Sec. 10-502. (Formerly Sec. 10-16bb). Collaboration with local early childhood collaboratives.
Sec. 10-506. Connecticut Smart Start competitive grant program.
Sec. 10-511. Early Childhood Education Fund.
Sec. 10-530. Comprehensive background checks.
Sec. 10-532. Universsal nurse home visiting services program.
Sec. 10-500. Office of Early Childhood. Commissioner. Responsibilities. Successor department. Connecticut Head Start State Collaboration Office. (a) There is established an Office of Early Childhood. The office shall be under the direction of the Commissioner of Early Childhood, whose appointment shall be made by the Governor. Such appointment shall be in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-5 to 4-8, inclusive. The commissioner shall be responsible for implementing the policies and directives of the office. The commissioner shall have the authority to designate any employee as his or her agent to exercise all or part of the authority, powers and duties of the commissioner in his or her absence. Said office shall be within the Department of Education for administrative purposes only.
(b) The office shall be responsible for:
(1) Delivering services to young children and their families to ensure optimal health, safety and learning for each young child, including, but not limited to, coordinating agency efforts and data sharing in the two-generational initiative established pursuant to section 17b-112l;
(2) Developing and implementing the early childhood information system, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-501;
(3) Developing and reporting on the early childhood accountability plan, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-503;
(4) Implementing a communications strategy for outreach to families, service providers and policymakers;
(5) Beginning a state-wide longitudinal evaluation of the school readiness program examining the educational progress of children from prekindergarten programs to grade four, inclusive;
(6) Developing, coordinating and supporting public and private partnerships to aid early childhood initiatives;
(7) Developing a state-wide developmentally appropriate kindergarten entrance inventory that measures a child's level of preparedness for kindergarten, but shall not be used as a measurement tool for program accountability;
(8) Creating a unified set of reporting requirements for the purpose of collecting the data elements necessary to perform quality assessments and longitudinal analysis;
(9) Comparing and analyzing data collected pursuant to reporting requirements created under subdivision (8) of this subsection with the data collected in the state-wide public school information system, pursuant to section 10-10a, for population-level analysis of children and families;
(10) Continually monitoring and evaluating all early care and education and child development programs and services, focusing on program outcomes in satisfying the health, safety, developmental and educational needs of all children;
(11) Coordinating home visitation services across programs for young children;
(12) Providing information and technical assistance to persons seeking early care and education and child development programs and services;
(13) Assisting state agencies and municipalities in obtaining available federal funding for early care and education and child development programs and services;
(14) Providing technical assistance to providers of early care and education programs and services to obtain licensing and improve program quality;
(15) Establishing a quality rating and improvement system developed by the office that covers home-based, center-based and school-based early child care and learning;
(16) Maintaining an accreditation facilitation initiative to assist early childhood care and education program and service providers in achieving national standards and program improvement;
(17) Consulting with the Early Childhood Cabinet, established pursuant to section 10-16z, and the Head Start advisory committee, established pursuant to section 10-16n;
(18) Ensuring a coordinated and comprehensive state-wide system of professional development for providers and staff of early care and education and child development programs and services;
(19) Providing families with opportunities for choice in services including quality child care and community-based family-centered services;
(20) Integrating early childhood care and education and special education services;
(21) Promoting universal access to early childhood care and education;
(22) Ensuring nonduplication of monitoring and evaluation;
(23) Performing any other activities that will assist in the provision of early care and education and child development programs and services;
(24) Developing early learning and development standards to be used by early care and education providers;
(25) Developing and implementing a performance-based evaluation system to evaluate licensed child care centers, in accordance with the provisions of section 17b-749f;
(26) Promoting the delivery of services to infants and toddlers to ensure optimal health, safety and learning of children from birth to three years of age; and
(27) Establishing a parent cabinet to advise the office on ways to strengthen partnership and communication with families, bring awareness to gaps and barriers to services, increase access to services for families and help make improvements to the lives of young children and families in the state.
