The state government will help 50 new Connecticut families in the coming year by offering child care and housing through the extension of a pilot program that aims to help families experiencing homelessness, officials said at a Tuesday press conference.
The pilot program, called Head Start on Housing, began in 2022 and is a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Housing and the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood.
Families with young children enrolled in Head Start, a federally funded early care and education program, are eligible to get a housing voucher that covers a portion of their rent. The program, in which 144 families participate, targets those experiencing homelessness.
The money for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, DOH Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said Tuesday at the New Britain press conference.
“We can’t keep doing the same thing … We have to be different and try to be more efficient,” Mosquera-Bruno said. “Be more efficient and eliminate barriers and just do the work that you need to do.”
The announcement comes as national and state-level homeless populations increase, and thousands of families struggle to access child care. Both topics are likely to emerge during the budget debate in the upcoming legislative session.
During the past two legislative sessions, advocates have asked the governor and lawmakers to add more funding for homelessness services to the budget. Gov. Ned Lamont has favored an approach that limits government spending, and officials on Tuesday pointed to existing state programs to keep people housed.
Homelessness has risen in Connecticut over the past few years. The last annual count showed that on a single night in January, there were 3,410 people experiencing homelessness in the state.
“Everybody deserves a place to call home,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
Many families struggle to pay for child care, which can make it hard for caregivers to access the workforce. The program aims to allow adults the flexibility to work, as well as a place to live.
“What we have here is a program we put together that integrates child care and home, and the two are absolutely invaluable,” Lamont said.
The Head Start program is for children ages 3 to 5, and families with low incomes based on federal poverty levels are eligible.
“We know that in early childhood development, those early years, are absolutely critical when it comes to the great development of young children, and we know that housing instability and homelessness can really have a negative impact on our children and their health and development,” said Elena Trueworthy, Connecticut’s acting early childhood commissioner.
As kids get older and age out of the Head Start program, officials said part of the goal is to make connections with other organizations to make sure that support stays in place so they don’t lose services.
“We’re here for you into the future,” Marlo Greponne told families in attendance Tuesday. Greponne is the executive director of the Human Resources Agency of New Britain.
“We’re wrapping around all of those other services within the same agency where they have established a level of trust,” Greponne said.
Families can get referred to the program through their Head Start program.
