Early Start CT Expansion Request for Application (RFA) Endowment

OEC is pleased to announce an RFA for the opportunity to apply for early care and education spaces funded by the CT Early Childhood Education Endowment.  

Description

OEC is pleased to release this RFA to provide early childhood education programs the opportunity to apply for Early Start CT funding as part of OEC’s larger goal of improving the equitable access to affordable, high-quality care and education for Connecticut families. This RFA is being funded by the Early Childhood Education Endowment, which will support the expansion of Early Start CT for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 (January 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027). This competitive RFA allows OEC to award at a minimum, thirteen million dollars ($13,000,000) per year over an eighteen (18) month period to support early care and education programs with Early Start CT (state funded) spaces for eligible families.

To achieve OEC’s goal of improving equitable access for Connecticut families to affordable, high-quality care and education, this RFA prioritizes applicants who: 

• Are located in geographies with low child care access (find more information here on the Child Care Access Tab)
• Are located in geographies with low Child Care Opportunities Index (COI) scores (find more information here on the Child Care Opportunities Index Tab)
• Have not previously received state funding
• Are currently accredited
• Accept Care 4 Kids
• Request full day infant / toddler spaces
• Request school day preschool spaces

Please see the application for more details on the types of spaces you can apply for and all other requirements of the application.

Applications shall be due Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET.

Evaluation Process

The OEC intends to conduct a comprehensive, fair, and impartial evaluation of applications received in response to this RFA and will award at a minimum $13,000,000 per year to child care programs and family child care homes through State of CT Purchase of Service contracts. 

The OEC will evaluate Child Care Centers (DCCC), Group Child Care Homes (DCGH) and Child Care Center Exempt (DCEX) programs together. Family Child Care Homes (DCFH) will be evaluated separately and OEC will award a minimum of $2,600,000 to Family Child Care Homes (DCFH).

The following criteria will be used to calculate the score of the applications:

Question and Answer Schedule

The email inbox listed below is the only authorized contact for this procurement and, as such, will handle all related communications on behalf of OEC. All questions and inquiries related to this RFA shall be directed to this email OEC.RFA.ESCT@ct.gov for response.

Questions received will be responded to via an FAQ document posted to this webpage. See table below for details.

Pre-Bid Conference

Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is optional but encouraged. Please click here to register for the Early Start CT RFA Pre-Bid Conference, scheduled for Wednesday December 3.

***OEC will publish conference materials on this webpage after the conference.***

Key Dates

Application and Key Documents

• Application link
• FAQs