(c) The Office of Early Childhood may enter into memoranda of agreement with and accept donations from nonprofit and philanthropic organizations to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(d) The Office of Early Childhood shall constitute a successor department, in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-38d, 4-38e and 4-39, to (1) the Department of Education with respect to sections 8-210, 10-16n, 10-16p to 10-16r, inclusive, 10-16u, 10-16w, 10-16aa, 17b-749a, 17b-749c and 17b-749g to 17b-749i, inclusive; (2) the Department of Social Services (A) with respect to sections 17b-12, 17b-705a, 17b-730, 17b-733, 17b-738, 17b-749, 17b-749d to 17b-749f, inclusive, 17b-749j, 17b-749k, 17b-750 to 17b-751a, inclusive, and 17b-751d, and (B) for the purpose of administering the child care development block grant pursuant to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990; (3) the Department of Public Health (A) with respect to sections 10a-194c, 12-634, 17a-28, 17a-101 and 19a-80f, (B) for the purpose of regulating child care services pursuant to sections 19a-77, 19a-79, 19a-80, 19a-82 and 19a-84 to 19a-87e, inclusive, (C) for the purpose of the conduct of regulation of youth camps, pursuant to sections 19a-420 to 19a-434, inclusive, and (D) for the purpose of administering the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program authorized under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, P.L. 111-148; and (4) the Department of Developmental Services with respect to sections 17a-248, 17a-248b to 17a-248h, inclusive, 38a-490a and 38a-516a.
(e) The Connecticut Head Start State Collaboration Office shall be based in the Office of Early Childhood.
(P.A. 14-39, S. 4; P.A. 15-73, S. 5; 15-143, S. 12; 15-227, S. 24–26; P.A. 16-100, S. 4; 16-163, S. 7; P.A. 17-146, S. 47; P.A. 18-19, S. 3; 18-184, S. 1; P.A. 21-172, S. 6; P.A. 23-160, S. 40.)
History: P.A. 14-39 effective May 28, 2014 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (d)(1), a reference to repealed Sec. 10-16s was replaced editorially by the Revisors with a reference to Sec. 10-16r for accuracy); P.A. 15-73 amended Subsec.(d)(2)(A) to delete reference to Sec. 17b-739, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 15-143 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 30, 2015; P.A. 15-227 amended Subsec. (b)(7) by deleting “and implementing” and replacing “assessment tool” with “entrance inventory” and amended Subsec. (d) by deleting reference to Sec. 17b-751e, effective July 1, 2015; pursuant to P.A. 15-227, “child day care centers” and “child day care services” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “child care centers” and “child care services”, respectively, in Subsecs. (b)(25) and (d), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-100 amended Subsec. (d) by deleting “to 17b-736, inclusive” and adding Subdiv. (4) re Department of Developmental Services, effective June 2, 2016; P.A. 16-163 amended Subsec. (b)(10) by deleting “child day care” and adding “for child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes”, effective June 9, 2016; P.A. 17-146 added Subsec. (e) re Connecticut Head Start State Collaboration Office, effective June 30, 2017; P.A. 18-19 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re two-generational initiative in Subdiv. (1) and deleting reference to September 1, 2014 in Subdiv. (5), effective May 25, 2018; P.A. 18-184 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (26) re promoting delivery of services to infants and toddlers to ensure optimal health, safety and learning of children from birth to three years of age and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 21-172 amended Subsec. (b)(10) by deleting provision re retaining distinct separation between quality improvement services and licensing services, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 23-160 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (27) re establishing a parent cabinet to advise office, effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-502. (Formerly Sec. 10-16bb). Collaboration with local early childhood collaboratives. The Office of Early Childhood shall collaborate with and may, within available appropriations, provide funding to local early childhood collaboratives for the implementation of early care and education and child development programs at the local level. Such local early childhood collaboratives shall: (1) Develop and implement a comprehensive plan for an early childhood system for the community served by such local early childhood collaborative, (2) develop policy and program planning, (3) encourage community participation by emphasizing substantial parental involvement, (4) collect, analyze and evaluate data with a focus on program and service outcomes, (5) allocate resources, and (6) perform any other functions that will assist in the provision of early childhood programs and services. Such local early childhood collaboratives may enter into memoranda of agreement with the local or regional school readiness council, described in section 10-16r, of the town or region served by such local early childhood collaborative to perform the duties and functions of a school readiness council, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-16r, or if no such local or regional school readiness council exists for the town or region of such local early childhood collaborative, perform the duties and functions of a school readiness council, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-16r.
