Published in The Day: Jun 18, 2025

Waterford — Many children in Connecticut are exposed to the harsh realities of poverty early on, watching their parents navigate difficult financial situations that affect their quality of life, from where they live to what they eat.

So what is being done to address the issue?

The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut hosted a forum in the town's public library on Wednesday to discuss recent legislation to help struggling children and their families.

In her introduction, Lisa Tepper-Bates, CEO of United Way of Connecticut, said that about 40% of households with children in the state face poverty, according to data from United For ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), a national initiative that aims to understand and address the needs of those households.

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) counts 11% financially insecure households in the state. ALICE accounts for the other 29% of households that are above the poverty line but struggle to afford basic needs.

General Assembly wins and priorities

Merrill Gay, the executive director of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, expressed optimism about the long-awaited creation of an early childhood endowment, saying it's "the biggest thing that's happened in my 20 some odd years of advocacy."

He says the endowment aims to raise wages for early educators and reduce parent costs for child care from 10% to 7% of income.

State Rep. Nick Gauthier, D-Waterford, and State Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, brought up their support for "big bold bills" like House Bill 5002, which still awaits the governor's signature. The bill is designed to lower housing costs, increase housing options and better support the homeless.

State Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, said the state budget includes increased Medicaid funding, though he would have liked to have seen more. Overall, he said he believes "we did a good budget that could have been done greater."

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, criticized the limited impact of the child endowment fund and talked about the looming threats to federal programs like Medicaid, SNAP and LIHEAP.

She pointed out the fund was reduced from $350 million to 200 million, and only $20 million can be spent.

"I can guarantee you that it's not coming to eastern Connecticut unless we fight for it," Osten said.

She said the region has very little government support for child care, calling the area a "child care desert." 

Osten emphasized the need to fight for equitable funding for underrepresented regions and criticizes budget decisions that ignore the realities of low-income and rural communities. She said ending child poverty through legislation requires understanding complicated budget challenges.

Emily Byrne, the executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, pointed to the closing of a major tax loophole, saying that such changes, though small, make more funding available for priorities like early childhood care, housing and health care.

She said she is proud of the legislature "for really meeting the moment on this front, which I really think is important, especially as we think about the federal context. I think no budget should be viewed outside of the federal context ever, but especially this one, and the next couple of budgets really need to be viewed hand in glove with what Congress and the White House administration is doing."

Child Tax credit

As the only state with an independent Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Tepper-Bates explained, the goal is to have a permanent state child tax credit that offsets the costs of raising children.

She describes the "narrow win" of the EITC providing an additional $250 for the eligible low income households, and said that though $250 may not seem like a lot, it is to those who are experiencing financial struggles.

"And I worked with those families who lost a job because the car broke down," said Tepper-Bates. "They couldn't maintain the job. They lost their housing."

Byrne points to the limitations of the current EITC, which excludes older retired people, those on disability, and of course those just above the poverty line.

She also warned about federal changes that would make it more difficult to receive the EITC. Making families who qualify go through a rigorous pre-certification process, something the Bush administration had previously piloted.

"They learned from that pilot that this is ineffective and inefficient, and yet this administration, this Congress is actually pushing for this," said Byrne. "So that's a problem where what we're going to find."

Gauthier and Nolan discussed why getting a state child tax credit approved is difficult.

Gauthier said the bill has not passed because of "backroom negotiations and caucus meetings," but that if it reached a vote it would pass.

Marx said she considers a child tax credit "huge" and said it may be more important to fight for it rather than universal school lunches.

Universal no-cost school meals

Tepper-Bates recalls that during COVID, school breakfast and lunches were free to students due to federal funding.

The federal funding has ended. Gauthier says that getting parents to pay outstanding school meal debt in his towns of Montville and Waterford is a "win on paper," but that it doesn't solve the root cause of the need for free meals.

He says he is frustrated that a policy that worked so well died off, as it made the lives of families easier. 

He pointed to Massachusetts, which he said permanently implemented universal school meals through a tax on personal incomes over $1 million.

Gay said 49% of schools in the state qualify for all students to receive meals. But Osten said schools that are eligible are not receiving funding to provide the meals. She added if all students receive free meals it would eliminate the stigma of students receiving free lunch.

s.acostasilva@theday.com