School Readiness

Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-16p established the School Readiness Grant program and designated the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood as the lead agency for this program. Additional legislation regarding School Readiness program included:

• Section 10-16q if the C.G.S. outlined further requirements of school readiness programs
• Section 10-16r outlined the roles and responsibilities of School Readiness Councils
• Section 10-16t outlined the inclusion of 5 year olds in School Readiness programs
• Section 17b-749a addressed the inclusion of School Readiness programs in the state facility plan

Types of School Readiness Spaces

Full-day/full-year

• Provided access to services for 10 hours a day for 48 weeks a year
• Reimbursed at $10,500 per child per year

School-day/school-year

• Provided access to services for 6 hours a day for 180 days
• Reimbursed at $6,000 per child per year

Part-day/part-year

• Provided access to services for at least 2.5 hours a day for 180 days
• Reimbursed at $4,500 per child per year

Extended-day

• Provided children full-time access to a program for 10 hours a day for 48 weeks a year by extending the hours of services available for children enrolled in a part-time program not funded by School Readiness
• Reimbursed at $2,772 per child per year

School Readiness Councils

Each municipality had a School Readiness Council (SRC) that was responsible for making recommendations about the school readiness grant program.

SRC members included:

• The chief elected official or designee
• The superintendent of schools or a management-level staff person
• Parents and other interested community members
• Representatives from a range of programs that provided early education and child care
• Representatives from the community who provided services to children and their families — like librarians and healthcare providers

How funds were allocated

The SRC requested proposals to identify and fund high-quality local early care and education programs. After reviewing each proposal, the SRC purchased spaces for low-income children using their funding allocation.

Eligible programs included:

• Public schools
• For profit and non-profit early childhood programs
• Head Start
• State-funded child day care programs

These programs also had to meet one of the following criteria:

• Accreditation by NAEYC
• Becoming NAEYC accredited within 3 years of being awarded the funds
• Receiving Federal Head Start funding

Sites that received funding from school readiness are required to meet the staffing requirements for state-funded programs.