(P.A. 11-181, S. 2; P.A. 12-116, S. 3; P.A. 14-39, S. 6; P.A. 15-134, S. 3; P.A. 23-150, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 11-181 effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-116 amended Subsec. (b)(10) by replacing “create, implement and maintain a” with “incorporate the” and adding “developed by the Department of Education”, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 14-39 deleted former Subsecs. (a), (b) and (d) re coordinated system of early care and education and child development, system functions and memoranda of agreement with and acceptance of donations from nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, deleted Subsec. (c) designator, replaced “The coordinated system of early care and education and child development” with “The Office of Early Childhood”, replaced “to implement the coordinated system of” with “in the implementation of”, added “programs” re child development and made a technical change, effective May 28, 2014; Sec. 10-16bb transferred to Sec. 10-502 in 2015; P.A. 15-134 added “and may, within available appropriations, provide funding to” and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 23-150 replaced “local and regional early childhood councils” with “local early childhood collaboratives” and made conforming changes, effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-505. Grant program for costs associated with classroom start-up and new spaces in certain school readiness programs. (a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Eligible town” means a town in which a priority school, as defined in section 10-16p, is located or a town ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in ascending order according to town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p;
(2) “Eligible regional school readiness council” means a regional school readiness council, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-16r, for a region in which a priority school is located;
(3) “Eligible children” means children (A) from birth to four years of age, inclusive, and children five years of age who are not eligible to enroll in school pursuant to section 10-15c, or who are eligible to enroll in school and will attend a school readiness program pursuant to section 10-16t, and (B) who reside (i) in an area served by a priority school or a former priority school, as described in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of section 10-16p, (ii) in a town ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in ascending order according to town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p, (iii) in a town formerly a town described in clause (ii) of this subparagraph, as provided for in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of section 10-16p, or (iv) in a town designated as an alliance district, as defined in section 10-262u, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p;
(4) “School readiness program” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-16p;
(5) “Priority school” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-16p;
(6) “Accredited” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-16p; and
(7) “Seeking accreditation” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-16p.
(b) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall establish a grant program for eligible towns and eligible regional school readiness councils for (1) start-up of school readiness classrooms, and (2) providing spaces to all eligible children in accredited school readiness programs and school readiness programs seeking accreditation. An eligible town or eligible regional school readiness council may apply for such grant to the commissioner, at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes.
(P.A. 14-39, S. 85; P.A. 23-160, S. 37.)
History: P.A. 14-39 effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 23-160 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by redefining “eligible children” to be children from birth to 4 years of age, effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-506. Connecticut Smart Start competitive grant program. (a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Office of Early Childhood, in consultation with the Department of Education, shall design and administer the Connecticut Smart Start competitive grant program to provide grants to local and regional boards of education for capital and operating expenses related to establishing or expanding a preschool program under the jurisdiction of the board of education for the town. A local or regional board of education may submit an application to the office, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, and may receive (1) a grant for capital expenses in an amount not to exceed seventy-five thousand dollars per classroom for costs related to the renovation of an existing public school to accommodate the establishment or expansion of a preschool program, and (2) an annual grant for operating expenses (A) in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars per child served by such grant, or (B) in an amount not to exceed seventy-five thousand dollars for each preschool classroom, provided no town shall receive a total annual grant for operating expenses greater than three hundred thousand dollars. Each local or regional board of education that establishes or expands a preschool program under this section shall be eligible to receive an annual grant for operating expenses for a period of five years, provided such preschool program meets standards established by the Commissioner of Early Childhood. Such local or regional board of education may submit an application for renewal of such grant to the office.
(b) On and after July 1, 2014, local and regional boards of education, individually or cooperatively, pursuant to section 10-158a, may apply, at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes, to the office for a capital grant and an operating grant for the purposes described in subsection (a) of this section. To be eligible to receive such grants under this section, an applicant board of education shall (1) demonstrate that it has a need for establishing or expanding a preschool program using information requested by the commissioner on a form prescribed by the commissioner, such as data collected from the preschool experience survey, described in section 10-515, (2) submit a plan for the expenditure of grant funds received under this section that outlines how such board of education will use such funds to establish or expand a preschool program, including, but not limited to, the amount that such board will contribute to the operation of such preschool program and how such board of education will provide access to preschool for children who would not otherwise be able to enroll in a preschool program, and (3) submit a letter of support for establishing or expanding a preschool program by the local or regional school readiness council, described in section 10-16r, if any, for the school district. The commissioner shall give priority to boards of education (A) that demonstrate the greatest need for the establishment or expansion of a preschool program, and (B) whose plan allocates at least sixty per cent of the spaces in such preschool program to children who are members of families who are at or below seventy-five per cent of the state median income. The commissioner, in reviewing applications submitted under this subsection, shall also take into consideration (i) whether an applicant board of education (I) currently offers a full-day kindergarten program, (II) will be cooperating and coordinating with other governmental and community programs to provide services during periods when the preschool program is not in session, or (III) will collaborate with other boards of education, as part of a cooperative arrangement pursuant to section 10-158a, to offer a regional preschool program, and (ii) current community capacity for preschool programs and current opportunities for preschool for children in the community.
