Care 4 Kids, the state’s child care subsidy program, provides critical assistance to eligible families who demonstrate the need for care but may struggle to afford to pay for child care. These subsidies support families to obtain infant and toddler care, preschool, and afterschool care for children from Kindergarten through 13 years of age. However, low reimbursement rates to providers and limited eligibility for parents mean that affordable, high-quality child care remains out of reach for many working families.
This primer provides a brief overview of Care 4 Kids and recommends steps that policymakers can take to improve provider reimbursement rates and expand access to the program. This analysis is a collaboration between Connecticut Voices for Children, the Connecticut Association for Human Services and the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance.
