CT Paid Leave Authority highlights Family Expo, new ads and podcast guests

The CT Paid Leave Authority’s Outreach and Engagement Committee reported on outreach activity and promotional creative during its November meeting, saying a recent Family Expo and resource fair drew strong exhibitor feedback and provided new opportunities to connect families, employers and community partners.

Jessica, the Authority’s outreach lead, said exhibitors described the event as well attended and well organized, and staff used a passport card with a Ben & Jerry’s incentive—100 ice cream scoops under contract—to encourage visitors to engage with exhibitors. "We went through all 100 of those little coupons that we had contracted with Ben & Jerry's to give out," she said. Organizers set a goal of 100 total participants and said they met or exceeded that number.

The committee also previewed new advertising creative. Jessica described two new videos: one featuring health providers discussing paid leave’s role in enabling mental-health care, and another showing an employer perspective that frames paid leave as a tool for recruitment and retention. "We had almost 950,000 impressions total," Jessica said of the digital school-employee outreach campaigns, and she reported a roughly 22% click-through rate on Google Search for that audience.

Nancy provided an update on the Authority’s podcast series, noting recent guests and planned episodes. She described an episode with Comptroller John Scanlon tied to National Family Care month and said a therapist who used Connecticut paid leave will be featured; staff also plan a December interview with Dr. Erin Nance, an orthopedic surgeon and social-media health communicator. Nancy said the office coordinated a dual press release with the comptroller’s office to boost outreach.

Staff also reviewed school-focused outreach: the team ran 17 webinars over about four months aimed at noncertified public and nonpublic K–12 workers and held separate sessions for school employers, using the Department of Education’s EdSight list to contact public-school operators. On CECs (Community Engagement Contractors), staff reported four proposals were received in response to an RFP and said offers are expected in December, with a condensed January training and an in‑person role-play session scheduled for Feb. 6, 2026.

Committee members responded positively to the outreach results. Ava Bermudez Zimmerman called the Family Expo “awesome” and asked whether event timing considered open‑enrollment periods; staff said timing prioritized partner availability and avoiding competing events. The committee plans to maintain its every-other-month meeting schedule; staff said the group will next meet in January 2026.

The committee ended the discussion by exchanging thanks to outreach staff and partners and by planning follow-up distribution of photos and creative materials to the full board.