The city of Hartford launched a new campaign Tuesday to help families find suitable childcare for their little ones.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin led the event at city hall Tuesday morning and stressed the decline in enrollment for young kids in childcare programs - which he said leaves no question that parents need help finding reliable and affordable providers for their kids.
"There's no question that the pandemic had a significant impact on enrollment," Bronin said.
He said the goal is to provide parents with more information on quality childcare while they go off to work.
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The campaign is targeted to kids birth to 5 years old, and includes a website that provides a one-stop shop filled with resources and open enrollment opportunities for parents.
You can scroll on the website to see how to enroll your child in a program, how to find a location in your area that's affordable and learn what they will be learning in daycare, to better prepare them when they start school.
"We have 22 early learning centers in the city, and then we have nearing 200 staffed family childcare centers, which are our in-home childcare centers, and that number is steadily growing," Kristen Baldwin, director of Children, Families, Youth and Recreation, said.
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Leaders say these childcare programs also offer non-conventional hours to make things more convenient for working parents.
"We'll help make that match with the best center that's out there. That may be because it has the hours that work for you. It may be because it's closest to your home. It may just because it's because you walk in there and it feels right to you," Bronin said.
According to leaders, the need for childcare options is only expected to grow next year due to the change in eligibility for kindergarten enrollment.
To date, kids as young as 4 years old could start kindergarten under state law, but that will change next year.
For more information on how to find affordable and convenient childcare options near you, click here.
