Passage of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan would help Connecticut provide funding for child care, according to state officials. The money would be used to deal with a child care staffing crisis created by the pandemic.
The pandemic has exacerbated the ability of child care providers to pay and retain qualified staff, said David Morgan, head of Team Inc., a social service agency that runs early childhood programs for moderate and low income residents in the Waterbury area.
“In my humble opinion it’s beyond the capacity of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and the state of Connecticut. We need federal investment in childcare,” he said.
To provide that investment, Congress needs to pass Biden’s Build Back Better plan, said Governor Ned Lamont.
“The most important piece of this that we got to get passed is the early child care, daycare, universal pre-K. That’s what I want to see passed. That’s what I want to see get out the door in the next 30 days,” he said.
If the bill wins Congressional approval, the state would receive $168 million over the first year to help childcare providers pay their workers a fair wage, state officials said.
