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 recent state investments and stabilization grants instituted since 2021 that officials say already increased infant-toddler capacity and subsidized more children through Care for Kids.

Committee members pressed for more detail on how the endowment will be phased in and where initial slots will be targeted. The administration said communities would submit local plans and an RFP expected in 2027 would select participating programs. Funding would first prioritize a formula combining “high need” and “childcare desert” scores; Norwich and Bridgeport were offered as examples of communities that rank high on both measures.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about the program’s eligibility bands and market effects. Under the current plan, families earning up to certain income thresholds—officials cited subsidized eligibility through roughly $150,000 in later phases—would be prioritized, but committee members asked how families above the top subsidized tier would be affected if private providers charged above the $9,900 state reimbursement. Officials said private programs outside the state-funded system can continue to set their own prices, and that the endowment’s growth over time is intended to broaden statewide participation and to make subsidized spots available to more families.

Officials said the program will require participating providers to meet higher qualification standards in order to be paid at top-tier rates; for example, only teachers with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood would be eligible for top salary tiers equivalent to kindergarten pay. Programs would apply to join the system and agree to operate within the program’s required salary bands.

Committee members asked for more data about current slots and unmet demand. Officials said Connecticut’s “nonsystem” of mixed public-school and subsidized seats currently totals roughly 45,000 preschool slots and that each three- or four-year-old cohort is about 36,000 children. They said demand estimates draw on participation patterns in other cities and acknowledge that not all parents will enroll immediately, particularly parents of 3-year-olds.

Officials promised to provide the committee with mapped data showing combined “desert” and “need” scores for towns and reiterated that communities will decide how many of their funded slots are full-day or school-day in accordance with local workforce needs. They said a parent portal is planned to help families find available seats, public and private, and to make subsidy and program options clearer.

The administration framed the endowment as additive to existing programs such as Care for Kids, school readiness and public-school preschools, and said the Legislature will still play a role in setting final program eligibility and income bands.

Ending: Committee members requested follow-up materials including community-level supply-and-demand data, the endowment spreadsheet that officials referenced, and a mapping of initial communities that would be prioritized under the combined need-and-desert scoring approach.