By Mary Welander
State Rep., D-114
Mary Welander
I’m absolutely thrilled to share that my end of session mailer contained a mistake. That’s right. This English major is ecstatic about it, honestly and truly.
Let me explain. Each year at the end of the legislative session we have the option to put together a comprehensive summary of some of the work that was accomplished that year that we think our constituency is interested in. (It’s really tough to edit because we can’t include everything that we might want to, and I recognize the varied interests that our communities have).
This year, as chair of the Early Childhood Caucus, I wanted to highlight the continuing work that was being done for the Early Childhood Education Endowment. Well, that’s when the timing of publication resulted in a big mistake.
What was printed was the anticipated and agreed upon amount to be deposited into the endowment, which was $320 million. What Gov. Ned Lamont announced was incredible: a deposit of over $411 million to ensure that we are creating a self-sustaining program to provide real relief for working families. A ninety-one-million-dollar typo. Amazing.
In all seriousness, what I have helped create is a transformative initiative that when fully implemented will give money back to Connecticut residents by offering no-cost childcare for families making under $100,000 a year and capping the costs of childcare at 7 percent of income for those making more than $100,000. It is one of the biggest initiatives that gives financial relief to the middle class that the legislature has delivered. It provides stability for families and puts money back in their pockets. It also delivers stability and predictability for the small business owner providers that are key partners in the overall economic success of the state.
The funding, which is being invested wisely by state Treasurer Eric Russell and already growing, comes from unallocated surplus funds, which means that we are still paying down pension debt responsibly, still staying within the fiscal guardrails and not raising taxes or cutting services to fund the endowment. By making large, upfront deposits now, and initiating a gradual roll-out, we have created a program that is intended to be self-funded in perpetuity.
The Early Childhood Caucus is a bipartisan group that worked together alongside providers and advocates from across the state to ensure that we took meaningful steps to help this industry and the families that are struggling under the costs. Even when there weren’t unanimous decisions about the “how,” we were unified by the goal, and I was incredibly proud to lead those efforts in partnership with so many colleagues.
There is still more work to do: liability insurance costs for independent providers have skyrocketed, sometimes doubling or tripling overnight or being dropped altogether. We have to pay attention to the implementation details of the endowment to ensure efficiency in its use, especially around the section of the legislation focusing on providing health insurance options to early childhood educators.
If there are any other areas of concern that you think I should be aware of, please reach out at mary.welander@cga.ct.gov.