Early childhood educators and advocates rallied across the state on Wednesday to call on lawmakers to do more to lower costs and support educators.
Eleven “Morning Without Child Care” rallies were held in New Haven, Stamford, Stratford, Norwalk, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Cheshire, Danbury, Torrington and Hartford.
The third annual event drew a crowd of about 50 people to Washington Park in Bridgeport. The Child Care for Connecticut's Future Coalition was responsible for the demonstrations.
Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman, the coalition’s director, said investing in early child care is an investment in the future.
“The science and the math show us that those same children who are taken care of will have lesser incidences of heart attacks and high cholesterol. They will have a better advantage in going to college and other higher ed, they will make more money. So at the end of the day, the chances are mathematically proven that those children who were given an opportunity early on, will no longer take from the state system through other social programs,” Bermúdez Zimmerman said.
Katherine Lantigua founded K Colorful Daycare. She was the rally captain in Bridgeport and led the crowd in chants of, “When do we want child care? Now!”
“Child care providers do not get paid enough, parents have a high co-payment that they can not afford; it is time to fix child care,” Lantigua said.
The average Connecticut resident can expect to pay around $18,000 a year for child care.
Earlier this year, Governor Ned Lamont called for an additional $40 million for the sector in his FY 2025 budget. The money was expected to come from the general fund and remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds.
But now, advocates say they’re unlikely to see that money — many legislators do not want to amend the state’s fiscal guardrails this session.
“The year started very strong, the governor came out proposing additional money, and we were very excited to hear that. But as is the nature of the beast of the legislature, that money is no longer there,” Bermúdez Zimmerman said. “The proposed money where the governor pushed for additional funding in that budget is non-existent. There has been a very clear stance from the legislature that they don't want to reopen the budget for a multitude of reasons. But that puts child care back in that conversation of crisis.”
The coalition is calling on Connecticut lawmakers to pass House Bill 5002, An Act Concerning Early Child Care and Education, which would increase funding through bonding and explore future solutions.
H.B. 5002 was sent to the legislature for a vote by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on April 3. The finance committee advanced it with a vote of 47-4.
