CCDBG Regulations Released

The Administration for Families and Children recently released the CCDBG regulations. The regulations clarify the goals of the law, improve the health, safety and quality of child care; support the early childhood profession; and make child care assistance more accessible and stable for families. 

Some highlights of the final rule include the following requirements for states to:

• Establish minimum twelve month eligibility periods (which leads to much-needed consistency for children, families and educators).
• Establish a graduated phase-out of subsidies for families who, at eligibility redetermination, exceed initial State income thresholds but still have modest incomes. (This allows families to say yes to a small raise, without worrying that accepting the increase would result in losing their child care because of it).
• Describe policies to prevent suspension and expulsion of children birth to age 5 in child care and other early childhood programs.
• Improve important provider payment practices, including: base payments to providers on child attendance rather than enrollment; take the cost of providing quality child care into account when setting provider subsidy payment rates; show how base payment rates enable providers to meet health, safety, quality, and staffing requirements; and use valid methodologies to update rates at least every three years.

Middlesex Coalition to Host Candidate Forum 

On Thursday, October 13, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., the Middlesex Coalition for Children will host a candidate forum. This is a chance to hear from many of the candidates running for State Senate and State Representative to represent parts of Middlesex County.  Each candidate will have a chance to speak, have time for a Question & Answer session and wrap up with open 'meet & greet' time at the end. Confirmed candidates include: Dante Bartolomeo, ​Paul Doyle (for part), Ted Kennedy, Matt Lesser, Art Linares, Anthony Moran, Earl Roberts, Joe Serra, Len Suzio, and Linda Szynkowicz. More candidates are expected to be confirmed participants before October 13. Vincent Candelora, Noreen Kokoruda, Len Fasano, Devin Carney, Melissa Ziobron, and Emil "Buddy" Altobello are all running unopposed this election year, so it is unnecessary for them to attend the event. 

Election 2016: Let's Get a Question About Children and Families in the Presidential Debate 

The next presidential debate is scheduled for October 9. Questions solicited from the Internet will be considered in this debate. A question, "How would your budget priorities lift working families with children from poverty?" has been submitted on the Open Debate Coalition website and "Every Child Matters" has asked for advocates to support that question for consideration. The question currently has 1,600 votes in its favor. To vote, click HERE. When you click on the red "VOTE" button, you'll be asked for your zip code and an email address.   

Let's Talk Teeth! 

Training for the Let's Talk Teeth program will soon be underway. The new training schedule will be released around October 10. If you are interested in presenting this fun and informative class, or if you are would like a presentation at your organization, contact Mary at [email protected]. To learn more about "Let's Talk Teeth," click HERE. 

Gesell Names Executive Director 

Congratulations to Dr. Peg Oliveira, who has been named the new Executive Director of The Gesell Institute of Child Development. Dr. Oliveira brings more than a decade and a half of early childhood development and early childhood policy experience to the Institute. Prior to coming to Gesell, Oliveira has consulted for many Connecticut early childhood organizations and agencies such as The Office of Early Childhood, The State Department of Education and The Child Health and Development Institute. Dr. Oliveira studied Psychology and English at Fairfield University and holds a PhD in Psychology from Brandeis University. Dr. Oliveira is active in the New Haven community. She serves on the Board of Directors of Calvin Hill Day Care and founded 108 Monkeys, a nonprofit yoga outreach organization, which provides yoga services to mental health clinics, schools and child care centers in New Haven.

"Chill Daddy" Campaign Brings Awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome 

A statewide education campaign, “Chill Daddy” has launched to address Shaken Baby Syndrome. This campaign is the work of the Public Health Workgroup, a public-private collaboration of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, Department of Children and Families, Department of Public Health, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Office of the Child Advocate, Casey Family Programs, Connecticut Hospital Association, Day Kimball Hospital and Yale New Haven Health Systems. More information on the campaign can be found HERE. 

Support for the Alliance comes from of our members and our funders: The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, Connecticut Health Foundation, Children's Fund of Connecticut, Connecticut Community Foundation, and The Eder Family Foundation.