The State of Early Childhood: Can Connecticut’s Struggling Family Child Care Providers Fill a 50,000 Child care Gap Amidst the Coronavirus Recession?

This year, our report examines the status of Connecticut’s child care industry before the coronavirus pandemic, and explores recommendations that can help state policymakers create a stronger early childhood environment that is necessary for rebuilding the state's economy. We find that while Connecticut has made some progress, many indicators point to the same conclusions that we have drawn in our previous years’ reports on the state of early childhood. This year’s report concludes that the state continues to see the following: a shortage of child care slots, high child care costs that are not affordable to most families, and a continuing divide in preschool experience between higher and lower-income towns.