Laura Tillman / CT Mirror

Connecticut Voices for Children said the state’s consistent high ranking is a testament to what’s possible when it invests in kids and working families.

The Connecticut House of Representatives passed a priority bill that promises to transform early childhood care and education for generations of families. Senate Bill 1 would create an endowment for early childhood education that would draw up to $300 million from surplus funds each year.

Advocates say closing Head Start would have a detrimental impact on children and force scores of parents to leave the workforce

IRIS, and organizations like it, face an existential threat. Stop-work orders from the Trump administration worth $4 million and the suspension of refugees entering the country have upended IRIS’ work.

Chef Jacques Pépin has cooked for French presidents, taught cooking on television with Julia Child and published dozens of books. He’s also called the coastal town of Madison, Connecticut, home for more than four decades.

Food pantries across the state rely on private fundraising to supplement federal and state support. But not all food pantries in Connecticut have well-resourced communities of potential donors to tap.