Governor Lamont had a unique opportunity to enact transformational reforms for Connecticut’s youngest children and families, fix its broken childcare industry, and position Connecticut’s businesses and economy for long term growth. This budget fell disappointingly and woefully short.
Georgia Goldburn
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]
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Rosa DeLauro championed a lifeline for the childcare industry. Now Congress needs to deliver
This pandemic put in stark reality how the child care industry serves as our economy’s foundation — but that it was always riven with cracks. As we have faced the COVID-19 pandemic, our work has been deemed essential, critical not only in the time of the initial response, but also as we re-open and recover.
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In defense of a Middle-Eastern refugee couple who fled an evil law to save their son
Dear President Trump, when Mary got pregnant, she was an unwed teenager. Upon finding out that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant, Joseph was appalled and ashamed and made a plan to send her away. After divine counseling, he reversed his decision and married her as planned. Upon giving birth, the young couple found out that the government instituted a law mandating the execution of every child born in the same timeframe as their son. To what will be a great consternation to Attorney General Sessions, they broke the law, choosing instead to smuggle their newborn son out of Bethlehem, thus joining the ranks of the poor and oppressed seeking asylum in a new country.
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Why we can’t wait — Race and the Care 4 Kids Program
According to the United Way of Connecticut, the agency that administers the Care 4 Kids (C4K) program, 4,424 fewer children were being served in December 2016 than in August 2016 when the program closed to most new applicants. Families from cities like Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven were hardest hit, with a combined 1,429 fewer children being served. These cities represent one third of the total subsidies lost between August and December. … I urge our elected officials to reopen the C4K program now and provide the required funding needed today and into the future to ensure that CT’s most vulnerable children begin on the right path from the very beginning. It is time to put our money where our mouth is.
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Connecticut’s early care budget cuts penny wise and pound foolish
If one wants to understand Connecticut’s budget woes, one need to look no further than its universal preschool strategy. And in reviewing the governor’s and legislators’ budget deficit mitigation plans, it was disappointing to see that they opted to further erode the state’s early care system and industry, rather than make smarter choices that preserve both.
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Gov. Malloy’s ‘Smart Start’ picks winners … but we all lose
The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and the Gov. Dannel Malloy recently announced the first round of winners in the Smart Start initiative. And while they acknowledged that many school districts opted not to apply, they fail to acknowledge the glaring truth about the reason, i.e. this is a bad initiative and a bad prescription for […]
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Op-ed: Smart Start misses the mark
Connecticut’s Democratic legislators unveiled their plan to provide access to universal pre-k through a grant initiative called Smart Start. While Smart Start’s goals are laudable, it misses the opportunity to develop a model that is both fiscally prudent and sustainable, one that capitalizes on previous investments made by the state, and preserves choices for families […]