Community Wellness Packet.pdfThe DataHaven website was redesigned by Studio Kudos in November 2025. Stay tuned to our social media pages for more information on how to navigate the new site!
Previous versions of the DataHaven website included:
- A Drupal version designed by Studio Kudos, which was live from 2015 to 2025, on which this site is largely based.
- A WordPress version, live from 2009 to 2015.
- The original version of DataHaven, live from 2003 to 2009, which featured a community indicators lookup tool.
DataHaven prides itself in empowering people to create thriving communities by collecting and ensuring access to data on well-being, equity, and quality of life. The classroom is a fundamental and formative space where understanding of social justice, human rights, equity, and community well-being is fostered. Educators serve a pivotal role in empowering and informing youth, encouraging their voices and giving them the proper tools to enact change in their communities.
From time to time, DataHaven has released a series of classroom materials designed by educators for educators. Through classroom experiences and the learning process, students can understand and change their world in ways that benefit themselves and their communities.
Contents
In addition to these easy-to-use materials, we encourage you to use the other reports and data on the DataHaven website in your classroom activities. DataHaven resources are widely used by teachers in K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate program across Connecticut. Please contact us for suggestions!
DataHaven 2023 Classroom Materials
Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, with support from Dylan Bober, Victor Cazabal, and Emilie Waters. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.
The 2023 Classroom Materials and Resources have eight overarching themes (community wellness, democracy, education, gender equality, health, immigration, intersectionality, and race). They are organized into packets to make them easier to distribute and use. Each packet is approximately 10-15 pages, and may contain readings for different grade levels (described as Levels I, II, and/or III), as well as suggested classroom exercises and activities. Materials in the packets are drawn from DataHaven’s 2023 Community Wellbeing Index and other reports.
We encourage your feedback and suggestions. Please see below for more information.
DataHaven 2020 Classroom Materials
Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, Chloe Shawah, and John Park. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.
These materials utilize DataHaven’s work, especially the Community Index publications, and focus on four overarching themes:
Gender
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of gender roles. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender roles. | |
| By looking at Community Wellbeing Survey data, students practice how to read data and consider the real life implications of the data. | |
| This assignment asks students to define key words in an excerpt from Count Her In (2019) and fosters deeper understanding of gender based disparities in education. | |
| This provides background on the wage gap, specific to Connecticut. It can be followed up with the data collection assignment. | |
| These stations involve passages on the gender wage gap as well as data figures. | |
| To investigate the gender wage gap in their own communities, students practice real life data collection and interpretation. | |
| This is a reflection concluding the classwork series on the gender wage gap. |
Race
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of race. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of race. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of racial stereotypes. | |
| Students read a passage introducing the history and effects of redlning and answer thought questions. | |
| The above assignment is broken into separate stations. | |
| Using what they learned about redlining, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included). | |
| Students read a background passage, and then are tasked with researching an example of environmental racism on their own. | |
| Students read and analyze data from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and answer thought questions. | |
| Students read a background passage on social mobility and answer thought questions. |
Health
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of healthcare. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of healthcare. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| Students read a background passage on the opioid epidemic, draw a graph based on the data in the reading, and answer thought questions. | |
| This is a longer version of the above assignemnt. It includes specific data points from the Community Wellbeing Index reports. | |
| The opioid crisis assignment is broken into separate stations. | |
| Using what they learned about the opioid crisis, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included). | |
| Students read a passage and answer thought questions about asthma, a persistent component of health inequality in Connecticut. | |
| Students read a passage about healthcare inequalities for LGBTQ+ individuals and draw a graph using the data they read. | |
| This includes excerpts from our Health Equity Report. | |
| “Think Pair Share” activities allow students to learn about a topic, interact with a peer to learn about their chosen topic, and then sharing their two chosen topics to the class. | |
| After defining key words, students read and reflect on an excerpt from our Health Equity Report. |
Civics
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of voting. | |
| Students read a passage and graph on elections and election turnout. | |
| Students read four primary sources and a Pew Research Center article to understand the history and importance of voting. | |
| Students explore the US Census website to learn more about the importance of the Census. | |
| Students read about the five generations since 1925 in Part I. In Part II, a Pew Research Center articles dives deeper into generational divides. | |
| This includes an excerpt from Count Her In (2019). | |
| DataHaven’s Connecticut Wellbeing and Equity Data App contains visualizations of a wide variety of data. Students are guided through exploring this app. | |
| Through reading from the 2019 Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index and the Hartford Climate Action Plan, students learn about local, contemporary efforts to address climate change. | |
| Students learn about the history of immigration and the current state of New Haven’s population. | |
| Students research a cultural organization in New Haven of their own choosing. | |
| This includes an excerpt from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and corresponding thought questions. | |
| This assignment introduces students to the data collection and analysis process. They choose a topic of their own to research. | |
| First students read about three key components of civic life. Then, they are tasked with conducting research in their own community. |
Feedback and suggestions
Used one of the above resources? Questions, comments, concerns? Email us at info [at] ctdatahaven.org with a description of your teaching approach and needs. Many additional resources on the DataHaven website are commonly used in classroom settings and we encourage you to browse or contact us for assistance.
