition. She told the committee the ads will not enter rotation until March "because the one that we currently have running is still fairly fresh." The spots include the tag line used in the commercials: "Connecticut paid leave gives you the time you need. Learn more at connecticutpaidleave.org."

The committee also heard that the authority will sponsor a PBS documentary about caregiving produced with Bradley Cooper. Jessica said the sponsorship will include a localized caregiving landing page on ctpublic.org, banner placement, standalone commercials on Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) and promotional recognition tied to the documentary’s screenings. She said the documentary is slated to premiere in June (meeting transcript phrased the date as "June, June '20 fourth").

Nancy (staff member, podcast producer) presented the authority’s podcast plan and performance metrics. She reported 6,244 downloads to date and said the team’s 2025 goal is to attract broader national attention for the program. Upcoming podcasts and guests highlighted during the meeting include an episode with author Barbara Rubin about traumatic brain injury and rehab in Connecticut; Laura Clancy of the Bring Change to New Moms/Bridal Project on cash assistance for new mothers; and Representative Corey Paris discussing how paid leave intersects with medical diagnoses and surgery. Nancy said the team is pursuing additional national guests for topics such as Down Syndrome Day and National Kidney Month.

Staff described the authority’s new testimonial collection workflow, which includes event postcards and a SurveyMonkey form to gather voluntary participant stories. Jessica and other staff explained that collecting stories is done outside the claims process and emphasized it is voluntary. Nicole (staff member, social media) has prepared a "Real People, Real Stories" social campaign that will repurpose quotations from testimonial cards.

Maddie (staff member, legislative affairs) gave a brief legislative update: the 2025 Connecticut legislative session began Jan. 8 and is scheduled to end June 4. The authority did not submit its own agency bill this year but is monitoring bills that could affect operations and has started briefing legislative caucuses. On the federal level, staff said the bipartisan House paid-leave working group released two discussion drafts late last year — the "Paid Family Paid Family Leave Public-Private Partnerships Act" and the "Interstate Paid Leave Action Network Act (iPLAN)" — and the authority submitted feedback to the working group and to Connecticut’s congressional delegation.

Committee members asked about how outreach staff identify storytellers. Jessica and Erin (staff member; identified in meeting as community outreach/education staff) said the authority captures contact information at events via postcards and follows up with individuals who comment on social media. The group discussed exploring exit surveys for people after they complete (or do not complete) the claims process; staff said they will evaluate that option and prioritize a survey of unfinished claims.

Administrivia: the committee approved the Dec. 19, 2024 meeting minutes by voice vote, and later moved and approved adjournment; the committee will move to a bi-monthly meeting schedule and will not meet in February, with the next meeting scheduled for March.

The meeting included questions from committee members and short staff demonstrations of creative materials and the testimonial collection form. No new policy or rulemaking actions were taken at the meeting.

ACTIONS AT A GLANCE - Approval of minutes (Dec. 19, 2024): passed by voice vote; tally recorded as 4 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstentions; motion recorded as carried. - Motion to adjourn: passed by voice vote; tally recorded as 4 ayes, 0 no, 0 abstentions; meeting adjourned at 9:27 a.m.