LCO 4348 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6903
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4348
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO DISSEMINATE
INFORMATION CONCERNING CHILD CARE SERVICES, EARLY
INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS TO PATIENTS RECEIVING PRENATAL CARE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1
2026, the Commissioner of Early Childhood, in consultation with the 2
Commissioner of Social Services, shall develop and administer a one-3
year pilot program to disseminate information concerning child care 4
services, as defined in section 19a-77 of the general statutes, early 5
intervention programs and financial assistance programs available to 6
expectant mothers receiving prenatal care, as defined in section 19a-912 7
of the general statutes, in hospitals in the state. 8
(b) In developing the pilot program, the Commissioner of Early 9
Childhood shall develop (1) criteria for the selection of hospitals that 10
provide prenatal care in geographically diverse areas of the state, with 11
preference given to hospitals that serve a high proportion of low-income 12
families and are located in areas where the availability of child care 13
services does not meet the demand for such services; (2) requirements 14 Raised Bill No. 6903
LCO 4348 2 of 3
for the dissemination of the documents compiled pursuant to subsection 15
(c) of this section to patients receiving prenatal care, including, but not 16
limited to, a requirement that such documents shall be provided during 17
the first trimester of pregnancy whenever possible; and (3) a system for 18
tracking and reporting the number of such documents provided to 19
patients at each selected hospital each month. 20
(c) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall select five hospitals 21
for participation in the pilot program using the criteria developed 22
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and compile documents for 23
dissemination to patients receiving prenatal care at each such hospital. 24
Such documents shall be tailored to each individual hospital and 25
contain the following information: (1) A list of all child care centers, 26
group child care homes and family child care homes, as such terms are 27
described in section 19a-77 of the general statutes, located in the 28
municipalities in which the majority of prenatal patients served by such 29
hospital live, including contact information and Internet web site 30
addresses, if available, for each such center and home; (2) a list of early 31
intervention programs administered by the Office of Early Childhood, 32
including descriptions of such programs and contact information and 33
Internet web site addresses, if available, for each such program; and (3) 34
information concerning financial assistance programs available to 35
families, including instructions on how to apply to such programs. 36
(d) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Early 37
Childhood shall electronically disseminate the documents compiled 38
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section to the administrator of each 39
hospital selected for participation in the pilot program. During the 40
period beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2026, 41
a copy of the documents tailored to a participating hospital shall be 42
distributed to each patient receiving prenatal care at such hospital. 43
(e) During the period beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending on 44
December 31, 2027, the Commissioner of Early Childhood shall, in a 45
form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, administer a survey 46
to each parent or guardian that enrolls a child in (1) child care services, 47 Raised Bill No. 6903
LCO 4348 3 of 3
or (2) an early intervention program administered by the Office of Early 48
Childhood, to determine whether such parent or guardian enrolled in 49
such services or program as a result of the pilot program administered 50
pursuant to this section. The completion of such survey shall be 51
optional. 52
(f) Not later than June 1, 2028, the Commissioner of Early Childhood 53
shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 54
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 55
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children. Such report 56
shall include an analysis of the efficacy of the pilot program 57
administered pursuant to this section and any recommendations for 58
legislation to expand such program or implement such program on a 59
state-wide and permanent basis. 60
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
KID Joint Favorable C/R PH
PH Joint Favorable