Hilda E. Santiago

This week, more than $16 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II (ESSER II) funds was made available to 170 school districts across Connecticut. This relief money will allow schools throughout our state to provide special education services to more than 80,000 students during the upcoming school year.

The federal government updated its masking guidelines for fully vaccinated people last week. The new advice is to mask up indoors if you live in a place with "substantial" or "high" coronavirus transmission.

The State of Connecticut has created a one stop shop to help older people navigate state services, for everything from age-based discrimination to neglect issues.

Last Friday, over 57,800 students enrolled in the free or reduced-price meals program received the last round of the Pandemic EBT funding. This Friday, over 218,500 qualifying families will receive additional emergency food benefits through SNAP. Please find more information below on these latest rounds of food support and how to access assistance.

The Child Tax Credit in President Biden's American Rescue Plan helps hard-working families with the costs of raising children. Based on 2019 and 2020 tax returns, the IRS began issuing monthly child tax credits on July 15.

The long hurricane season began June 1st and is expected to be an active one. Connecticut has largely been spared from major hurricanes in recent years – for that we are thankful – but residents should always be prepared, especially with Elsa coming our way.

A reminder that as of July 1, 2021 single-use plastic bags will no longer be an option during checkout. The General Assembly enacted a plastic bag fee that went into effect on August 1, 2019 with the complete elimination of plastic bags in 2021. Some merchants may offer paper bags or reusable bags for a fee or free of charge depending on the individual stores. I encourage you to bring your reusable bags when shopping.