Political bickering last year stalled legislation creating an Office of Early Education, which led Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to sign an executive order creating the office temporarily to prevent a disruption to the thousands of providers that receive child care subsidies.
On Monday, the Democratic governor announced he plans to again propose legislation for the legislature to approve in the legislative session that begins Feb. 5.
“With another legislative session on the horizon, I believe it’s critical that the office be statutorily created to ensure future continuity of services. A smart, coordinated system that makes sure we are providing quality services to the children who need them is an important part of our effort to give everyone in our state the chance to succeed throughout their lives,” Malloy said Monday in a press release.
The bill — which failed to be taken up for a vote in either the House or the Senate last year — received near–unanimous support in three legislative committees. The new office would coordinate what many call a confusing, expensive and burdensome hodge-podge of child care programs in the state. As proposed by the governor last year, the office would be staffed by 71 current state employees that administer programs in five different state agencies.