Senator Maher takes lead on childcare issues

State Senator Ceci Maher, who chairs the Senate’s Committee on Children, reported on recent findings that Connecticut needs to do more to provide child care for families with infants, toddlers and pre-kindergarteners.

Writing in an op-ed in the New Canaan Advertiser, Maher, a Democrat who represents a part of New Canaan, cited the report’s findings noting that the need for expanding child care has an impact that extends beyond the families directly affected, but has relevance for the role it plays on the workforce, the economy and the state’s future. According to the Blue Ribbon report’s findings, the lack of a robust and fully available child care ecosystem is responsible for a loss of $1.5 billion in the state’s economy.

The lack of child care services, forces qualified and talented workers to leave their jobs or quit the workforce, leaving employers without the full staffing they need, Maher writes, noting that one in five parents has quit a job or been fired due to child care issues. Nationally, the issue costs parents and businesses more than $100 million annually.

With the increasing demands on working parents, “child care has never been more important,” she writes, adding, “It allows parents to be able to accommodate non-traditional working schedules and especially supports single-parent households, which represent nearly one-quarter of Connecticut families.

Maher says she will be working with her legislative colleagues to develop solutions, many along the lines identified in the report: investing in and supporting workforce development standards for the child care providers; ensuring access to child care for all families, including low- and middle-income families; developing an early childhood education system; and building a sustainable funding system for the future.