(c) A preschool program created or expanded under this section shall (1) contain a classroom with an individual who holds certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or early childhood special education and is an employee of the board of education providing a preschool program under this section, (2) maintain a classroom size and teacher-child ratio that is in compliance with standards established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, (3) obtain accreditation, as described in section 10-16p, not later than three years after the creation or expansion of the preschool program, and (4) be located in a public school or in a space maintained by an early care and education and child development program provider, pursuant to an agreement between a board of education and such early care and education and child development program provider.
(d) Each local or regional board of education receiving a grant under this section shall submit an annual report, on a form and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, to the Office of Early Childhood regarding the status and operation of the preschool program.
(e) A local or regional board of education receiving grant funds under this section may implement a sliding fee scale for the cost of services provided to children enrolled in such preschool program.
(P.A. 14-41, S. 1; P.A. 15-227, S. 12; P.A. 23-160, S. 39; 23-204, S. 332.)
History: P.A. 14-41 effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-227 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “reimburse” with “provide grants to”, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 23-160 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2015, to June 30, 2024, inclusive” with “For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter”, and amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “, or fifty per cent of the spaces in such preschool program to children who are eligible for free and reduced price lunches” and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 made identical changes as P.A. 23-160, effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-511. Early Childhood Education Fund. The Comptroller shall establish the Early Childhood Education Fund. Said fund may contain any moneys required or permitted by law to be deposited in the fund and any funds received from any public or private contributions, gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises to the fund.
(P.A. 23-204, S. 338.)
History: P.A. 23-204 effective June 12, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-511a. Submission of report re recommendations for appropriation of resources of Early Childhood Education Fund. Not later than February 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Early Childhood shall submit a report containing recommendations for the appropriation of resources of the Early Childhood Education Fund, established pursuant to section 10-511, and any recommendations of the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Child Care, established by Executive Order Number 23-1 of Governor Ned Lamont, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.
(P.A. 23-204, S. 339.)
History: P.A. 23-204 effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-530. Comprehensive background checks. (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Child care facility” means a “child care center”, “group child care home” or “family child care home” that provides “child care services”, each as described in section 19a-77, or any provider of child care services under the child care subsidy program established pursuant to section 17b-749;
(2) “Child care services provider or staff member” means any person who is (A) a licensee, employee, volunteer or alternate staff, assistant, substitute or household member of a child care facility, (B) a family child care provider, or (C) any other person who provides child care services under the child care subsidy program established pursuant to section 17b-749 but does not include a person who is providing child care services under the child care subsidy program (i) exclusively to children with whom such person is related, and (ii) without being issued a license to provide child care services by the Office of Early Childhood; and
(3) “Family child care provider” means any person who provides child care services under the child care subsidy program established pursuant to section 17b-749 (A) in a family child care home, as defined in section 19a-77, or (B) in a home not requiring a license pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of section 19a-77.
(b) The comprehensive background checks required pursuant to subsection (c) of section 19a-80, subsection (c) of section 19a-87b and subsection (a) of section 17b-749k, shall be conducted at least once every five years for each child care services provider or staff member in accordance with the provisions of 45 CFR 98.43, as amended from time to time.
(c) Any person who applies for a position at a child care facility in the state shall not be required to submit to such comprehensive background checks if such person (1) is an employee of a child care facility in the state, or has not been separated from employment as a child care services provider or staff member in the state for a period of more than one hundred eighty days, and (2) has successfully completed such comprehensive background checks in the previous five years. Nothing in this section prohibits the Commissioner of Early Childhood from requiring that a person applying for a position as a child care services provider or staff member submit to comprehensive background checks more than once during a five-year period.
