Toni E. Walker

Today marks Giving Tuesday, an annual reminder that the spirit of the holidays is to help those less fortunate.

Great news! Don’t miss out. NH Public Schools are taking applications for Head Start and School Readiness programs. To schedule an appointment to apply or to obtain more information, just call (203) 946-6950 or (203) 946-8446.

Care 4 Kids, the state’s primary child-care support program, has been reopened, and eligible families on the wait list can now begin to enroll.

Rep. Toni Walker joined her legislative colleagues who represent New Haven and surrounding towns at a press conference to denounce the Republican state budget. “These are cuts we cannot sustain if we expect Connecticut to thrive,” Rep. Walker said.

Hidden in the Republican budget is a new, annual tax on all public school teachers. Every teacher must contribute 1% of salary for half of this year, and 2% of all of next year's salary to state general fund! The GOP bill is cleverly worded. The word "teacher" does not appear in the legislation but it clearly pertains to teachers.

Today I stood with many of my colleagues in support of House Bill 6663, which ultimately was not approved by the House of Representatives.

We have been making steady progress in dealing with Connecticut’s opioid crisis, but we still have a long way to go. Legislation we passed today that I championed is another step in the right direction.

I was honored to speak at the Early Childhood Advocacy Day forum at the Capitol. I know times are tough and we have to find a way to balance the state budget, but we also must do everything we can to protect programs for young children and families.