{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/connecticut-officials-and-governor-lamont-announce-changes-connecticuts", "Connecticut Officials and Governor Lamont Announce Changes to Connecticut's Early Child Care and Education Programs That Will Enable More Children to Enroll and at Less Cost to Parents", "2024-09-26", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "John B. Larson", "L000557", "larson.house.gov", "larson", "https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Hartford, CT - Today, Governor Ned Lamont, supported by members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation, announced that his administration is making several changes to Connecticut\u2019s early child care and education programs that will result in more children being able to receive access to these programs, while also lowering the associated costs to their parents.\n\n\u201cI am thrilled to see federal funding be used to take bold steps that will make more child care slots available in our state and lower costs by capping fees for low and middle-income families receiving assistance at 7% of their household income,\u201d U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) said. \u201cUnder Governor Lamont\u2019s leadership, Connecticut is leading the nation to ensure working families can access the child care they need to make ends meet. I will continue to work with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation to build on this progress in Washington so every family can afford high-quality child care.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccess to child care and early education programs is massively important to the success of our state, not only because these programs provide valuable tools for children that will lead them to success in the future, but also because being able to enroll your child in care right now means that parents themselves can have an opportunity to obtain employment and earn an income that supports their family,\u201d Governor Lamont said. \u201cRight now, Connecticut is expanding access to child care for high-need communities to levels we\u2019ve never experienced and I am determined to continue this trend. I appreciate the Biden-Harris administration for working with our state to make expanding access to child care a priority.\u201d\n\nEffective January 1, 2025, family fees for Care 4 Kids \u2013 the state program that supports low to moderate-income families with some of the costs of paying for child care \u2013 will be capped at 7% of household income, which is down from the current rate of 10%. This means that the fees required to participate in Care 4 Kids will decrease for all participating families. On average, it is estimated that this change will save families about $200 per month.\n\nAdditionally, effective October 1, 2024, in an effort to reduce the benefit cliff that families enrolled in Care 4 Kids can face, families participating in this program will be able to remain enrolled until their household income reaches 85% of the state median income, which is an increase from the current limit of 65%. This means that if a parent receives a promotion or pay raise from their employer, it is more likely they can accept the pay increase and not worry that it will prevent their child from continuing to receive this care.\n\nBoth of these changes bring Connecticut in alignment with federal requirements and can be implemented using existing federal funds.\n\nAn additional 1,500 children will be enrolled in Care 4 Kids, bringing the total number of children served under this program from 21,500 to 23,000, using existing state and federal funding.\n\nIn addition to the Care 4 Kids changes, the state is adding 900 new state-funded early care and education spaces for young children through the School Readiness and Child Day Care program by maximizing existing state funds.\n\nThese programs are administered by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood.\n\n\u201cConnecticut continues to look for ways to leverage state and federal resources to increase access to affordable child care for families,\u201d Connecticut Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye said. \u201cToday\u2019s announcement is about adding capacity and affordability. It\u2019s good for families, good for child care programs, and good for Connecticut\u2019s economy.\u201d\n\nThis added capacity brings the total number of children receiving municipal, state, and federally funded early childhood programs in Connecticut to 62,400, which is well ahead of the Connecticut Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Care\u2019s goal of 60,000 children being funded in these programs by fiscal year 2026. With these new investments, 29% of children under 5 years of age will be enrolled in more affordable early childhood education programs in the current fiscal year.\n\n\u201cChild care is a necessity for Connecticut\u2019s working families and the Biden-Harris administration commends the state for moving swiftly to implement a new federal rule to lower costs for families participating in the child care subsidy program,\u201d Ruth Friedman, director of the Office of Child Care for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said.\n\n\u201cFew things are more frustrating for parents than trying to find affordable child care,\u201d U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said. \u201cThese new changes are going to make a big difference for thousands of families by lowering costs and opening up more spots in child care and early education programs. It\u2019s a big deal for those kids\u2019 development, but it will also give the state\u2019s economy a boost. I\u2019ll keep fighting to increase the federal government\u2019s investment in child care in Connecticut.\u201d\n\n\u201cAffordable child care is essential for families to thrive,\u201d U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) said. \u201cAnd yet, they struggle with the high cost \u2013 making difficult decisions on their budget to ensure their children are cared for when they go to work. I am proud to have secured American Rescue Plan Act funding and Child Care and Development Fund dollars to help bring down the cost of childcare in Connecticut. Ensuring parents pay no more than seven percent of their income for childcare, will help families keep more of their hard-earned dollars.\u201d\n\nGovernor Lamont made these announcements today during a news conference at the Enfield Child Development Center.\n\n\u201cWe are very proud to serve families in our community who are working or attending training or college who are supported thorough the Care 4 Kids program,\u201d Eileen Gardner, senior site manager for the Enfield Child Development Center, said. \u201cThese changes will help our families pay for child care and other critical household needs. We are also committed to partnering with the Office of Early Childhood to deliver state-funded high-quality early care and education services to our youngest children.\u201d\n\n\u201cI began working at the Enfield Child Development Center two years ago as a teacher\u2019s aide in the toddler program,\u201d Ashley Plaza Torres said. \u201cI have two children, 8 years old and 2 years old, and I am thankful to have the support of Care 4 Kids because it gives me the opportunity to work and afford child care for two children.\u201d\n\nThese changes and their impacts on Connecticut\u2019s workforce and its economy are projected to increase the state\u2019s gross domestic product by $351 million and state revenue by $29.7 million. For every dollar invested in adding these child care slots, there is an expected one-year return of approximately $13.50 in total economic benefits. If it is assumed an additional slot enables on additional parent to join the workforce, even at minimum wage, this would add $33,000 in household earnings.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/connecticut-officials-and-governor-lamont-announce-changes-connecticuts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.598713781684637, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}