ALICE Advocate - April 14, 2025 Edition

TAKE ACTION

Child Tax Credit and School Meals   

The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee will hear important bills for the CT Child Tax Credit and School Meals for All this morning at 11 am. You can watch here. Although the window to submit testimony for consideration at the hearing has passed, you can still show your support!  

  • Only have 1 minute?  
  • Take 5 minutes to call and email your legislator and the Governor. 
    • Identify your legislators where you live or work here. 
    • Call or write an email to your legislators and the Governor today! A simple message can have a big impact! 

Need talking points? Check out our testimony or the CT Child Tax Credit Coalition and School Meals for All materials.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fairfield County Talks Housing: State Programs, Local Impact, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority Roadshow 

Wednesday, April 16th 12:00 - 1:00 pm - Register Today!
Experts from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) will share data on housing affordability in Fairfield County, describe the programs they offer in the region, and respond to questions you may have about housing needs in your communities. This event is part of the Fairfield County Talks Housing series, which offers fact-based conversations about pressing housing issues in the region. 

CT Mirror’s “In the Room” with Representative Jim Himes 

Thursday, April 17 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Ferguson Library, 1 Public Library Plaza, Stamford, CT 06901 
Congressman Jim Himes to discuss state priorities, national security, foreign policy in the Trump era, and more! Free to attend, registration required. Event will be live-streamed as well. Check-in and light refreshments at 5:30 pm Register Here 

UPDATES FROM HARTFORD

All hearings can be viewed on CT-N or each Committee’s YouTube channel. Full CT CGA calendar is available online here.
 

Monday, April 14th  

Tuesday, April 15th 

  • Senate Session, 10 am, Senate Chambers, State Capitol Building: CT-N Live 
  • Representative Gilcrest and Students for A Dream Press Conference, 2 pm, LOB Rm. 2A 

Wednesday, April 16th 

Thursday, April 17th  

  • Early Childhood Caucus Meeting, 9:30 am, LOB Rm. 1C  

RESOURCES

Early Childhood Education 

Last Wednesday, we joined the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance and more than 100 childcare advocates at the Capitol to make it clear that the early childhood community is united in its goal of creating better outcomes for Connecticut's young children and their caregivers. Watch the briefing here. 

On Tuesday, April 8th Governor Lamont hosted childcare advocates and Dr.Walter Gilliam, Executive Director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, for a roundtable discussion on Universal Preschool. Watch the roundtable here at the 10:21 mark and view Dr. Gilliam’s slides by clicking here. Bridgeport Prosper’s Parent Ambassador Kierra Edwards was featured in NBC CT’s news coverage. Click here to watch the video. 

Read more about Governor Lamont’s Universal Pre-K proposal and HB 5003.

Fiscal Guardrails  

Watch News 12’s story and read CT News Junkie’s article on CT Democrat’s call for a fiscal emergency in response to federal cuts and ongoing economic uncertainty. A fiscal emergency to responsibly adjust the state’s spending cap would address the urgent needs of our working and middle class residents. Over the past seven years, more than $12B has gone into reserves, with nearly 70%, or $8.6B, used for additional pension debt payments beyond what is required. Dig deeper into the debate with CT Mirror’s news coverage from April 9th and 10th.  

Have questions? Visit www.unitedwaycwc.org/advocate or contact Tida Infahsaeng at tida.infahsaeng@unitedwaycwc.org.