Program And Description

FY 09

Child Care Subsidies (Care 4 Kids): The goal of the Care 4 Kids program is to make child care affordable for low to moderate income families in Connecticut. The program is a partnership between the State of Connecticut, the families in the program, and the providers who take care of the children. Parents, children, and child care providers must meet program participation requirements.

$103,688,824

Child Day Care: This program provides grant-in-aid funds for contracts with private, nonprofit Human Resource Development agencies to (1) develop and operate child day care centers for children disadvantaged by economic, social and environmental conditions; (2) provide a safe and healthful environment in which children can learn and develop; (3) enable parents of preschool children to become employed or enroll in work training programs; and (4) provide children with a balanced nutritional diet and adequate medical, dental, and psychiatric care and care for the special needs of handicapped children.

$30,825,513

School Readiness: Jointly funded by the Connecticut Department of Education (SDE) and Department of Social Services (DSS), the program aims to develop a network of school readiness programs to:

● Significantly increase both (1) the number of spaces in accredited and/or approved programs for young children to provide access to high quality school readiness programs and (2) the number of those spaces that are full-day, full-year spaces to meet family needs; and

● Share school readiness and child-care program costs among the state and its various agencies, the communities, and families.

The program awards both competitive and noncompetitive grants. Communities can use funds to provide families with opportunities for full-time, part-time, and extended-day programs. Funds also support quality enhancements such as licensing enforcement staff, resource and referral services, criminal and child abuse and neglect checks, and provider training for early care and child care programs.

$4,955,500 - DSS

$ 83,886,856 - SDE Total

Priority school districts grants: $76,338,972

Competitive grants:

$4,897,884

School readiness staff bonuses:

$150,000

Quality preschool rating system:

$2,500,000

Head Start: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that serves children from birth to age five and their families. The program, established in 1965, aims to increase the school readiness of young children in low-income families. Connecticut Head Start programs are administered and operated by community action agencies, local education agencies, and other nonprofit agencies.

SDE provides funding to Head Start programs to help them (1) establish extended-day and full-day, year-round Head Start programs or expand existing Head Start programs to extended-day or full-day, year-round programs; (2) enhance program quality; and (3) increase the number of children served pursuant to CGS § 10-16n.

$12,893,567

Head Start services:

$7,945,415

Head Start enhancement:

$2,748,150

Head Start early childhood link:

$2,200,000

Even Start: This program offers grants to support local family literacy projects that integrate early childhood education, adult literacy (adult basic and secondary-level education and instruction for English language learners), parenting education, and interactive parent and child literacy activities for low-income families with parents who are eligible for services under the federal Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and their children from birth through age 7. Teen parents and their children from birth through age 7 also are eligible. Participating families must be those most in need of program services.

Not funded