Federal Budget Update: Looks Like Another CR

According to the Coalition on Human Needs, Congress will need another stopgap measure in the form of a Continuing Resolution (CR) in order to continue funding the federal government. The current CR, which was passed just before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, provides funding for all government agencies through Nov. 21. Fights over spending allocations amongst the various government agencies and funding for President Trump’s border wall have held up progress in getting spending bills through Congress. To read more, click HERE.

National Call-In Day of Action - THANK YOU!

Thank you to anyone who took part in the Coalition on Human Needs Day of Action call-in to U.S. Senators to support low-income tax credits. Advocates took the phones and to social media to tell their senators that any tax package that moves through Congress must include provisions/improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credits (CTC). According to CHN, several bills to expand EITC and CTC have been introduced this year alone. If you click HERE, you can find several fact sheets on the bills that were proposed and the impact passage would have on each state.

Children's Mental Health Care and Public/Private Divide

Do you work with children and families? Have you ever tried to refer them to mental or behavioral health care supports? Have you hit roadblocks? Insurance? Age? Level of care needed, etc.? Join the Middlesex Coalition for Children for a discussion on mental and behavioral health access, what the barriers are, and how different the experience of finding care can be with private or public health insurance. A panel of experts will walk you through the challenges and considerations of getting the best health care possible for children and families in crisis. The event is Thursday, November 14, 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., deKoven House, Middletown. 

State Data Available on Infant/Toddler Hunger & Poverty Rates

Think Babies and Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has released state fact sheets regarding infant and toddler nutrition. The fact sheets provide national and state-specific rates of hunger and poverty experienced by infants and toddlers and highlights that too many young children in the United States experience food insecurity and poverty, and do not get the nutrition they need.

CT DOTS Intermediate Pilot

From the Office of Early Childhood Division of Quality Improvement: If you have been using CT DOTS already and attended an OEC approved CT DOTS Introductory Training, consider registering for the Connecticut Documentation and Observation for Teaching System Intermediate Pilot.  See attached flyer for details on a two part training to be held Nov. 25th and Dec.16th. at C.E.S in Trumbull. These sessions are provided at no cost, thanks to support from the RESC Alliance and funding from the OEC Division of Quality Improvement. The flier can be found HERE. The registration link should be accessible through the flier. If not, click HERE. Click on the link to "register or view course offerings" (mid-page), then scroll to the section on Early Childhood.

Childhood Conversations/Together We Will Request for Presenters

The 2020 conference is seeking presenters for Friday, April 3, 2020, at the Hartford-Windsor Marriott. The conference theme is: "Together We Will...Explore the Landscape of Equity and Bias Through the Lens of Social-Emotional Learning." The conference planners are seeking workshop proposals that provide participants with the opportunity to learn about relevant and timely topics related to equity and bias in the context of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Proposal deadline is Friday, November 29. The RFP can be found at http://childhoodconvo.wpengine.com/

Support for the Alliance comes from of our members and our funders: Alliance for Early Success, Children's Fund of Connecticut, Connecticut Community Foundation, CT Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of CT Council of Philanthropy; Community Foundation of Greater New Britain; Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; and the Partnership for America's Children.