The Day | By: Alison Cross
Hartford — Community advocates from the End Child Poverty Now coalition gathered at the State Capitol on Thursday to lobby lawmakers to pass policies that would support struggling families.
An estimated 206,880 Connecticut children — more than 28% of youths in the state — were living in or near poverty in 2022, according to a 2024 report from Connecticut Voices for Children.
Maryam Elahi, the president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, said the campaign started three years ago with the idea that “in this rich state of Connecticut, we can and should end child poverty.”
Elahi said 120 organizations have signed on to the coalition’s 2026 policy goals to advance a child tax credit, housing stability, universal school meals and state-funded nutrition assistance.
“We are speaking on behalf of many people who don’t have the voice to be here,” Elahi said. “They’re working three jobs. They don’t have the ability to come and knock on the door of their representative, but surely their representatives need to be mindful of what they’re struggling and going through, especially in these times, and to ensure that they have the protection they need so that all of our children can thrive.”
Child Tax Credit
The coalition’s top priority is establishing a statewide child tax credit. The group is backing a plan to provide taxpayers with a $600 refund per child, with a maximum benefit of $1,800 per household.
Lisa Tepper-Bates, the president and CEO of the United Way of Connecticut, said the tax credit would offer much-needed relief to 127,000 families in the state who struggle to afford basic necessities like food, housing, utilities and healthcare.
“We know that 300,000 children in our state are in this … category,” Tepper-Bates said, adding that 97% of those children have at least one working parent.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 17 states and the District of Columbia offer child tax credits that range from $75 to $3,200 per child.
“It is high time for the state of Connecticut to also have that state-level mechanism to support our families,” Tepper-Bates said.
Just cause evictions
Coalition members are working to end child poverty by increasing housing stability. This legislative session, advocates are pushing lawmakers to eliminate no-cause evictions and expand access to state rental assistance for low-income families.
Under current law, once a lease expires, landlords can refuse to renew the rental agreement and evict tenants without cause. The only renters who are protected from these “no-fault” evictions are seniors over the age of 62 and renters who have a physical or mental disability.
According to Growing Together Connecticut, a statewide consortium of affordable housing advocates, no-fault evictions currently account for 11% of all eviction filings in the state.
Chelsea Ross, the executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, said that for Connecticut’s children, an eviction leads to much more than a move.
“Families who are following the rules should not have to live with the constant fear that they could be forced out of their homes without a cause,” Ross said.
“Evictions for kiddos means their whole lives are upended,” Ross said. “They have to change schools. Parents lose their jobs because they have no stable place to live, and families are entering shelters or doubling up. Once an eviction is filed, it will follow a family for years, making it harder and harder for them to find housing again.”
Senate Bill 257 aims to extend just-cause eviction protections to any tenant who has rented from their landlord for at least a year.