April Forum Will Focus on Growing the Economy, Fixing Child Care Crisis

Join us at the Legislative Office Building on Tuesday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Room 2E, for a forum on the economic impact the lack of affordable, accessible child care has one the state's families and on the state's businesses. For more information, click HERE. As this is a public event, you can attend without RSVPing, though we would appreciate a headcount before the event.

We are also seeking a parent or two who would be able to attend this forum - if you're a parent who struggles to pay for child care beyond what your Care4Kids certificate provides for, or if you couldn't finish your post-secondary degree because Care4Kids wouldn't cover you as a student, please contact us. You can contact Kayla Goldfarb at [email protected] or Jessica Ciparelli at [email protected].

Bill Update

The Education Committee voted the early childhood bills out of committee last week. Several bills have now moved to the Appropriations Committee. Please call members of the Education Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, (in the PDF link, it's Subcommittee 10) especially if your own Representative or Senator is on it, and ask them to support the package of Care4Kids bills (SB 931, SB 933, and SB. 934).

Diaper Legislation Alert

The Lee-DeLauro End Diaper Need Act of 2019 will be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday! The bill would create a $100 million grant program focused on ending diaper need across America. Please urge your congressperson to sign on as an original co-sponsor. You can call, email, or use social media to get your request across. Questions? Contact [email protected].

Locally, there is an update on House Bill 7094, "An Act Concerning Temporary Family Assistance:" The bill is meant to ensure the health and well-being of young children receiving temporary family assistance by providing their families with an additional thirty dollars in benefits monthly per child under the age of three to purchase diapers. The bill was successfully voted out of the Human Services Committee. It was sent to the Office of Fiscal Analysis to get the official fiscal note/cost to the state. Please urge the members of the full Appropriations Committee and the Human Services Sub-committee of the Appropriations Committee (in the PDF link, its Subcommittee 8) to support the funding necessary to implement HB 7094.

Register Childhood Conversations/Together We Will Conference, March 29-30

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, MARCH 22! It's almost time for the conference! This year's Childhood Conversations/Together We Will Conference will be held on Friday, March 29, and Saturday, March 30, in Windsor (Hartford-Windsor Airport Marriott). This year's theme is learning to support and develop children's social-emotional skills to reduce challenging behaviors, strengthen families and communities.  You can register for one or both days of the conference. For more information, click HERE! Also note that partial parent scholarships are available by contacting Deb Sheldon at 860-285-1839, Ext. 0.

ALSO - Friday evening, March 29, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Office of Early Childhood, CT Head Start Association, UConn Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, All Our Kin, and RESC Alliance, will sponsor a video premiere of "Foundations for Coaching in Early Childhood: Partnering with Parents and Professionals" at 4:30 p.m. at the conference. Light refreshments and beverages will be available. Registration is free and separate from the conference registration. Click HERE to register and click HERE to see the flier.

CT-AIMH 2019 Spring Conference is Open for Registration

The Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health (CT-AIMH) is holding its spring conference on May 9, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Woodwinds in Branford. The conference focuses on "The Power of Early Childhood Experience in Shaping Risk and Resilience," and will feature Dr. Bruce D. Perry as keynote. Dr. Perry is a Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, a not-for-profit organization based in Houston, Texas. He is an author, teacher, clinician, and researcher in children's mental health and the neurosciences holding a variety of academic positions. Experiences in early childhood shape the developing brain by providing a range of social, emotional, motor, and cognitive experiences that impact the development and functioning of key neural networks in the infant brain. The presentation will discuss the vital importance of supporting and fostering brain development from infancy throughout early childhood by supporting the caregivers. Dr. Perry's address will focus on the importance of relational "therapeutic web" in providing consistent, predictable and nurturing experiences that buffer stressors and build resilience. Seats are going fast - please register at www.ct-aimh.org.

CWEALF is Hiring for New Program

Our friends at Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) have started a new program called "She Leads Justice Project." In launching this program, two job opportunities are available. One position is a part-time Community Advocacy Assistant, who is fluent in English and Spanish and advocates for clients in the legal system (Greater Hartford area) and the second position is for a consultant to help develop a curriculum for the new peer advocacy program. 

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.