Blog - CT Early Childhood Alliance

Weekly News - May 23, 2016

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on May 26, 2016

Internships Available at CTECA!

Internships 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 25^th call in to Congress to make the case for increased funding for early learning programs.

Weekly News - May 16, 2016

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on May 17, 2016

Senate & House Pass Budget

Capitol On Thursday and Friday of last week, the Senate and the House both passed a $19.76 million budget for 2017. We are still reviewing the impact of the budget cuts to early childhood, but here's what we know so far:

1) The Office of Early Childhood budget was cut $3.5 million, but was spared some of the huge cuts made elsewhere. (SB 501)

2) The tax on diapers was repealed (through the budget implementer bill, SB 502, Sec. 205, page 284) The repeal takes effect July 1, 2018.

3) Community plans for early childhood - the funding used by many local early childhood councils - was cut by $52,700, but remains in the budget.

4) The budget combines 3 early childhood program line items (Child Day Care/State Funded Centers, School Readiness and Early Childhood Program). The total appropriation for the 3 programs has been cut by 2% ($1.5 million). It is our understanding that the cut represents the amount that was not spent this fiscal year. The Head Start-Early Childhood Link line item has been eliminated.

5) There is language in the implementer bill (SB 502, Sec. 94, page 136) that will allow the Office of Early Childhood to increase rates for CDC/State Funded Centers to the same rate as School Readiness for 3 and 4 year olds.

Commissions - The six former commissions were consolidated down to two commissions, the "Commission on Women, Children and the Elderly" (combines Commission on Children, Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and Commission on Aging) and the "Commission on Equity and Opportunity" (combines African-American Affairs Commission, Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, and Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission). The legislative language defining this new Commission on Women, Children and the Elderly can be found in SB 502 Sec. 131, page 186. This new commission is funded at $700,000. Previously, the three separate commissions were funded at $1.8 million combined. These changes will take place effective July 1, 2016. The Alliance will share any additional information regarding the consolidation as it becomes available.

HUSKY/Medicaid - We're looking into impact on the the HUSKY program, but the cut to Medicaid is $100 million.

Weekly News - May 9, 2016

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on May 10, 2016

Session Wrap Up: No Budget Yet

Capitol While a budget agreement was in place prior to the end of the legislative session on May 4, it was not voted on. The legislature is expected to return for a special session to pass the budget on Thursday, May 12. A small number of early childhood bills did pass before the end of the legislative session. ClickHERE to see what early childhood bills passed.

Seeking Stories Regarding HUSKY Termination

The New Haven Legal Assistance Association is looking for stories about people cut off of Medicaid at redetermination/renewal. See the flier for more information or to pass the word along.

Middlesex Coalition for Children Meeting

CT Early Childhood Alliance Executive Director Merrill Gay will be a guest at the May meeting, to wrap-up the 2016 legislative session. The second half will be a presentation from our Wesleyan Community Research Seminar on the Elementary Education Opportunity Gap. The meeting is Thursday, May 12, at 9 a.m. at deKoven House in Middletown.