A proposal in Connecticut would create a children’s trust fund, to support a state child tax credit and child care initiatives.
Advocates said the funding was key to making Connecticut an affordable place for families.
The Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee voted this month to adjust Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed budget to include the trust fund, using part of the nearly $4 billion surplus from the ‘State. The fund would fund a state-run child tax credit, providing monthly payments to parents.
Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, co-chairman of the committee, said Connecticut can’t wait for federal action.
“Right now, in particular, every dollar counts,” Scanlon said. “There are thousands and thousands of people right now who are living paycheck to paycheck and not sure how they’re going to afford these rising prices. And something like the tax credit for kids, it would make a big difference to people.”
The state tax credit would provide $600 a month to low-income families. Connecticut’s legislative session ends May 4, and the budget must be finalized by June 30.
The trust fund would also support an initiative to increase the supply of infant and toddler care in the state by providing higher grant amounts.
Merrill Gay, executive director of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, said it would allow child care programs to pay higher salaries to staff and open up more windows for families to access care.
“If you invest in a high quality early childhood, you get a much better return on that investment,” Gay said. “Kids are more likely to graduate from high school, more likely to go to college, a whole bunch of reasons why spending money in those first three years of life makes sense .”
The average cost of child care at a licensed center in Connecticut is about $18,000 a year, Gay said. The proposed budget includes nearly $125 million in funding for child care.
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