Martha Marx

State Senator Martha Marx Leads Senate Passage To Exempt Military Family Child Care From Licensing

Today, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London), Senate Chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, led the Senate’s passage of legislation that will ease child care licensing requirements for care programs exclusively serving children of military members. This legislation is designed to make it easier for military families to provide such services on federal property, exempting families who already experience rigorous federal certifications from having to receive further licensure.

“This bill makes a simple fix that will make life easier for countless military families in Connecticut, cutting through regulations preventing organizations from providing child care to other families,” said Sen. Marx. “The exemption in question is for programs only serving children of military members administered on federal government or already certified by the military. It’s not a major legislative change, but it will provide major relief in making child care easier to access. That’s a win.”

House Bill 5049, “An Act Exempting From Licensing Requirements Certain Child Care Services For Children Of Members Of The United States Military,” exempts child care programs only serving military members’ children from state licensing requirements. Programs receiving exemptions are only those administered by the federal government or on federal property, or family child care providers certified by the Coast Guard or a Department of Defense military branch. Any exempted program must inform parents and guardians of children that it is not licensed to provide child care services.

The bill previously received support from the Office of Early Childhood, whose Commissioner Beth Bye said it would be “duplicative and burdensome” for care providers to require dual licensing from the military and state, adding that military spouses often lose money, time and opportunities to build careers due to frequent moves and that this would provide inroads for more child care infrastructure capacity in the state. The Department of Defense’s State Liaison Office also supported the bill, noting that spousal unemployment is a leading cause of active-duty decreased readiness and retention.

Before its passage in the Senate today, this bill passed the House unanimously in April and the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee unanimously in February. It now heads to the Governor’s office to be signed into law.