102 Days and Counting...No State Budget
It's day 102 and there is no state budget to be had. Leaders met throughout the holiday weekend, and there is hope that leaders can come to a bipartisan agreement to present to the governor and to rank-and-file membership. The governor has put a deadline of this Friday, October 13, in place, due to legislator scheduling conflicts. This is the best chance to get a budget passed before November 1, according to published reports. CT NewsJunkie and CT Mirrorhave more. CT NewsJunkie also reports that the governor is working on another separate budget proposal. Click HERE for more.
If you haven't called your legislators yet to support early childhood funding, click HERE to find out how.
In addition, our friends at CT Voices for Children just released an action alert regarding the state's spending cap. The spending cap has become a central issue in the current bipartisan budget negotiations. While a spending cap can be vital to preventing runaway spending, an overly restrictive cap would mean that CT can no longer make opportunities for children and families a priority. Proposed changes to the spending cap would have that effect, limiting the state's ability to meet vital needs today or key priorities tomorrow. Please call your legislators and urge them to support a spending cap that is driven by a commitment to meet vital needs, strengthening our cities and towns, and spurring equitable economic growth.
WIC Presentation
At the October meeting of the Alliance, we were joined by Marilyn Lonczak, State WIC Program Breastfeeding Co-Coordinator and Nutrition Consultant, who shared information on how the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program works, eligibility, the new e-payment system, and encouraged the early childhood community to spread the word about the program. WIC serves pregnant women and children ages 1-5, by providing nutritious supplemental foods, as well as nutrition counseling and education, breastfeeding promotion and support and more. The outcomes speak for themselves. For more about WIC, click HERE. Or, click for FAQs or approved food lists.
CERCLE Welcomes OEC Commissioner Wilkinson
CERCLE will host its October Community Forum, with featured speaker, OEC Commissioner David Wilkinson, on Tuesday, October 24, 6 p.m. at All Our Kin, 414A Chapel Street, New Haven. Space is limited, so please RSVP if you plan to attend, by calling 203-865-4673 or by email at [email protected].
Zero Weeks: CT Campaign for Paid Family Leave Hosts Paid Leave Documentary Screening
The CT Campaign for Paid Family Leave will host a screening of the Ky Dickens film, "Zero Weeks," on Friday, November 3, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Alumni Lounge at the University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, West Haven. Students and seniors are free, but a $10 donation is suggested to benefit the CT Campaign for Paid Family Leave. ZERO WEEKS explores America's paid leave crisis. Following workers who are forced to choose between keeping their job or being with a new baby, beating cancer, or tending to an aging parent, the film makes an economic, medical, business and social case for paid family leave. RSVP HERE. If you cannot attend on November 3, there will be other screenings around the state over the next few months. To find out where, click HERE (more screenings will be added). And, if you click on the screenshot, you can watch the "Zero Weeks" trailers via YouTube.
Oral Health America Webinar: Baby Teeth Matter
Oral Health America hosts monthly webinars and this month, one of the webinars focuses on baby teeth. The webinar series provides technical assistance and create a forum to share information about best practices and innovative projects. "Baby Teeth Matter" will take place on Tuesday, November 7, 3 p.m. EST. To sign up for the webinar, click HERE."Baby Teeth Matter:" This session will provide an overview of the Baby Teeth Matter Collaborative, a joint program of the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center and ARCORA. This collaborative has successfully increased access and decreased referrals to private pediatric dentists for 0-5 year old American Indian children in the Pacific Northwest using a variety of prevention and early intervention strategies, including minimally-invasive dentistry. The session will highlight one of the communities that employed the first Dental Health Aide Therapist in the Pacific Northwest.