Governor Malloy’s latest proposed cuts to the FY 12-13 budget leave early care and education programs largely untouched. In particular, the plan maintains funding, as originally passed, for Care4Kids, School Readiness programs in Competitive and Priority Districts, state-funded child care centers, State Head Start, Head Start Enhancement, and the Nurturing Families Network.
However, the Governor’s plan does contain some worrisome cuts. These include:
- Family Resource Centers, which is slated for a 5% reduction in funding in FY 12 and a 17% reduction in FY 13;
- Bridgeport’s ABCD Total Learning Initiative (part of the line item Head Start Early Childhood Link), which faces an 83% funding cut;
- Connecticut Charts-a-Course, which will lose 40% of its funding, resulting in the elimination of the early childhood professional scholarships;
- The Children’s Trust Fund, whose loss of $1.16 million in FY12 and $2.34 million in FY 13 completely eliminates funding for the Family School Connection, Children’s Law Center, and the Kinship Fund;
- Even Start, which will lose the new state program funding it was slated to gain in the face of discontinued federal funding;
- Birth-to-Three, which will lose $2.21 million of funding in FY 12 and $2.93 million in FY 13, resulting in the elimination of the state Early Connections program.