Since its emergence in late 2019, the novel coronavirus/COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the world at an alarming rate. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a pandemic. While the pace of the virus’ spread has overwhelmed health systems around the world, most of those infected experience mild symptoms. Fever and dry cough are the most common symptoms. However, some populations are at elevated risk, including older adults, people in long-term care or nursing facilities, and those with certain pre-existing medical conditions, especially if not well controlled.
The virus is spread via droplets (via sneezes and coughs from those infected) and may be spread in other ways. Prevention can take many forms, including hand washing, not touching one’s face, and social distancing. The immediate goal of these prevention steps is to slow the spread of disease – this will help protect health systems from becoming critically overwhelmed. More is being learned about this virus every day; the below resources offer the most up-to-date information.
DataHaven Resources
DataHaven is collecting and archiving public data related to COVID-19 in Connecticut, and publishing original analyses of Connecticut COVID-19 data as well as data based on large-scale surveys of randomly-selected residents throughout the state. Our reports, interactive data dashboards, and other resources describe health conditions, access to care, and social and economic well-being and equity throughout the state’s neighborhoods. Please contact us with questions.
Other Connecticut Resources
- The Connecticut COVID-19 portal (no longer active) posts data updates on the virus situation in Connecticut, including the number and location (county) of coronavirus patients. It also provides links to specific information and resources for families, schools, businesses, travel, hospitals, nursing homes and more.
- In addition to daily updates, CTDPH maintains more comprehensive weekly data analyses that include data by gender, age, race and ethnicity. In April 2020, CTDPH also released a special data summary of race and ethnicity data grouped by town.
- The Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection has published helpful warnings concerning scammers and false information related to COVID-19.
- The City of New Haven has a COVID-19 hub with regularly-updated local information and maps. Other cities and towns with similar pages include Stamford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and others.
- Yale University has created a detailed site with news and resources geared towards the academic community titled Research, Clinical, and Data-Driven Responses to COVID-19. Yale also has a dashboard with daily statistics, including results from recent testing programs. Other universities, such as UConn, have similar sites.
National Resources
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The CDC provides a variety of resources in their large FAQs portal. This includes information on how the virus spreads, dangers of stigma, how to protect oneself, testing for COVID-19, funerals, pets, and more.
- The CDC’s coronavirus website contains information on symptoms, prevention and treatment.
Other
The New York Times offered an up-to-date map of COVID-19 cases in the United States.
Moody’s Analytics is tracking the economic impact of COVID-19.
Johns Hopkins University hosts a live data tracker on cases of COVID-19 across the world.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 website includes practical tips around how to protect yourself, travel advice, and an FAQ.
Often, we receive general questions about collecing and using data to advance racial equity. The resources listed here are intended to provide guidance in this area.
1. Racial Equity Tools. Visit: https://www.racialequitytools.org/home. Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers more than 2,500 different tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for systems, organizations, and communities.
2. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Resources. https://www.wkkf.org/resources/
3. Counting a Diverse Nation (PolicyLink). This is a 2018 report written by PolicyLink through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It articulates the importance of data disaggregation and explains methods for collecting and analyzing data on race and ethnicity.
4. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research (Annual Review of Public Health). Visit: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750. This 2019 article provides an overview of structural racism, cultural racism, and individual-level racism. Recommendations for future research and a discussion on interventions to address racial inequity are also included.
5. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership online guide to Resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Urban Institute). https://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/library/guides/resources-diversity-equity-and-inclusion. Efforts are categorized into two areas: 1) Promoting DEI practices within Partner organizations, including hiring, retention, and assembling advisory or governing boards and 2) Highlighting how Partners’ products and services can further DEI in their communities. In 2019, a set of resources were compiled to help Partners center DEI in their internal processes and external products; while tailored for NNIP members like DataHaven, the resources would also be relevant for other research organizations.
This was one of the most popular pages on an earlier (2003-2009) version of the DataHaven website.
