O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 24-91—sHB 5002
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING EA RLY CHILDHOOD CARE A ND EDUCATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§§ 1-2 & 13 — EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND E DUCATION FUND
Renames the Early Childhood Education Fund created in the FY 24-25 budget act as the Early
Childhood Care and Education Fund and establishes a framework for the fund’s deposits and
investments and the state treasurer’s authority and powers on behalf of the fund; creates a 23-
member advisory commission within the Legislative Department to, among other things, review
and report on the fund’s financial health and status and prepare a five-year plan for its
expenditures
§ 3 — TRI-SHARE CHILD CARE MATCHING PROG RAM
Requires OEC, within available appropriations, to establish a Tri-Share Child Care Matching
Program serving New London County in which child care costs are shared equally between
participating employers, employees, and the state
§ 4 — WAGE SUPPLEMEN T PAYMENT PROGRAM
Requires OEC, for FY 25, to set up and administer a wage supplement payment program that
provides one-time payments of at least $1,800 to eligible early childhood education teachers and
teacher assistants; requires OEC to use $9 million of its FY 25 General Fund appropriation for
Early Care and Education used for school readiness and child day care purposes for the payments
§ 5 — SURPLUS LAND FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD C ARE AND EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Requires the OEC commissioner to notify the OPM secretary if certain surplus state property can
be used for early childhood care and education programs
§ 6 — OEC LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE D OCUMENT FOR
CHILD CARE CENTERS
Requires the OEC commissioner to develop a document for child care centers and homes
explaining the benefits of maintaining liability insurance coverage and the potential consequences
of not doing so; requires the document to be electronically distributed to child care facilities
§ 7 — OEC DEVELOPMEN TAL MILESTONES DOCUM ENT
Exempts child care centers and homes that exclusively serve school-age children from the
requirement to post a copy of an OEC-developed developmental milestones document in the center
or home
§§ 8-9, 11 & 12 — CARE 4 KIDS
Expands the Care 4 Kids protective service class to include children under the care of a caregiver
who receives subsidies under the subsidized guardianship program; repeals the Care 4 Kids O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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program regulations and instead requires the OEC commissioner to (1) administer the program
by implementing the federal Child Care Development Fund program’s regulations and (2)
develop policies and procedures necessary to do so
§ 10 — BIRTH-TO-THREE SERVICES
Requires child care centers to allow a child with an individualized family service plan who is
eligible to receive Birth-to-Three services to receive them on-site at a child care center or home
§§ 1-2 & 13 — EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION FUND
Renames the Early Childhood Education Fund created in the FY 24-25 budget act as the Early
Childhood Care and Education Fund and establishes a framework for the fund’s deposits and
investments and the state treasurer’s authority and powers on behalf of the fund; creates a 23-
member advisory commission within the Legislative Department to, among other things, review
and report on the fund’s financial health and status and prepare a five-year plan for its
expenditures
Fund Requirements (§ 1)
This act renames the Early Childhood Education Fund created in the FY 24-25
budget act as the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund. As under prior law,
the act requires the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund to contain any money
required or allowed by law to be deposited in it, including funds received from
public or private contributions, gifts, and grants. The act explicitly allows it to
contain federal, state, or local grants, and additionally allows it to contain any
earnings until they are disbursed according to the act.
The act requires the fund’s deposits to be used solely to support the state’s early
childhood education and child care needs. They are not state property, cannot be
combined with state funds, and the state has no claim on them. The fund is not a
state department, institution, or agency. It must continue to exist as long as it has
deposits or obligations and until terminated by law.
Under the act, any contract entered into by the fund, or any obligation of the
fund, is not a state debt or obligation, and the state has no obligation on account of
the fund. Amounts that must be paid from the fund are limited to the amount
deposited there that is available for the payments.
Treasurer’s Authority and Powers (§ 1)
The act eliminates the requirement that the comptroller establish the fund and
instead authorizes the treasurer, on the fund’s behalf and to carry out its purposes,
to do the following:
1. receive and invest the fund’s money in any instruments, obligations,
securities, or property as described below;
2. enter into contractual agreements for services for the fund (e.g., legal,
actuarial, administrative, and consulting) and pay for them with the fund’s
assets; O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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3. obtain insurance for the fund’s property, assets, activities, or deposits;
4. apply for and accept public or private donations to enable the fund to
achieve its objectives;
5. adopt regulations;
6. sue and be sued;
7. establish accounts within the fund; and
8. take other necessary action to carry out the act’s purposes and related to the
treasurer’s duties under the act.
Investments (§ 1)
The act requires the state treasurer to (1) invest the fund’s deposits in a
reasonable way to achieve its objectives; (2) exercise a prudent person’s care and
discretion; and (3) consider such things as rate of return, risk, maturity, portfolio
diversification, liquidity, projected disbursements and expenditures, and expected
deposits and other gifts.
