GALES FERRY, CT – New London County is the fourth largest of Connecticut’s eight counties but has the smallest population with just under 270,000 residents. But according to The Connecticut Project’s Courtney McNally-Parkerson, the shortage of childcare options in the county has reached crisis levels and is just as great, if not more so, than it is in the state’s more densely populated counties of Fairfield, New Haven, and Hartford.
“Almost 8,000 families are looking for a childcare slot in New London County and based on the licensed supply … more than 40% of those families that are looking for a spot are not able to find one,” McNally-Parkerson said Monday at the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut during an event titled Addressing The Childcare Crisis: Strengthening New London County’s Workforce.
“For infants and toddlers, it’s even more significant,” McNally-Parkerson said. “It’s roughly half of the families with infants and toddlers that need a childcare spot are not able to find one in New London County because a seat doesn’t exist for them.”
McNally-Parkerson was talking to a room full of non-profit, for-profit, and healthcare professionals as well as local business owners and told them the state’s larger counties were essentially fulfilling their childcare needs.
The event was the second of two that were organized by a coalition of organizations that includes United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, The Connecticut Project, Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, the CBIA, and the Women’s Business Development Council.
The first event was held by the Northeastern Chamber of Commerce in Windham County, where the childcare crisis is hitting just as hard in the quiet corner of the state.
It was a chance for those attending to hear possible solutions to the problem that is impacting their businesses and workforce, especially women. Many are leaving the workplace to stay home and look after their children, not only because of the lack of childcare options, but also the high cost.
McNally-Parkerson suggested imagining being able to come up with a stopgap solution to address the thousands of families who are unable to find childcare slots.
“Imagine what it means for the workforce, for economic development in this region and most importantly for the kids who right now are being denied an educational foundation that they need to succeed in school and life,” she said.
One of the solutions being pursued through the legislature is a Tri-Share Child Care Model, which would establish a matching program through participating employers, employees, and the state to evenly share the cost of childcare services through licensed childcare providers.
Two bills specifically aimed at New London County are currently being considered at the state Capitol.
HB 5002, titled “An Act Concerning Early Childhood Care and Education,” would look to establish a tri-care model in New London County and extend services to families below the ALICE threshold, which describes households with an income above the Federal Poverty Level, but below a basic cost of living threshold.
The other bill is HB 5051, titled “An Act Establishing Early Start CT,” which would again establish a tri-share model in New London County, as well as support families qualifying for the Care4Kids program and use existing ARPA funds as initial investment.
Paul Amarone from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) said told attendees thart his organization for the past few years has been hearing from it’s 5,000 members that childcare is one of the biggest challenges they and their workforce are facing. As such, he said the CBIA is supporting the tri-share model.
“Governor Lamont convened what was called the blue-ribbon panel on childcare this past summer,” Amarone said. “CBIA’s President and CEO Chris DiPentima sat on that panel and one of the recommendations coming out of that panel was a tri-share model. This isn’t something that’s a first in the nation, it’s been done successfully in other states, in particular in Michigan, where it started as a pilot program in 2020/21 and has extended to a more long-term program where employers and employees have experienced significant success in employee retainment.”
Amarone reiterated that too many women have been leaving the workforce nationally, and the trend isn’t something that can be sustained either in Connecticut or elsewhere.
He pointed out that Connecticut currently has around 90,000 jobs that need filling and although he couldn’t offer a specific percentage, he said many of those jobs remain vacant because people are staying home based on the lack of childcare.
Another solution put forward was Child Care Business Incubators, which exist elsewhere in the state but not currently in eastern Connecticut.
Nicole Villaneuva of the YWCA of New Britain, spoke of their success with the incubators.
“New Britain is part of those towns that are considered from the Office of Early Childhood a desert,” Villaneuva said. “Eleven children are fighting for one spot in New Britain. So, in 2017, Tracey Madden-Hennessey, the YWCA Executive Director, she thought about this innovative idea, got legislation changed and not only New Britain but seven other towns are in line to do the incubator project as well.”
Villaneuva explained that she and the YWCA found 10 women in 2022 who wanted to be entrepreneurs and own their own business. She said they provided training, business support, and a location for the women to start their own childcare operations.
The concept is to help these new childcare entrepreneurs flourish and grow. After five years the business must move on to a new location so that a new round of similar start-ups can begin, and so the cycle continues, slowly creating a new industry of women-owned and operated businesses in the state while increasing childcare slots.
Villaneuva said scaling the concept is achievable, but further legislation would be required to get these types of incubators into eastern Connecticut. She said it’s something hers and other organizations are looking into.
One other issue that was discussed that was adding to the childcare crisis was the recent change in the law regarding children of kindergarten age and how beginning in Fall 2024 children will need to turn five on or before Sept. 1 to be eligible to enroll in school that year.
Speakers at the event said the change has compounded the childcare issue as the new law excludes children in every community who no longer meet the age requirement cut-off date to attend school.
The Connecticut Project said they and many other organizations feel the state should delay the new law to allow more time for not only parents but also school districts to assess what will be needed in the fall and how that will impact teachers and other school resources.
What did come out of the two events is that more work is needed and more advocacy for childcare in the state.
Dina Sears-Graves, President and CEO of United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, said her organization intends to create a Childcare Workforce Shortage Workgroup similar to what the state did when it came to boosting the manufacturing industry.
“Similar to manufacturing, many strategies were developed throughout the region to get the workforce ready for all the jobs that were available,” Sears-Graves said. “So, what does this look like for childcare? How do we build that pipeline? It will take many and it will take individuals from all sectors to make this happen.”