A Guide to Grant Writing: The Needs Assessment
Have you witnessed a problem in your community, such as underage alcohol consumption, and want to change it but are not sure where to begin? The first step is to develop a needs assessment that clearly portrays the problem. This needs assessment may also be used in a grant application that will allow you to obtain the funds needed to address your observed need. These presented methods are intended to assist organizations in the incorporation of data into the grant proposal in order to develop a stronger, more competitive submission. The foundation of a successful grant proposal is a strong needs assessment that successfully compiles, analyzes, and presents information in order to convey the necessity and rationale for your proposed program plan. There are many good online sources of technical assistance for grant writing.
Below are some guidelines for writing a broad community-based project needs assessment are summarized.
The Data
The needs assessment should clearly and concisely demonstrate that a relevant problem or need exists. The first step of this process is to include relevant supporting data. Such data may pertain to demographics, economic health, education, crime and safety, environment, youth development, and health. When selecting data, it is important that the data is beneficial and not detrimental to your needs assessment.
In general, the data should clearly describe your target population and the need that is being addressed. Using the example of underage alcohol consumption, some supporting data might be: the age distribution of your community, % of population in high school, % of children that consume alcohol, the number of under age drinking citations the police department issued in the past year, the frequency children consume alcohol, the volume of alcohol consumed and the location of liquor stores.
Careful consideration must be taken when determining what data to include in the needs assessment. In general, only use data that is relevant and specific to your proposal. Most likely this will require you to come up with specific data. Regardless of the indicators and variables used, they should adhere to five guidelines:
- State the need using hard data, not assumptions or undocumented assertions.
- Only use statistics that are clear and supporting of your argument
- Use comparative statistics and research when possible.
- Make sure all data collection is well documented.
- Don’t overuse statistics.
The Data Center in New Orleans developed a list of tips on the kinds of data funders find helpful and the kinds of data they find not helpful, which we’ve modified slightly for this page. A quick way to critique the usefulness of the data you’ve been putting in your problem statements is to scan down the “not helpful” column and see if you’ve ever used data that’s not helpful. (A lot of people do, so don’t be embarrassed.) If you see a type of data that you’ve used that’s not helpful, you’ll see next to it a helpful alternative. Reviewing this list should put you on the path to giving funders the data they really want in problem statements.
|
NOT Helpful |
Helpful |
|
|
Data that represents geographic areas larger than the area you are targeting (like cancer rates for the whole state of Connecticut when you are only going to be doing cancer screenings in the housing developments in one town). |
vs |
Data that represents the specific neighborhood(s) where you are working (such as data from DataHaven’s neighborhood profiles).
|
|
Raw numbers that describe the problem in your area. |
vs |
Raw numbers AND percentages that show the proportion of the total population in your area that is affected by the problem. |
|
Only numbers that represent the geographic area where you work without any comparison data. |
vs |
Comparison data at a state, national town level and other geographic levels of interest to the funder. |
|
Data that is not relevant to the problem (like infant mortality rates when you are going to be providing asthma services). |
vs |
Data that scientific research has demonstrated is related to the problem you are addressing (like data about pregnancy-related deaths when you are going to be providing prenatal care). |
|
Data from newspapers, magazines, and TV news programs – sources that are not in the business of distributing reliable data. (Newspapers, for example, are in the business of selling newspapers, of course.) |
vs |
Data from reputable sources such as government agencies, national associations, and peer-reviewed journals. |
|
Data that are old (like 1990 Census data on race). |
vs |
Recent available data from the chosen data source (like 2020 Census data on race). |
|
All the data you’ve ever found that relates somewhat to the problem. We call this a “data dump.” |
vs |
Data carefully selected and narrowed down from the entire list of all the data you found and presented in a targeted, compelling, concise problem statement. |
If you follow the above tips, you will include data in your problem statement that funders will find very helpful. Remember that these tips apply only to needs assessments. Other parts of the grant proposal may require different types of data.
The Presentation
Your data is only useful if the reviewer can understand its presentation. The needs assessment should be a narrative of your data that conveys the urgency of your program. Besides embedding the data in the text, authors should also try to incorporate tables, charts, graphs, and maps. These effective presentation tools visually display comparisons and trends.
When presenting data in the form of tables, charts and graphs, be sure to adhere to the following rules:
- Always include an accompanying narrative in the text that describes what the data is and what the data is telling the reader.
- Clearly label all axes (for graphs and charts) and columns and rows (for tables).
- Include a title and reference.
- Consider numbering tables/figures for easier reference.
Things to Think About When Doing a Great Needs Assessment
- Am I clearly addressing an evident knowledge or need gap?
- What sets my project apart from the rest?
- Don’t assume the problem and solution are obvious to the reader. The reader is not necessarily an expert in the field.
- Is my data relevant, concise, and presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner?
- Did I follow the funder’s instructions and format properly?
- Did I avoid jargon, acronyms, and excess wording?
- Are my references and data well documented?