(d) Any person required to submit to comprehensive background checks pursuant to subsection (c) of section 19a-80, subsection (c) of section 19a-87b and subsection (a) of section 17b-749k, may submit a request, in writing, to the Commissioner of Early Childhood for a waiver of the requirement to submit fingerprints. Such request shall include such person's name and date of birth, and evidence that such person is unable to satisfy such fingerprints requirement due to a medical condition, including, but not limited to, a birth defect, physical deformity, skin condition or psychiatric condition. Upon the granting of a waiver to a person under this subsection, the Office of Early Childhood shall conduct a state criminal history records check of such person by using the name and date of birth that was provided in the request for a waiver by such person.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 177; P.A. 19-121, S. 4; P.A. 21-172, S. 10; P.A. 23-160, S. 27.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 effective October 31, 2017; P.A. 19-121 added Subsec. (a) re definitions of “child care facility”, “child care services provider or staff member” and “family child care provider”, designated existing provision re comprehensive background check to be conducted at least once every 5 years as Subsec. (b) and amended same to add “for each child care services provider or staff member in accordance with the provisions of 45 CFR 98.43, as amended from time to time”, designated existing provision re persons not required to submit to comprehensive background checks as Subsec. (c) and amended same to replace “was previously an employee of a child care facility in the state during the previous one hundred eighty days” with “has not been separated from employment as a child care services provider or staff member in the state for a period of more than one hundred eighty days” in Subdiv. (1), replace “an employee or prospective employee of a child care facility to” with “a person applying for a position as a child care services provider or staff member” in Subdiv. (2), and delete former definition re “child care facility”, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 21-172 added Subsec. (d) re request for waiver of requirement to submit fingerprints; P.A. 23-160 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective June 28, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |
Sec. 10-532. Universsal nurse home visiting services program. (a) As used in this section, “universal nurse home visiting” means an evidence-based nurse home visiting model in which a registered nurse, licensed pursuant to chapter 378, with specialized training provides services in the home to families with newborns in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, in collaboration with the Commissioners of Social Services and Public Health and the Executive Director of the Office of Health Strategy, shall, within available appropriations, develop a state-wide program to offer universal nurse home visiting services to all families with newborns residing in the state to support parental health, healthy child development and strengthen families.
(c) When developing the program, said commissioners and executive director, shall (1) consult with insurers that offer health benefit plans in the state, hospitals, local public health authorities, existing early childhood home visiting programs, community-based organizations and social service providers; and (2) maximize the use of available federal funding.
(d) The program shall provide universal nurse home visiting services that are (1) evidence-based, and (2) designed to improve outcomes in one or more of the following areas: (A) Child safety; (B) child health and development; (C) family economic self-sufficiency; (D) maternal and parental health; (E) positive parenting; (F) reducing child mistreatment; (G) reducing family violence; (H) parent-infant bonding; and (I) any other appropriate area established, in writing, by the Commissioners of Early Childhood, Social Services and Public Health and the executive director of the Office of Health Strategy.
(e) The universal nurse home visiting services provided pursuant to the program shall (1) be voluntary and carry no negative consequences for a family that declines to participate, (2) include an evidence-based assessment of the physical, social and emotional factors affecting a family receiving such services, (3) include at least one visit during a newborn's first three months of life or other time frame as deemed appropriate by said commissioners and executive director and that is consistent with an evidence-based model, (4) allow families to choose up to a certain number of additional visits consistent with such model, (5) include a follow-up visit no later than three months or other time frame established by such model after the last visit, and (6) provide information and referrals to address each family's identified needs. Such services may be offered in every community in the state and to all families with newborns based on the full extent of available provider capacity.
(f) The Commissioner of Social Services may seek approval of an amendment to the state Medicaid plan or a waiver from federal law to provide coverage for universal nurse home visiting services provided pursuant to this section and in a time frame and manner to ensure that such coverage does not duplicate other applicable federal funding.
(g) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, in collaboration with the Commissioners of Social Services and Public Health and the executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, shall collect and analyze data generated by the program to assess the effectiveness of the program in meeting the goals described in subsection (d) of this section and collaborate with other state agencies to develop protocols for sharing such data, including the timely sharing of data with primary care providers that provide care to families with newborns receiving universal nurse home visiting services pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(P.A. 23-147, S. 16.)
History: P.A. 23-147 effective July 1, 2023.
| (Return to Chapter Table of Contents) |
(Return to List of Chapters) |
(Return to List of Titles) |