Alliance Meeting Features Presentation on QRIS Plan

On Thursday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., the CT Early Childhood Alliance will hold its monthly meeting at Graustein Memorial Fund in Hamden. Our guest presenter will be Michelle Levy from the CT Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to talk about the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) plan. Non-members are allowed to attend two meetings of the Alliance before considering membership. If you would like to attend the December meeting and see what the Alliance is about, please RSVP HERE. Please be ready to start at 9 a.m., as we need to be out of the meeting room promptly at 11 a.m.

The Alliance Steering Committee will meet following the regular meeting.

Op-Ed in Support of the Office of Early Childhood

The CT Early Childhood Alliance penned an op-ed that was posted on the CT Mirror's CT Viewpoints page recently - "Prioritize Children and Families; Defend the Office of Early Childhood" looks at the impact the Office of Early Childhood has had since its creation, including innovative steps taken and the continuity it brings to the early childhood field.

Lowering Infant Mortality Rates with Group Sessions

Babies born in the United States are 76% more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born in their peer countries like  Canada, France, or Japan. That stunning revelation was part of a study out of Johns Hopkins University and published in the journal Health Affairs.

One of the study's authors, Ashish Thakrar, said the study found the leading cause of infant death in the United States is prematurity: babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

“The rate at which US infants are dying from prematurity is three times the rate as in other countries,” he says.

So what's going on? According to the article, "A growing body of research suggests it has to do with American women — especially low-income and minority women — experiencing greater stress during their pregnancy due to the lack of social supports.

The theory, essentially: A less-stressed out body might be one where a tiny, developing human wants to spend a little more time.

One South Carolina doctor decided to try something different - rather than one-on-one checkups with moms-to-be, she decided to lead group appointments, giving the new moms and dads the chance to interact with one another. Read the full article HERE.

What does preterm birth look like in Connecticut? According to the March of Dimes, 1 in 11 babies born in Connecticut in 2017 were born preterm (before 37 weeks). For more information via the MoD Connecticut profile, click HERE.

ACA Open Enrollment Now Open

Remember that Open Enrollment is currently taking place for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through Access Health CT. You have until December 15 to register. Remember, CT does not use the national exchange - insurance is obtained here through Access Health CT. More plan information, assistance and renewal can be done at www.AccessHealthCT.com

FBI Background Check Fees Go Up in 2019

Now is the time to get your background checks done - FBI fee for processing fingerprint-based background checks will increase on January 1, 2019. The OEC has released a document to answer any questions you may have and the old vs. new fees. Background check documents received by the OEC after December 15 should include the new fee rates.

Support for the Alliance comes from of our members and our funders: The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut Community Foundation, Children's Fund of Connecticut, CT Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of CT Council of Philanthropy; The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut; Community Foundation of Greater New Britain; and Community Foundation of Greater New Haven.