Thank You for Attending Advocacy Day 2019!

Thank you to everyone who made their way to the State Capitol on May 23 for the annual Advocacy Day. It was great to see the sea of yellow, both in room 310 and out and about in the Capitol.

Among the topics this year - asking the legislature to pass a budget that was not harmful to children and families, fair wages for the early childhood workforce (urging support for several bills that would give pay raises to early educators, extend dates of the staff qualifications requirement for early childhood educators, paid family and medical leave, and support for family child care (HB 6291 and SB 930).

There was also a strong focus on Care4Kids, which over the past 17 years, has only seen two small increases of 6% (total) for child care centers, and inflation has eroded the value of the Care4Kids subsidy dollar to just 75 cents. While the federal government recommends that the subsidy rates be set at the 75th percentile of the market rate, CT currently pays at the 7th percentile for preschool and the 4th percentile for infant-toddler care (in Greater Hartford). The Care4Kids certificate for infant-toddler care is worth $201 (including the parent share) in Greater Hartford, but the average cost of care is $302 per week. Meaning that parents have to pay their share of the certificate, plus $101.

We would like to thank the CT After School Network for co-sponsoring the event this year. We hope you had the chance to speak to your legislators while you were there, too.

If you have photos you would like us to add to our Facebook album, please feel free to email them to [email protected]. Our pictures can be found on Facebook at CT Early Childhood Alliance, or click HERE.

Perry Preschool Project Finds Inter-generational Benefits!

We've all heard about the Perry Preschool Project and the benefits it brought to the children who took part. Fast-forward to 2019 and the exciting news that has just been released - the CHILDREN of the children of the Perry Preschool Project are seeing benefits, such as being much more likely to finish high school without suspension, hold full-time employment, and spending at least three times the amount of time with stably married parents before age 18. 

This is very exciting news and we highly encourage you to download the report, graphics, etc, and share them with your social networks, spreading the word on this inter-generational success. This proves that programs DO make a difference! But we need to continue to INVEST in programs that are REALLY high quality, so we can replicate the results.

The Great Give Starts May 1 - Please Support The Alliance!

For the second year, the CT Early Childhood Alliance will be participating in The Great Give, a 36-hour giving campaign, starting May 1, through the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. We would appreciate your financial support, to keep the Alliance moving forward, and continuing to advocate for Connecticut's young children and families.

We are a 17-year-old statewide membership and advocacy organization committed to improving developmental outcomes in the areas of learning, health, safety, and economic security for children ages birth to eight.

While the giving event starts at 8 a.m. on May 1, early donations are welcome! Our link is here - https://www.thegreatgive.org/organizations/ct-early-childhood-alliance