A recent survey by the RAPID Survey Project, in collaboration with The Connecticut Project, reveals significant challenges faced by Connecticut families with young children in accessing affordable child care.
Key Findings:
• Affordability Issues: One in four families reports that child care is unaffordable. Additionally, 63% of parents spend more than 7% of their total family income on child care, exceeding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ affordability benchmark.
• Limited Reach of Subsidies: Only 35% of income-eligible families receive the state’s child care subsidy, Care 4 Kids. Notably, 28% of eligible parents did not apply due to uncertainty about meeting income criteria, and 20% were unaware of the benefits or how to find participating programs.
• Access Challenges: Half of the families searching for child care in the past year struggled to find available spaces in home- or center-based programs. Furthermore, 29% reported that securing child care took three months or longer.
Implications for Child Care Advocacy:
These findings highlight systemic issues in Connecticut’s child care landscape, emphasizing the need for:
• Enhanced Awareness: Improving outreach and education about available subsidies and eligibility criteria to ensure more families benefit from financial assistance.
• Policy Reforms: Addressing affordability and accessibility challenges through increased funding, expanded subsidy programs, and support for child care providers to meet the demand.
• Community Engagement: Collaborating with local organizations to understand and address the unique needs of diverse communities across the state.
Advocates can leverage this data to push for comprehensive policy changes that support families in accessing affordable, high-quality child care, ultimately promoting better outcomes for children and economic stability for parents.