HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC) – Wednesday marked a “Day of Action” for the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance and partner organizations where affordable healthcare and decent wages were promoted.
Held at the State Capitol, the day included a press conference in the morning and public hearing in front of the Legislative Education Committee on Early Childhood Bills.
The Early Childhood Bills included increasing the eligibility of Care4Kids to families up to 75% of the state median income, expanding the accessibility of Care4Kids for parents in higher education, GED, English language learning/job training, raising Care4Kids payment rates for providers, teacher wage compensation and loan forgiveness for early educators.
The goal of the Care4Kids program is to make child care affordable for low to moderate income families in Connecticut. It involves a partnership between the state, families in the program and providers who take care of children.
Merril Gay is the Executive Director of Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance and he explained the significance of expanding the eligibility of the program.
“We’re one of only three states in the country that don’t let you use a Care4Kids childcare subsidy while you’re going to school,” Gay said. “That means we have lots of jobs that require post-secondary education that aren’t getting filled while we have lots of people who would like to be going to school, but don’t have childcare for that time they’re in class or studying.”
He added they are also looking at expanding the Care4Kids program to serve more families by going up to the 75th percentile of the state median income.
“The way we have it setup now is we’ll give you a childcare subsidy until you earn just about enough to cover your non-childcare costs, then yank it away from you,” Gay said. “The United Way says if you’ve got two kids under five (years old), your basic cost of living including paying for childcare is about $78,000 in Connecticut and you can only earn up to $56,000 and still qualify for the childcare subsidy.”
Ultimately, the day was about promoting affordable care, especially for early childhood, which, is a bipartisan issue.
“Democrats and Republicans understand that childcare is a critical piece for parents getting back into the workforce,” said Gay.
He noted that the greatest challenge moving forward ultimately comes down to finance.
“It boils down to it’s going to cost more money,” said Gay. “And the question of where does that money come from – that’s the piece that’s still to be resolved.”
The Education Committee heard from dozens of teachers, child care providers, parents and officials on the issue of making childcare affordable while promoting better wages for teachers. As a sign of unity, supporters of the legislation were encouraged to wear yellow throughout the day’s events at the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building.