Looking Forward
A great needs assessment is the foundation to a successful grant application. In order make this transition, the needs assessment is extended and used to determine goals and methods on how to reduce the apparent need gap. These goals pertain to both the ultimate outcome of the project, as well as the minor objectives. Let’s use our program plan to decrease under age drinking. The ultimate measurable outcome would be the number of persons less than 21 years old that drink alcohol. A measurable minor objective would be the number of educational pamphlets outlining the negative effects of alcohol that are distributed to high school children. Using measurable outcomes will show the funder how many people or communities your program will impact.
This is a page for job postings from our partner organizations whose responsibilities include the use of public data resources (i.e., federal, state, and local data) for research, planning, and evaluation in Connecticut or adjacent areas of nearby states. The information posted here is shared in order to help reach area residents and we do not charge for postings. The content is not necessarily contributed by or approved by the partner organizations listed and may not represent the most current information available. Note: DataHaven positions are posted at http://ctdatahaven.org/careers.
Selected CT Data Careers Pages
These are a few pages where we have seen jobs posted related to Connecticut data, research, and evaluation. In addition, many national job boards, such as Idealist, regularly post jobs related to public data use that are located in Connecticut.
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- DataHaven: http://ctdatahaven.org/careers
- Hartford Foundation: https://www.hfpg.org/who-we-are/our-staff/careers
- Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association (CCAPA): https://ct.planning.org/career-center/job-postings/. There are often multiple city planning, GIS, and planning analyst positions posted here, which focus on the collection and use of public data in a city planning capacity.
- Connecticut Public Health Association jobs board: Click here.
- State of Connecticut jobs: Link here
- Yale University – Employment: https://careers.yale.edu/us/en
- University of Connecticut Jobs: https://hr.uconn.edu/jobs/
- Connecticut Voices for Children: http://www.ctvoices.org/
Often, we receive general questions about collecing and using local data, or creating a system for doing so. The resources listed here are intended to provide guidance in this area.
1. Connecticut Open Data Guides
Our Data Guides link to specific resources that might be useful, including state open databases and websites. Topics include Demographics, Health, Economy, Civic Vitality, and others.
In addition to these guides, it may be helpful to review our reports, such as the Community Index, to get a sense of the scope of available local data. Many of our reports contain extensive footnotes and links to sources. Reviewing other high-quality reports, like those hosted on the Data Resources section of our website, may also be helpful. Request technical assistance from DataHaven if you have a particular question or trouble finding something.
2. Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data: https://www.urban.org/strengtheningcommunities
This book has extensive detail on the systems and processes used to collect local data, with a particular focus on the work of National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) partners like DataHaven.
You can download the book for free from the Urban Institute. We refer to it often.
3. NNIP Guide to Starting a Local Data Intermediary: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/nnips-guide-starting-local-da…
Description from the Urban Institute: “The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), coordinated by the Urban Institute, is a peer learning network of local organizations that share a mission to improve low-income neighborhoods by empowering local stakeholders to use data in planning, policymaking, and community building. Based on 20 years of NNIP experience, this guide describes the role of a local data intermediary, the process of identifying a home for the intermediary, and how to think about its initial fundraising and activities. The guide will help stakeholders think about the broader environment of community information and understand various aspects of establishing a local data intermediary.”
In addition to providing direct assistance to hundreds of non-profit organizations and agencies each year, DataHaven staff have worked with area schools, universities, employers, non-profit associations, philanthropic funders, and government agencies to provide training on the use of data in Connecticut for over 30 years.
Topics often covered in our Connecticut Data Workshops include:
- The importance of neighborhood-level and community-level data
- Accessing neighborhood-level, town-level, and community-level information through DataHaven
- Key trends in your community: Results from the statewide DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey
- Visualizing data
- Designing surveys and focus groups
- Gathering and using data from federal agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau, and from Connecticut state agencies, such as the Department of Public Health, Connecticut Department of Labor, and State Department of Education
- Using data to write grants
Please visit our technical assistance page for more information about our technical assistance services, or to contact DataHaven regarding the Connecticut Data Workshop program. An example of an agenda may be found below.
9:00-9:15AM: Welcome!
— DataHaven Staff Introductions
— Table Introductions
— Agenda for today’s session
9:15-9:45AM: Presentation and Q&A: DataHaven Website, 2025 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Results
— Presentation & New DataHaven Website Features
— Q&A
9:45-9:55AM: Data to Action: DataHaven Partners
— Presentation
9:55-10:55AM: Interactive Activity
(15 min) Brainstorming: How will leveraging data support my / my organization’s work?
(20 min) Practice!
(15 min) Reflection
(10 min) Share out
11:00AM: Adjourn