Internships Available at CTECA!
We have a number of internship opportunities available at the CT Early Childhood Alliance this summer. If you you know someone who might be interested, please pass the information on to them!
Children of Incarcerated Parents Roundtable Scheduled for May 26
On May 26, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
at Capitol Room 310, CT Association for Human Services (CAHS) and Connecticut Children with Incarcerated Parents (CTCIP) will host a roundtable discussion on a state-specific report that will be released that day. The state report is complimentary to a report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT policy report, A Shared Sentence: The Devastating Toll of Parental Incarceration on Kids, Families and Communities. Although every child, and each parent-child relationship, is different, having a parent in jail or prison can be traumatic and result in long-term negative outcomes. To RSVP, click HERE.Urge Congress to Support a Significant Increase in Funding on May 25
(From the National Women's Law Center) We need to make sure that Congress hears NOW about how important increased investments in early learning are in the FY 2017 Appropriations bill - especially child care because of the impact of the CCDBG reauthorization. Members of Congress are continuing to debate funding priorities and the House and Senate committees that make these decisions are likely to move forward in early June. We must make our voices clear. We will make it easier for you by setting aside a day to do this next week on Wednesday May 25! The letter to Congress from national groups lays out the funding asks including a $1.2 billion new investment in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This $1.2 billion would not only support the implementation of the new CCDBG law but also ensure that no children lose child care assistance. A sample alert is available HERE for the Wednesday May 25th call in to Congress to make the case for increased funding for early learning programs.
Lifting Children out of Poverty: We CAN do it
The Children's Defense Fund's Marian Wright Edelman is a frequent author for The Huffington Post. Her article focus this past week was building strong children today for a stronger nation tomorrow and the Academic Pediatric Association's (APA) supplement on child poverty in America. The APA says, "children remain the poorest members of our society even in good times, with rates that are unacceptably high for a developed nation. This situation is not an inevitable fact of life." The Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance wholeheartedly agrees.
Meriden Seeks 2Gen Coordinator
Meriden has posted a job opening for a 2Gen Coordinator. Click HERE for the job description. Please send resumes electronically to Cathy Battista at [email protected] no later than May 31.
Early Childhood Stakeholder Survey Available
As part of work of the Connecticut Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) planning grant, the United Way of Connecticut conducted a needs assessment in 2014-2015. Even though the foundational work has begun, your feedback will help shape the process that is underway to improve Connecticut's plan for developmental monitoring and screening and linking to services in a way that works for families, communities and Early Care and Education (ECE) programs. Community discussions were held the week of May 9 to present the findings and action plan summary. Since not all interested individuals were able to attend, the summary is available online and there is a brief survey (5-10 minutes) that was presented during the community discussions. The survey is available to parents/guardians, administrators, infant/toddler/preschool teachers, consultants, family child care providers, family resource center staff, and all other early childhood stakeholders. For additional information about the survey or the grant, please contact Heather Spada at [email protected] or visit the ECCS webpage: www.eccsct.org.
GMF Announces Exploratory Grants
The Graustein Memorial Fund is pleased to invite proposals for grants that seek to promote equity in education by inspiring all to end racism and poverty. Awards will be made in two different categories:
Advocates Inspiring Equity grants (ranging from $5,000 to $25,000) to support individual or group projects that lift up the voices of students, families, educators, artists, and others, and
Inspiring School Equity grants (ranging from $25,000 to $75,000) intended to promote and build more equitable approaches within classrooms, schools, districts, multi-district regions, communities, and the state.