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State urges passage of Build Back Better for child care industry

The Day - 1/10/2022

Jan. 10—During an update Monday on how Connecticut's child care industry is faring as the pandemic continues, Gov. Ned Lamont again said the state would not be moving to institute a mask mandate or vaccine requirements to patronize private businesses.

Lamont also said Monday that "hundreds of thousands" of people have signed up for the Smart Health Card, which shows a QR code on a phone that can be scanned to show the person's vaccination status. He has said in the past that the card is "purely optional and voluntary" and is an "added convenience" that keeps people's information secure. He said it's meant as a way to make it easier for restaurants, stores and businesses "to give them an option to show you're safe."

But Monday's news conference was primarily about child care. Professionals and state officials urged the federal government to pass the Build Back Better Act due to the approximately $400 billion in the bill going to child care. Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye said Monday that Connecticut has been able to do more for its child care centers than other states.

"We have lost less than one percent of our licensed child care centers," Bye said. "Most states have lost at least 10% of their supply."

She attributes this success to federal coronavirus relief funding and to Lamont's "swift action" in approving stabilization funds for child care programs.

Lamont said "we wanted to do this event today" to lobby for the passage of the Build Back Better Act.

"Day care and child care is at a crossroads. One of the biggest issues we have is staffing," Lamont said. "We've got another year or so of resources in terms of being able to subsidize child care to make it more affordable for young families."

The governor said that about 20 months ago it became clear not only to Connecticut but the rest of the country how vital child care is.

"While we were getting hit by the worst of the pandemic and our hospitals were overwhelmed, one of the first calls I got from the hospital executives was, 'We need child care, otherwise this nurse, this doctor, won't be able to come in.'"

Bye said that if Build Back Better were to pass, Connecticut would get an additional $168 million in the first year. That number would increase over time "and would allow us to design and build a system that pays a fair wage, can attract the workforce the government talked about, and ensure families pay no more than 7% of their income on child care."

"We're grateful to the delegation for their hard work, but in order for these programs to sustain, we really need the next federal investment," Bye added.

Bye said that right now, the state has 1,385 licensed child care centers and 1,886 licensed family child care homes compared to 1,410 and 1,888 in 2020. "The federal dollars have really helped us hold onto supply," she said.

Lamont said of the initial COVID-related resources that went to child care providers, 25% went to additional pay.

Connecticut has reported 132,606 overall COVID-19 tests since Friday and 31,405 positive results, accounting for a 23.68% positivity rate.

s.spinella@theday.com

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