Under the act, the state treasurer need not require the fund to invest in state or
municipal bonds or other funds he administers. The fund’s assets must be
continuously invested and reinvested, consistent with the fund’s objectives, until
they are disbursed by the comptroller as the act allows.
Advisory Commission (§§ 2 & 13)
Membership and Administration. The act creates a 23-member Early Childhood
Care and Education Fund Advisory Commission within the Legislative Department
to (1) review and report on the fund’s financial health and status, (2) submit and
update a five-year plan to the legislature on fund expenditures that would best
support the state’s early childhood education and child care needs, and (3)
recommend legislative changes to further the fund’s purposes. Under the act, the
commission consists of the 14 appointed members shown in the table below; the
chairpersons and ranking members of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Committee; and the following state officials or their designees: the Office of Policy
and Management (OPM) secretary, state treasurer, state comptroller, and early
childhood and education commissioners.
Early Childhood Care and Education Fund Advisory Commission
Appointing
Authority
Number of
Appointments
Appointee’s Qualifications
House speaker 3
One member of the Office of Early Childhood’s (OEC)
parent cabinet who is a parent
One early childhood teacher
One General Assembly member
Senate
president pro
tempore
3
One who operates or represents a home-based child
care services provider in Connecticut
One parent of a child receiving Birth-to-Three services
One General Assembly member O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Appointing
Authority
Number of
Appointments
Appointee’s Qualifications
House majority
leader
2
One who represents an early childhood education
program operator in Connecticut
One Early Childhood Cabinet member who represents a
family resource center
Senate majority
leader
2
One Early Childhood Funder Collaborative member who
represents a philanthropic organization engaged in early
childhood education or child care issues in Connecticut
One Early Childhood Cabinet member who represents
OEC’s Connecticut Head Start State Collaboration
Office
House minority
leader
2
One who represents a non-home-based child care
services provider in Connecticut
One Early Childhood Cabinet member who is an OEC
representative who administers the Childhood Care and
Development Fund
Senate minority
leader
2
One who represents a corporation with a significant
physical presence in Connecticut that employs people
who may benefit from early childhood education and
state child care initiatives
One OEC representative who administers the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C
program
Under the act, appointed members serve at the pleasure of, and coterminous
with, their appointing authority. To the extent practicable, appointing authorities
must appoint members to ensure that the state’s geographic areas are represented.
They must also fill any vacancies, and those occurring other than by term expiration
must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The commission is chaired by (1) the state comptroller and (2) two General
Assembly members appointed by the House speaker and Senate president pro
tempore. The chairpersons must schedule and hold the first meeting by August 3,
2024. The commission must meet as often as the chairpersons or a majority of its
members deem necessary, and a majority of members constitutes a quorum.
Members are considered to have resigned from the commission if they miss
three consecutive meetings or 50% of the meetings held during any calendar year.
The act requires the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee’s
administrative staff to serve as the advisory commission’s administrative staff.
Travel Expenses and Stipend. Members generally serve without compensation
but must be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses, within available funds. The
exception is for the following commission members who, within available funds,
are eligible for a $25 per hour stipend for each hour (or part of an hour) that they
attend a commission meeting:
1. parent member of OEC’s parent cabinet,
2. parent of a child receiving Birth-to-Three services,
3. early childhood teacher, and O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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4. representatives of an early childhood education program operator and
home- and non-home-based child care services providers if they are
employees of the respective operator or provider and (except for the home-
based child care services provider representative) paid hourly.
Under the act, the travel time to and from the meeting does not count towards
the stipend. Eligible members must submit a request to the Office of Legislative
Management’s executive director, as he requires, to receive the travel expenses or
stipend. They must provide any documentation the executive director requires to
substantiate the requested amount.
Powers and Duties. The act authorizes the commission to do the following:
1. review and monitor the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund to assess
its financial sustainability;
2. get the help and data it needs to carry out its purposes from any executive
department, board, commission, or state agency; and
3. do anything else necessary and appropriate to carry out its duties.
Reporting Requirement. Annually, starting by January 1, 2026, the commission
must report to the Appropriations; Finance, Revenue and Bonding; Education; and
Children’s committees on the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund’s financial
health and status. The report must include:
1. the amount deposited in the fund and whether it is sufficient to achieve the
fund’s purposes,
2. actual or expected disbursements for the applicable fiscal year,
3. the fund’s investments’ rates of return, and
4. any recommendations for policy changes and statutory changes to further
the fund’s purposes.
By January 1, 2026, the commission must also submit to these same committees
a five-year plan for the fund’s expenditures that would best support the state’s early
childhood education and child care needs. In developing this plan, the commission
must consider (1) reports on the state of these needs in Connecticut and
kindergarten readiness and (2) best practices in other states. It must update and
submit this plan to these committees at least annually.
