These Early Care and Education Data Tables, which we produce annually, have been updated to include data from Fiscal Year 2014.
They reveal that:
- Connecticut’s overall investment in early care and education has continued to decline.
- Fewer children ages 0-5 are receiving state subsidies for early care and education: while the number of preschoolers receiving state subsidies has increased, fewer infants and toddlers were served, for a net reduction in the total number of children served.
- Fewer preschoolers with subsidies are participating in early care and education programs accredited by national organizations, likely representing an increase in the number of preschoolers attending charter and magnet schools, which may be of high quality but are not required to be accredited.
- While early care and education subsidies predominantly go to the highest-need children, including those who come from poor and struggling families and communities and racial/ethnic minority groups, children in the poorest areas continue to attend preschool at a significantly lower rate than children in wealthier towns.
