September 21 Updates
To help you and our neighbors stay up-to-date on the ever-evolving stream of information related to the COVID-19 pandemic, my office and I are working to provide news as it develops over social media and by email. This is a recap of some of this week’s highlights.
Below you can find information on the following topics:
- Latest COVID-19 Statistics
- CT Closes Fiscal Year with Small Surplus
- "Everybody Learns" Initiative
- Unemployment Assistance
- Veterans Stand Down 2020
- Free Financial Coaching to Help CT Residents Facing Hardships from COVID-19
For more information about the state's response efforts visit ct.gov/coronavirus. To receive text message notifications, sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system. To subscribe, text "COVIDCT" to 888-777.
Nearly 25 percent of the 81,000 devices purchased through the Lamont administration’s Everybody Learns initiative are scheduled to arrive earlier than anticipated, with some districts seeing deliveries this week. Taken together with the 60,000 Dell laptops provided by the Partnership for Connecticut, the State of Connecticut has now provided more than 141,000 devices targeted primarily to high-need districts and their students.
In July, the Lamont administration launched the Everybody Learns initiative to empower children and families across the state to more effectively learn from home by purchasing 61,000 Chromebooks and 20,000 Windows laptops; providing 12 months of access to at-home internet for 60,000 households; and creating public hotspots free to the public at 250 community sites across the state. A total of $43.5 million was made available for the program and is a combination of Connecticut’s allocation of Coronavirus Relief Funds, the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.
Following its receipt of federal CARES Act funding for PK-12, the state began coordinating with providers, internet companies, and school districts to ensure students receive the computers and internet coverage they need to participate in high-quality, at-home learning whether hybrid or fully remote. The number of students identified as needing access to laptops and at-home internet is based on survey information that was submitted to the State Department of Education and the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology.
The more than 81,000 devices ordered include:
- 20,474 Windows laptops, which will be delivered beginning this week and continuing over the next several weeks; and
- 61,628 Chromebooks, which are expected to be delivered beginning in October.
These devices are in addition to the 60,000 laptops that were already distributed in May through the Partnership for Connecticut.
The 60,000 at-home internet connections purchased in the form of wired broadband or personal hotspots include:
- 12,774 Kajeet hotspots, 100 percent of which have been shipped to districts; and
- Cable broadband for 40,000 students, the delivery of which is already underway, with installation beginning in the next two weeks.
The state is in communication with districts about the process by which they will receive their laptops, broadband vouchers, and Kajeet hotspots.
The 200 public hotspots will be available at no cost to Connecticut residents. The state has partnered with the Connecticut Education Network to utilize the fiber and infrastructure it already provides to sites in communities across the state and boost signals for the public at large to access the Internet for free.
Everybody Learns is complemented by an ongoing initiative of Dalio Education and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities to ensure students across the state have access to computers and internet connectivity. Dalio Philanthropies was also involved in the Partnership Connecticut’s donation of 60,000 laptops to students from some of the state’s most under-resourced high schools.
A total of six weeks of Lost Wages Assistance will be paid in addition to regular unemployment weekly benefits and will be retroactive to the claim week beginning July 26, 2020. It will also be available for claim weeks beginning August 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2020. Claimants will receive the supplemental benefit in several payments. The first payment of $300 disbursed to claimants began September 17, 2020, with the remainder of retroactive payments following in two or three separate payments.
To self-certify:
- Claimants log into their unemployment account, where the account main page offers a new option in the menu “Certify for Lost Wages Assistance.”
- Once a claimant has clicked on the button, a new screen will ask them to certify that their unemployment or underemployment is due to COVID-19.
- The claimant then confirms their submission and has completed the process.
Federal eligibility guidelines include:
- Recipients of at least $100 per week, including the dependency allowance, of any of the following benefits for the week they are seeking unemployment benefits;
- Claimants receiving unemployment compensation, including state and federal workers and former service members, as well as those receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Extended Benefits, or High Extended Benefits;
- Claimants who are part of the Shared Work Program; and Workers with a Trade Readjustment Allowance.
Free Financial Coaching to Help CT Residents Facing Hardships from COVID-19
CT residents who need help dealing with creditors, finding resources, or managing their money have access to TrustPlus, a free virtual or telephone financial coaching program.
Visit their website here. Click the button “Sign Up” and select the Neighborhood Trust Budget Coach you prefer. Choose the best time within the next few days to speak with your coach by phone or Skype for 30 minutes.
