The Economic Impact of Child Care and the Care4Kids Program: 12/7 Forum

On Wednesday, December 7, the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, in collaboration with the CT Early Childhood Alliance, will host a forum on child care and the Care4Kids program, specifically focusing on the economic impact both have on this state. We anticipate an interesting discussion to evolve and welcome your attendance. Legislators have been invited to attend, so they can hear first-hand how changes to these programs and services can disrupt an already fragile system. The forum will take place in Room 2B of the Legislative Office Building from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. To RSVP, click HERE. NOTE: CT-N anticipates a high volume of events tomorrow and does not expect to cover the event. We will attempt Facebook Live for those who are on Facebook and attempt to record for interested parties to watch later. 

We Need Your Help!

We fear that as early as mid-November, Care4Kids could announce a complete closure of Priority Group 4. This means all families coming up for redetermination 30 days after the notice is posted will be cut off from C4K.  Our only chance to stop this is to put enough pressure on elected officials to find money to fund the program. Critical to creating that pressure is finding parents willing to tell their story to the press. If you have a C4K voucher that's coming up for redetermination or you know of families reaching their redetermination date who would be willing to share their story, please contact Jessica Ciparelli at [email protected]. If you haven’t already, please sign the petition, then share the video and petition link with your networks.

Webinar: Why Early Learning is a Bipartisan Issue

Save the Children Action Network and Child Care Works will host a webinar on Wednesday, November 2, at 1 p.m. Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) believe that every child deserves the best start in life. They are building bipartisan will and voter support to make sure every child in the U.S. has access to high-quality early learning. The webinar will focus on the importance of early childhood education and the broad, bipartisan support that this issue receives. To register, click HERE. 

Care4Kids Update

The Care4kids has a projected deficit again. In August, the program was closed to new Priority Group 4 applicants.  That means the only remaining option to save money, is to reduce the caseload.  The most likely way this would happen would be by not renewing certificates when they come up for redetermination.  Under state law, Care4kids has to post a notice on their web page 30 days in advance of such a change.  So far this has not happened.  The Alliance is doing all that we can to prevent it from ever happening.  If you haven’t already, please sign the petition, then share the video and petition link with your networks. Also please talk to your legislators.  Finally, we are looking for parents whose C4K certificate is up for renewal in the first half of 2017 to record a short video answering the question, “What will happen if you lose your Care4Kids?” Two articles came out late last week in CT Mirror and CT NewsJunkie discussing the current Care4Kids situation.