The act also eliminates the requirement that the OEC commissioner annually
report to the legislature on the prior Early Childhood Education Fund and the Blue-
Ribbon Panel on Child Care’s recommendations (§ 13).
Public Hearing. Beginning with FY 26, the commission must annually hold a
public hearing on the state of the fund and of early childhood education and child
care in the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§ 3 — TRI-SHARE CHILD CARE MATCHING PROG RAM
Requires OEC, within available appropriations, to establish a Tri-Share Child Care Matching
Program serving New London County in which child care costs are shared equally between
participating employers, employees, and the state
Program Duration and Administrator
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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The act requires OEC, within available appropriations, to create a Tri-Share
Child Care Matching Program for New London County in which child care costs
are shared equally between participating employers, employees, and the state. The
program must run for at least two years and be administered by a regional or
statewide organization selected by OEC. The administrator must:
1. set the program’s eligibility criteria for employers and employees (although
the act sets specific criteria as described below) and recruit employers to
participate;
2. ensure that the child care facilities receiving program funds are state-
licensed and disburse funds to the appropriate providers;
3. collect and ensure timely payment from the state and participating
employers and employees;
4. coordinate adequate communication between all parties; and
5. collect and submit data to OEC on participating employees (e.g., their
annual household income), as long as this data is deidentified.
OEC must enter into an agreement with its chosen administrator to perform
these duties. This agreement must at least include:
1. a provision that the administrator must receive, for its administrative costs,
up to 10% of the funds the state allocates to the program;
2. a requirement that the administrator not commingle program funds with any
other funds it holds or controls, other than those it receives for
administrative costs;
3. any restrictions or prohibitions on disclosing data the administrator received
or collected on participating employees; and
4. penalties for violating any provision of the agreement or the act’s Tri-Share
program provisions.
Eligibility Criteria
To participate in the program, employers must have a physical facility in New
London County that is its employees’ principal workplace. Employees must:
1. be employed by a participating employer,
2. live in Connecticut,
3. have a principal workplace in New London County, and
4. not be receiving other public assistance for child care costs.
Reporting Requirement
The act requires the OEC commissioner, beginning with the fiscal year
immediately following the program’s first year, to annually report on the program
to the Appropriations; Finance, Revenue and Bonding; Education; and Children’s
committees. The report must at least include:
1. for the immediately preceding fiscal year, the (a) number of participating
employers and employees and (b) amounts the administrator disbursed for
child care costs and retained for administrative costs;
2. the percentage of participating employees whose household incomes are O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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below the asset limited, income constrained, employed population threshold
calculated in the United Way of Connecticut’s most recent ALICE report
(see Background — ALICE Threshold); and
3. the commissioner’s recommendations for programmatic or legislative
changes to improve the program or further its purposes.
Background — ALICE Threshold
The United Way’s ALICE (i.e., asset limited, income constrained, and
employed) threshold represents the minimum income level needed for a household
to afford an estimated minimum budget (i.e., the ALICE household survival
budget). The threshold is adjusted for household size and composition for each
county.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
§ 4 — WAGE SUPPLEMEN T PAYMENT PROGRAM
Requires OEC, for FY 25, to set up and administer a wage supplement payment program that
provides one-time payments of at least $1,800 to eligible early childhood education teachers and
teacher assistants; requires OEC to use $9 million of its FY 25 General Fund appropriation for
Early Care and Education used for school readiness and child day care purposes for the payments
Wage Supplement Payments
The act requires OEC to set up and administer a wage supplement program for
FY 25 that gives eligible early childhood teachers and teacher assistants a one-time
wage supplement payment of at least $1,800. Under the act, OEC must provide
these payments on a first-come, first-served basis, up to the amount made available
for the payments, and award all eligible applicants the same payment amount. To
make the payments, the act requires OEC to use $9 million of its FY 25 General
Fund appropriation for Early Care and Education used for school readiness and
child day care purposes.
Eligible Applicants
To qualify for the wage supplement payment, “early childhood teachers” and
“teacher assistants” must be in a state-funded school readiness program or state-
funded child care program. “Early childhood teachers” must have primary
responsibility for a classroom of children for at least 50% of their assigned time,
while “teacher assistants” must have a primary duty to assist an early childhood
teacher in providing early childhood care or as part of a school readiness program.
Both must be regularly scheduled and have been employed in these respective
capacities for at least six months at the time of the application.
Application Process
The OEC commissioner must determine (1) the application period and process O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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for eligible applicants to apply to register for a wage supplement payment and (2)
how to spread information about the program to best achieve the act’s purposes.
OEC must review the submitted applications, confirm each applicant’s eligibility,
and, within 30 days after receiving an application, notify applicants of whether or
not they were approved and the reason why if they were not approved.
