“I want to make Connecticut the most family-friendly state in the nation.”
That’s the vision Gov. Ned Lamont laid out in October of last year as he set his priorities for the upcoming legislative session. And in his newest budget address last week, the governor took an important step in that direction as he announced plans to expand pre-school programs for 3- and 4-year-old children.
As I spoke with many friends who are parents of young children, they welcomed the news. Then they got out their calculators, and realized the costs still before them. “My child is only an infant now. How much are the next three years of child care going to cost me? How on earth will my family afford it?”
For countless Connecticut families struggling to pay for child care that ranks among the most expensive in the nation, the chance at a free or affordable preschool seat certainly offers a welcome measure of relief. And the governor’s $300 million funding commitment clearly shows that state leaders recognize the crushing financial burden parents are facing.
But to address skyrocketing child care costs and the impact they’re having on working families, child care providers, and businesses, Connecticut’s leaders need to adopt a comprehensive policy solution that starts at birth and meets the scale of this growing crisis.
Parents in our state spend an average of 27% of their income on care, more than anywhere in the country. The average cost of child care is $15,964 per child, an astronomical sum that forces many parents – primarily women – to drop out of the workforce, often for years at a time. What’s worse, it forces many families to leave the state entirely, in search of a more affordable, sustainable solution.
This “brain drain” of talented employees leaving the workforce and in many cases the state is seriously hurting our economy. According to CBIA’s 2024 survey, 78% of Connecticut businesses struggle to find talented workers, and 60% say affordable childcare is essential for attracting and retaining employees. As families leave the state for lower cost of living and better opportunities elsewhere, businesses are paying the price: 73,000 jobs now sit vacant across the state.
Child care providers are losing out in this equation as well. Without enough children enrolled in their programs or the funding to pay their staff a competitive wage, child care providers are losing workers to higher-paying industries. This forces classrooms to close and reduces the number of children who can be served, leading to the child care deserts that parents face today.
Connecticut’s families and economy can’t wait any longer for a solution. That’s why our statewide coalition is proposing bold, innovative legislation that gets to the heart of the child care crisis that’s holding our state back.
Through a modest charge on businesses, Connecticut could generate the dedicated revenue needed to fully fund child care for our workforce. In exchange for investing into this workforce child care fund, businesses would see greater employee retention and productivity, and a growing labor pool as new workers are attracted to the state – while avoiding the estimated $1.5 billion lost each year due to employees’ lack of child care.
With this revenue stream in place, Connecticut could offset the cost of child care to no more than 7% of household income for families, so that all parents can obtain affordable, reliable, high-quality care that enables them to work. An easy online enrollment process would connect parents to licensed child care programs serving infants through school-aged children.
Tens of thousands of parents who can’t afford care but don’t qualify for existing subsidies would be incentivized to return to the workforce to pursue their professional goals. And child care providers, who would be reimbursed for the true cost of care, could pay competitive wages, reduce classroom closures, and expand new programs across the state.
The governor’s message could not have been more true or more timely: “Parents, businesses need you.” To help families thrive, revitalize our workforce, and grow Connecticut’s economy, our state leaders need to build on the governor’s pre-school plan and advance truly transformative child care policy.
Our children, families, and businesses are counting on us to get it right.
Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman is the director of Child Care for CT, a statewide coalition working to strengthen Connecticut’s families and economy through access to affordable, high-quality child care.