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Council authorizes $412,196 childcare grant application to expand apprenticeships and supports
Summary
The council authorized the mayor to apply for $412,196 from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood to support a childcare network and apprenticeship pathway for high school students, with no town match. Staff described partners, incentives for apprentices and wraparound supports covered by the grant.
The Stratford Town Council voted to authorize the mayor's office to apply for $412,196 in funding from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood to support a local childcare network and apprenticeship program.
Councilmember Whittem moved the authorization and Miss Gibson seconded. Molly, a staff member on the project team, told the council the town applied as an intermediary and had tentative commitments from Sterling House, a local preschool and the South End Community Center, and that the program would also consider third‑party home day care providers.
Molly said the program includes two pathways, requires apprentices to secure a CDA credential by the program's end, and allows grant-funded incentives at milestone points (including a final payment after credentialing). She said wraparound supports — such as clinical counseling, mental-health training, CPR and transportation — were budgeted and would be provided to apprentices and mentors.
Councilmembers asked for details about the number of participating centers and what "resources" would entail; Molly answered that commitments were still being finalized and that the application had been submitted but the award was not guaranteed. The motion passed by voice vote.
The grant application requires no local match and — if awarded — would be used to pilot apprenticeship pathways intended to help local high school students earn credentials and access childcare jobs locally.