Income or Asset Disregard
Under the act, to the extent federal law allows, the wage supplement payments
are not considered income or assets for determining eligibility for any state-
administered public assistance program, including any HUSKY program.
Legislative Report
The OEC commissioner must report on the program by October 1, 2025, to the
Appropriations; Finance, Revenue and Bonding; Education; and Children’s
committees. The report must at least include (1) the number of eligible early
childhood teachers and teacher assistants that applied and were approved for a
payment, (2) the payment amounts to each group and in total, and (3) a
recommendation for whether the program should be expanded or extended.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§ 5 — SURPLUS LAND FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD C ARE AND EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Requires the OEC commissioner to notify the OPM secretary if certain surplus state property can
be used for early childhood care and education programs
By law, the OPM secretary must notify all state agencies when surplus state
property is available, and specified commissioners (e.g., commissioners of
economic and community development, transportation, and housing) must
determine and notify the secretary if the property can be used for certain agency-
specific purposes. The act adds the OEC commissioner to this group by requiring
her to notify the OPM secretary if the surplus property can be used for early
childhood care and early childhood education programs. If she determines the
agency can use the property, the act requires her to submit a plan describing the
proposed use for the secretary’s review, as the other commissioners must already
do under existing law (CGS § 4b-21).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
§ 6 — OEC LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE D OCUMENT FOR CHILD
CARE CENTERS
Requires the OEC commissioner to develop a document for child care centers and homes
explaining the benefits of maintaining liability insurance coverage and the potential consequences
of not doing so; requires the document to be electronically distributed to child care facilities
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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The act requires the OEC commissioner, by December 1, 2024, to develop a
document for child care centers and homes explaining the benefits of maintaining
liability insurance coverage and the potential consequences of not doing so. The
OEC commissioner must (1) develop this document in consultation with a nonprofit
organization that provides entrepreneurial and financial education services to
women and (2) electronically distribute the document to licensed child care centers,
group child care homes, and family child care homes each year, starting by January
1, 2025.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§ 7 — OEC DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES DOC UMENT
Exempts child care centers and homes that exclusively serve school-age children from the
requirement to post a copy of an OEC-developed developmental milestones document in the center
or home
Existing law requires child care centers and group or family child care homes
to post a copy of an OEC-developed document (1) listing key developmental
milestones for children from birth to age five and (2) informing parents or guardians
that they may access the OEC Child Development Infoline for information on
appropriate services if they are concerned that their child is not meeting milestones.
Beginning July 1, 2024, the act exempts centers that exclusively serve school-
age children from this requirement.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
§§ 8-9, 11 & 12 — CARE 4 KIDS
Expands the Care 4 Kids protective service class to include children under the care of a caregiver
who receives subsidies under the subsidized guardianship program; repeals the Care 4 Kids
program regulations and instead requires the OEC commissioner to (1) administer the program
by implementing the federal Child Care Development Fund program’s regulations and (2)
develop policies and procedures necessary to do so
Protective Service Class (§ 8)
By law, the OEC commissioner may institute a protective service class in which
she may waive Care 4 Kids eligibility requirements for certain at-risk populations
that meet guidelines she sets and OPM reviews. The act expands this class to
include children under the care of a caregiver who receives subsidies through the
Department of Children and Families’ subsidized guardianship program and
extends eligibility to them for up to one year from the date their subsidy is approved.
By law, these at-risk populations also include (1) certain foster care children, (2)
certain newly adopted children, and (3) homeless children.
Regulations, Policies, and Procedures (§§ 9 & 11-12)
The act repeals the Care 4 Kids program regulations and the commissioner’s
authority to adopt them. Instead, it requires the OEC commissioner to administer O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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the program by implementing the requirements of the federal Child Care
Development Fund (45 C.F.R. § 98) and develop policies and procedures necessary
to implement these federal requirements. The federal Child Care Development
Fund funds the Care 4 Kids program.
The act also requires the secretary of the state to correspondingly update the
official online compilation of state regulations by October 1, 2024.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
§ 10 — BIRTH-TO-THREE SERVICES
Requires child care centers to allow a child with an individualized family service plan who is
eligible to receive Birth-to-Three services to receive them on-site at a child care center or home
The act requires licensed child care centers and group or family child care
homes to allow a child who is eligible for Birth-to-Three and who has an
individualized family service plan to receive early intervention services at the child
care center or home, from the provider designated in the plan.
By law and under the act, individualized family service plans are written plans
to deliver early intervention services to an eligible child and the child’s family.
These services must, among other things, be (1) delivered under public supervision,
(2) selected in collaboration with the parents, and (3) designed to meet the infant’s
or toddler’s developmental needs and the family’s needs in certain areas (34 C.F.R.
§ 303.13(a)).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024