CT Care 4 Kids, the state's primary childcare support program, is re-opening for thousands of families forced to sit on the waitlist in the summer of 2016.
"Opening the program is huge and it's going to benefit all these families," Lisa Feliciano, the director of King's Chapel Early Care and Education Center, said.
The commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood (OEC), David Wilkinson, said he hopes to clear the more than 5,000 families off that waitlist by spring.
"Sixteen hundred letters have gone out into the mail so far, to welcome families into the program. We hope to clear the entire wait list and then begin admitting families from across the State of Connecticut who need it," Wilkinson said.
Feliciano said the Hartford-based center has 20 families on the CT Care 4 Kids waitlist.
"I have families that come here and literally they cry because they have nowhere to take their children," Feliciano added.
The state has re-opened applications for the childcare subsidy program starting with highest need families first out of more than 5,000 that were on the waitlist when the program closed in August 2016.
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The program was closed after federal guidelines increased Connecticut's cost to run CT Care 4 Kids, but the state's new budget includes a total two-year-increase of $10,752,925 to allow it to reopen.
Wilkinson understands CT Care 4 Kids provides peace of mind to parents by having a safe space for kids and quality care.
"Concerns have been expressed there may be more parents looking at lower cost, illegal care without Care 4 Kids and this enables parents to afford high quality care and peace of mind," Wilkinson said.
According to the CT Early Childhood Alliance, Bridgeport has 555 families, Hartford has 547 families, New Haven had 446 families, Waterbury has 388 families and New Britain has 257 households waitlisted.
Feliciano said they're already trying to help impacted families.
"They're looking in the mail to see, calling our office to see if they're one of those people because it's been hard on them, it's been very hard on them," Feliciano said.
