A joint message from the Board President and the Executive Director

The 2007-2008 year was full of activities and developments as we engaged in the development of a starategic plan. HRA's 2008-2011 Strategic Plan includes the three year strategies, outcomes and indicators which our agency will implement as part of our commitment to reducing poverty in New Britain. The plan is a product of one of the most inclusive planning processes HRA has seen in recent years, involving representatives from key stakeholders groups and considering the prior knowledge on, current status of and vision for the future of families living in poverty in the city of New Britain. HRA's staff committed to duties above and beyoun their everyday tasks, assisting in the coordination and planning of events, facilitation of meetings, development of strategies and even providing childcare to facilitate the community engagement meetings. Staff and community (i.e. parents, residents, elected officials, partnber agencies) also consistently shared their views and ideas making this a plan which reflects the voices of many in our community. The strategic plan sets the course for the next three years. HRA's Board, management and strategy work groups worked diligently over the past six months to frame a plan that will guide the efforts to achieve results, which will impact poverty in our community. Some 300 individuals, represtenting various stakeholder groups, gave their advice and time to the process. A full day staff meeting, a Board of Directo's retreat and multiple senior management retreats held from September-December of 2007, provided inspiration and guidance.

Over the past year, our Benjamin Franklin Expansion and Renovation project has continued with the new addition of 14 classrooms being completed, the Health and Wellness Division offered high quality prevention services to its client, as well as, increasing its advocacy efforts to provide continued services for people living with HIV/AIDS; the Community and Energy Services Division served more customers than ever before and provided supportive services to other departments as part of our HSI implementation efforts; our children's program received NAEYC accreditation; our Head Start Program was reviewed by the Administration for Children and Families Department of Health and human Services and recognized for its continued excellence; and our One Stop employment services were expanded and recognized for their high quality. These successes and many others are a product of the continued effort and commitment of HRA's staff and leadership to provide high quality programs to the families of New Britain and other communities.

HRA's commitment will continue to be evidenced as we work with our partners and move into focusing our programs around high impact strategies that will aim to reduce poverty in the city. Since 1964, HRA has focused on offering programs to assist individuals and families in improving their circumstances. We are proud to continue this work as part of the statewide effort to reduce child poverty in Connecticut's communities.

We hope this report presents information which will be useful to the community and our partners as we look forward to another year of working in partnerships toward reducing poverty in the New Britain community.

Human Resources Agency of New Britain
180 Clinton Street, New Britain, CT, 06053
Phone: (860) 225-8601 • Fax: (860) 225-4843

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