AN ACT REQUIRING THE OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TO STUDY THE AVAILABILITY OF CHILD CARE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO ADDRESS INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD CARE SERVICES NEEDS FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Treneé McGee and 2 co-sponsors

Requires CT Office of Early Childhood to study statewide child care availability and create a plan to meet infant/toddler needs for low-income families.

TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

#childdaycare #earlychildhood #officeof #plans #reports #studies

Purpose / Intent

The bill directs the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to examine the statewide availability of child care and to create a plan specifically addressing shortages or barriers to infant and toddler care for low‑income families. The primary aims are to identify gaps in supply, access, affordability and to propose actions to improve care options for the most vulnerable families with very young children.

Key provisions

Requires the Office of Early Childhood to conduct a comprehensive study of child care availability across the state.

Requires development of a plan to address infant and toddler child care needs for low‑income families based on the study’s findings.

Note: The full text of the bill was not provided. The title and legislative record indicate the study and planning requirements, but do not specify details such as required data elements, timelines for completion, reporting recipients, funding, or mandated policy actions. Those specifics—if included—would appear in the bill text or implementing language.

Who would be affected

Office of Early Childhood: assigned responsibility to lead the study and prepare the plan.

Low‑income families with infants and toddlers: intended beneficiaries of the plan.

Child care providers (family child care, centers, Head Start, etc.): likely subjects of the study and potential participants in any recommended changes.

State agencies (e.g., human services, workforce development, licensing bodies) and the legislature: potential partners, implementers, or recipients of recommendations.

State budget/appropriations: potential fiscal impacts if the plan recommends funding changes or new programs.

Procedural status and timeline

Introduced: January 30, 2025

Public hearing: February 6, 2025

Referred to Joint Committee on Children; subsequently reviewed by Appropriations and by Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis (02/27/25).

Committee actions: Joint favorable reports (02/18/25, 05/05/25); reported out of LCO (03/05/25, 05/06/25).

Current status: Tabled for House Calendar (filed with LCO 05/06/2025). Awaiting further floor action and potential appropriations review.

Potential impacts and considerations

The study could produce actionable data to inform state policy on infant/toddler capacity, workforce needs, subsidy access, and geographic equity.

Fiscal implications depend on whether the resulting plan recommends funded programs, subsidies, facilities expansion, or workforce initiatives; such recommendations would likely require appropriation.

Coordination across agencies and with providers will be important to develop feasible solutions.

If you’d like, I can draft a short checklist of the specific data and analysis elements the OEC should include in the study (e.g., capacity by age and town, waitlists, cost/affordability, subsidy utilization, workforce supply).

Bill