Learn how to grow your own food at the Common Ground Seedling Sale. This event will include seed related activities (for kids and adults) and a vegetable garden planning workshop.

For more information, click here.  

If you are a mother with a child 3 to 4 years of age, you may be eligible to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to understand the connections between stress, sleep and child health and behavior.

Compensation is up to $100 and a summary report of you and your child’s sleep. To learn more or see if you’re eligible, contact Dr. Eileen Condon at (203)209-9758 or email CaringStudy@uconn.edu.

In policy news...

The Senate returned to Washington this week to take up a scaled-back version of Build Back Better. Democratic leaders hope that by limiting the scope of the bill, they will be able to pass it despite opposition. Right now the bill doesn’t include child care, so continue to make your voice heard!

Tell Connecticut Senators Blumenthal and Murphy that child care MUST be included as part of the reconciliation bill.

State Budget: Thanks to your advocacy, Governor Lamont reached an agreement with State House and Senate leaders to add $183 million to the budget for child care. It is a true testament to the power of collective action! New funds will support wage stabilization grants of approximately $4,000 each for full-time educators in all child care settings, including family child care (All Our Kin will provide recommendations about funding part-time educators and substitutes). Funds will also support 1,300 new infant-toddler slots in centers and licensed home-based programs. In addition, State-funded School Readiness programs and Child Daycare Centers will receive salary increases for the first time in years! 

This is a step in the right direction and offers something to build on in the future. Please take this opportunity to thank your state legislators and remind them that we’ll be back next year! Click here to send them letters.

Housing and Zoning Bill: All Our Kin partnered with ECE advocates across the state to introduce a bill that would protect Connecticut’s home-based child care providers from unfair rental and zoning practices. It didn’t pass into law this year, but you left your mark. To all the educators who testified, wrote and called their elected officials on behalf of this bill, thank you!

Just a reminder that our texting number has changed! If you receive text messages from All Our Kin, please be aware that our previous number (474747) is no longer active and has recently changed to (475) 224-2170. 

If you don’t receive texts and would like to, text one of the following keywords to (475) 224-2170:

For New Haven: text NewHaven

For Bridgeport: text Bridgeport

For Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury: text Stamford