Connecticut Lags Behind Most States in Support to Low Income Working Families through the Child Care Subsidy Program

Over the past several years Connecticut has chosen to:

1. Significantly reduce state funding for the Care4Kids program.
2. Allow reimbursement rates to stagnate, thus reducing the amount families receive in assistance from Care4Kids.
3. Make it difficult for low income working families to be eligible for and access Care4Kids subsidies.
4. Divert a significant proportion of TANF funds to the CT Department of Children and Families.

To reverse these detrimental choices, Connecticut must increase state funding for Care4Kids with a dependable funding stream. Specifically, returning to Connecticut’s SFY 02 investment of $122 million in the Care4Kids program is an essential step toward the implementation of the specific policy and regulatory changes suggested in this report.