Connecticut’s families have faced stagnating wages, rising costs, and growing economic insecurity, and their children’s health, safety, education, and well-being are largely dependent on their families’ ability to make ends meet. Stressful and traumatic experiences, including those associated with homelessness or being at-risk of homelessness can have a profound effect on a child’s development and their ability to learn, ultimately affecting success in later life. Connecting these at-risk children, and their parents and caregiver’s to a wide cross section of supports to mitigate these stressors and maintain stability, is a critical first step.
Families with young children are among the fasted growing groups affected by homelessness. Housing supports are an essential aspect of preventing homelessness. Link below to housing programs and services found in the 2-1-1 database:
HOUSING RESOURCES:
Find additional links for information on Public Housing, Transitional Housing/Shelter, Property Tax Rebate information and much more: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/housing/
Children experiencing homelessness are sick four times more often than other children, go hungry at twice the rate of other children, have high rates of obesity due to nutritional deficiencies, have three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems compared to non-homeless children, are four times more likely to show delayed development, and are twice as likely to have learning disabilities as non-homeless children. Connection to vital basic needs and supports can help alleviate the burden on the family. Link below to food resources, energy assistance, general and mental health care related programs and services, childcare resources & early education, and school readiness programs, to help families alleviate these stressors.
BASIC NEEDS/GENERAL & MENTAL HEALTH:
Find additional Links for information on WIC, Formula/Baby Food and other food resources: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/food/
Find additional links for information on Energy Assistance, Weatherization, Utility Shut-off, Utility Matching Payment Program information and much more: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/utility-assistance/
Find additional links for information on Medical Expense Assistance, Specialized Treatment Program information and much more: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/health-care/
Find additional information on Crisis Intervention Emergency Mobile Crisis Information: http://www.empsct.org/
Children in Shelters Fund is a program that assists shelters housing children who qualify for a childcare reimbursement up to eight weeks that a child is in childcare. For more information on the guidelines for the program and to download an application, see the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) website: http://www.cceh.org/provider-resources/children-in-shelter/
Effective December 1, 2023, families, and children eligible for protective services which includes families experiencing homelessness, who do not have fixed, regular or adequate nighttime residence shall be given the highest priority for Care 4 Kids (C4K). These families will not be placed on the C4K Wait List and will be processed as a priority. Families meeting the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness will automatically be eligible for C4K.
Effective December 1, 2023 the following eligibility criteria applies to families experiencing homelessness:
If you have any questions or for more information you can contact Care 4 Kids at c4kids@ctunitedway.org.
Find additional links for information on the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Personal Financial Counseling, Job Training Program information and much more: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/income/
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES & EARLY EDUCATION:
Find additional links for information on School Readiness, Head Start Program information and much more: http://uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/children/
ONGOING FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES:
For additional federal and state resources that can help to alleviate the stress and economic burdens of families in Connecticut, see the 2-1-1 website, www.211ct.org. Put in the city or town in the location search box on the 2-1-1 search page, to get resources near a certain location:
For a screening tool to see what programs and services an individual and/or family may be eligible for, visit the 2-1-1 Navigator: http://www.211navigator.com/
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SOURCE: Connecticut United Way/2-1-1; Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (CTOEC); Connecticut Voices for Children’s, August 2014, “Strengthening Economic Security for Connecticut; American Institutes for Research: National Center on Family Homelessness; National Alliance to End Homelessness
PREPARED BY: 211/tb
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: November2023