#2 Legislative Priority: Universal No-Cost School Meals

Every child has access to nutritious food, helping them succeed in school and supporting overall well-being.

• To learn more, read the School Meals for All CT Coalition’s resources  

Bills We're Watching

• HB 7273 “An Act Imposing a Tax on Certain Sweetened Beverages...and Dedicating Revenue Generated to a Universal School Meals Program”: To establish a tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages to permanently fund no-cost school meals for all children 

• HB 6864 “An Act Concerning the State Budget for the Biennium...”:  Governor’s budget bill, which includes no cost school lunch for reduced-price eligible students in 2026 and no cost breakfast for all students in 2027, excluding CEP districts/schools 

• SB 1217 “An Act Providing School Meals to All Students”: Universal no-cost school meals for all children 

#3 Legislative Priority: Early Care and Education

Identify a stream of funding for the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund to provide immediate resources and long-term sustainability to parents and caregivers in the early care system.

Identify state funding for Cora’s Kids Family Child Care Network, serving Greater Danbury.

• Customize Child Care for CT’s online form to send a letter to your legislators on Early Care and Education 

• Read Yale Tobin Center’s Pre-K Brief and Child Care for CT’s resources to learn more 

Bills We're Watching

• HB 6899 “An Act Concerning Early Educator Pay Equity”: Creates a pay equity grant at OEC to give all Early Care providers funds to raise the salary and benefits of their employees to the levels in the compensation scale developed by OEC for the state funded programs. 

• HB 6867 “An Act Creating the Universal Preschool Endowment”: Establishes universal preschool (children 3-5) with a $300M endowment funded by an unappropriated surplus. Strengthens and expands Early Start and Smart Start programs with 23,000 new slots. Free for families earning up to $100,000 and $20/day for families earning up to $150,000. Includes provider pay parity with public school kindergarten teachers.  

• HB 5003 “An Act Concerning the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund”: Infuses up to $100M into the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund for FY 26 and FY 27 using unappropriated surplus. The fund could support childcare subsidies via Care 4 Kids (children 0-13), salary increases for educators, healthcare subsidies, and childcare facilities capital grants.  

•  SB 1 “An Act Increasing Resources for Students, Schools and Special Education”: Implements a phased in approach that first establishes universal preschool in public schools (children 3-5), followed by limited preschool fees in the TriShare model, then limited preschool fees across all types of care, and lastly limited 0-3 fees across all types of care. Creates a portal to simplify childcare access. Does not include workforce provisions. Funded with with a $300M unappropriated surplus.  

#4 Legislative Priority: Invest in Opportunity Youth

Every young person in Connecticut deserves the freedom to pursue their dreams and build a secure future. Yet, more than 100,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 26 are struggling to stay on track due to barriers at home, school, and work.  

Youth disconnection is a crisis we know how to solve. Invest in the community-based organizations that are to stepping in and providing the support young people need to reconnect and thrive. 

• Watch The Campaign for Working CT’s Back on Track video series and review the “Young People First” report to learn more 

• Customize The Campaign for Working CT’s online form to send a letter to your legislators on opportunity youth 

Bills We're Watching 

• SB 1 “An Act Increasing Resources for Students, Schools and Special Education”: Reduce Chronic Absenteeism and embed student success coaches in public schools 
• HB 1511 “An Act Concerning Disconnected Youth”: Foster collaboration with improved data sharing, include youth success organizations in oversight boards and allocate workforce development funding based on youth disconnection rates 

#5 Legislative Priority: Addressing the Fiscal Controls

Encourage a balanced approach to fiscal policy that promotes economic stability while protecting the critical services, including making responsible adjustments to the fiscal guardrails. 

Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails were designed for stability, but with billions in surplus and critical needs across our communities, it’s time to adjust. The reality is clear: it’s raining. We need to responsibly free up funds today to invest in housing, child care, education, and economic opportunity—areas that directly impact the well-being of our residents. Responsible adjustments can ensure long-term sustainability while addressing urgent challenges. It’s not just about having money; it’s about using it wisely when our communities need it most.

Learn More

CT Voices: Connecticut's Fiscal Controls, Options for Responsible Adjustments

Yale Tobin Center for Economic Policy: In-Depth Review of CT Budget Guardrails Provides Analysis to Inform Policy

Attend

A Roadmap to Fully Funded Communities - Join a session near you. Register for a session below.

Bridgeport, February 27, 6 pm

Torrington, March 27, 6 pm

New Haven, April 24, 6 pm

Hartford, May 29, 6 pm

Stamford, June 26, 6 pm

Virtual, July

Danbury, August 28, 5: 30 pm

New London, September 25, 6 pm

New Britain, October 30, 5:30 pm

Virtual, November

#6 Legislative Priority: Enhance 211 Call Center Capacity

Invest an additional $2 million to ensure the 211 system is adequately staffed, enabling the service to respond to an additional 2,000 callers per week.

Your Voice Matters! Act TODAY! 

1. Only have 1 minute? Customize online letters to your legislators and the Governor in support of the Child Tax Credit, School Meals for All, Early Childhood Education and Opportunity Youth 

• CT Child Tax Credit Coalition 

• American Heart Association’s Healthy School Meals for All 

• Child Care for CT 

• The Campaign for Working CT – Opportunity Youth 
   

2. 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 help? Check out our Submitted Testimony or contact Tida Infahsaeng at tida.infahsaeng@unitedwaycwc.org 
   

3. Reshare and like UWCWC’s social media: Facebook and Instagram

DATA

• DataHaven Town Data Viewer: Link

• 211 CT Counts: Link

• ALICE Legislative District Tool: Link

ADVOCACY

• Fiscal guardrails CT Public overview: Link

• Fiscal guardrails Yale report: Link

• RSVP for 211 Day at the Capitol: Link

In Support of HB 7272 and HB 7273“An Act Imposing a Tax on Certain Sweetened Beverages...and Dedicating Revenue Generated to a Universal School Meals Program”

In Support of H.B. 7013: An Act Concerning Enhancements to the Local Food for Schools Incentive Program and the CT Grown for CT Kids Grant Program

In Support of S.B. 740: An Act Establishing a Refundable Child Tax Credit and H.B. 5986: An Act Establishing a Refundable Child Tax Credit Against the Personal Income Tax

In Support of S.B. 164: An Act Establishing a Task Force to Study Expanding Services Provided by the 2-1-1 Infoline Program Operated by the United Way of Connecticut

In Support of School Meals: H.B. No. 6864: An Act Concerning the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June Thirtieth, 2027...

HB 6839 Recommendations and SB 1217 Support: “An Act Increasing the Number of Children Permitted in Family Care Homes” and “An Act Providing School Meals to All Students”

In Support HB 6101: An Act Concerning Medicaid Coverage of Food as Medicine and Expanding Access to the Connecticut Farmers' Market/Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program

Support and Comments for SB 1: An Act Increasing Resources For Students, Schools and Special Education and SB 1511: An Act Concerning Disconnected Youth