Marilyn Moore

Moore Welcomes Reopening of Connecticut’s “Care 4 Kids” Program

Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) today celebrated a most-welcome announcement that the State of Connecticut’s “Care 4 Kids” program is reopening its application process, thanks to the state legislature’s appropriating nearly $31 million for the program over the next two years.

Care 4 Kids helps low income families in Connecticut pay for child care costs. In August 2016, it closed new applications to most families after the federal government instituted several new costly mandates, including ongoing professional development, background checks for providers, and new eligibility standards for families. An estimated 5,800 fewer children were served by the program as a result of those increased costs.

After these cuts in services, Sen. Moore, Senate Co-Chair of the Children and Human Services committees, participated in a Care 4 Kids working group with providers and various organizations to discuss possible solutions to the impending financial impact families. Sen. Moore and child care advocates made re-funding the Care4Kids program a priority in the 2018-19 biennial state budget and secured $10.25 million in state funding in the current FY18 fiscal year, and another $20.5 million for FY19.

“After fighting tirelessly to secure funding for the Care 4 Kids program in the state budget, today it gives me great pleasure to see the program being rebooted to include more families,” Sen. Moore said. “Because child care is often one of the biggest monthly expenses families will face, sometimes working parents are forced to quit their jobs to care for their children. This program helps keep parents at work and their children in good care.”

Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced today that effective immediately, the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood has reopened the Care 4 Kids program and eligible families on the wait list can now begin to enroll for the state’s primary child care support.

Families who registered on the wait list will begin to receive requests to apply in phases starting today. Consistent with state rules, enrollment begins with the highest-need families defined by priority groups and those families who have been on the wait list longest.

For more information, please visit www.ctcare4kids.com or call 1-888-214-KIDS (5437).