Connecticut plan would raise preschool and infant-toddler rates, free up $79 million for care-for-kids

Connecticut’s proposed universal preschool endowment would raise state preschool rates and increase reimbursements for infant and toddler care, officials said March 5 during an Appropriations subcommittee briefing.

The state’s commissioner of early childhood said the plan would bring the “school day/school year” preschool rate from roughly $6,000 per child toward about $9,900 per child by 2028, when the program begins. The proposal also includes a funding shift that would free roughly $79 million previously covered by overlapping payments so that money can be redirected into the Care for Kids subsidy program, and a separate line-item of about $50 million a year for infant-toddler rate increases.

Officials said the endowment’s design is to lift provider pay—particularly for teachers with bachelor’s degrees in early childhood—so programs can operate without losing money and additional supply for infant-toddler care will follow. “As the rates come up, so does supply,” the commissioner said, pointing to…