Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative

Approximately 160,000 children in Connecticut under age 6 need child care because one or both of their parents work, according to the Census Bureau. As more parents work to support their families, there is a growing demand for quality programs focused on early childhood development and education. There is also acceptance that school success is predicated on high quality, early childhood experiences.

The Collaborative provides technical assistance and training to more than 300 child care agencies.

With 23 years’ experience, the Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative at the Hartford Foundation has the expertise, resources – and stellar reputation – to continue to help child care agencies meet the needs of Greater Hartford's parents and their children.

Under the leadership of Director Judy Goldfarb, who announced her retirement at the close of 2010 after 20 years on the job, the Collaborative has developed several model programs that have been expanded statewide and are sustained by other funders, including the State of Connecticut.

Quality early childhood education can close the income gap, reduce health disparities and save taxpayers a bundle in lower health and social costs. It saves lives and it saves money. Early childhood education is a moral imperative with an economic payoff.
Dr. James Heckman, professor of economics, University of Chicago and Nobel Prize winner

The Collaborative was started in 1987 as a special initiative by the Hartford Foundation in partnership with the united Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, a funding partnership that still exists. over the years, the Collaborative has grown to become an active public/private partnership of child care providers, educators, advocates, funders, consumers, policy makers, and business leaders seeking to improve the quality and efficiency of child care in Greater Hartford.

Working closely with the Foundation’s Brighter Futures Initiative, the Collaborative has a membership of more than 300 agencies and individuals and is focused on disseminating information, providing technical assistance and training for high-quality child care. For the Collaborative, child care means any program serving children from birth to age 12 with an education component, high quality staff and a nurturing, caring environment.

Toward this end, during 2010, the Collaborative fielded 10,000 inquiries from constituents regarding quality practices, standards, models and resources, reaching more than 4,000 children and nearly 400 teachers and administrators in the region.

Some other accomplishments of the Collaborative in 2010:

• Almost 2,700 children from birth to age 5 benefited from professional development of 238 teachers in 34 programs.
• Over 325 early childhood professionals earned a Connecticut Director’s Credential over five years, demonstrating their knowledge and ability in eight core areas.

A unique feature of the Collaborative is its extensive resource library for its members. The library’s nearly 3,800 resources offer early childhood information in English and Spanish. The collection includes: books, magazines, video and audiotapes, DVDs, CDs, articles, kits, puzzles, toys and children’s books. The library is housed at the Hartford Foundation.

Early childhood development programs are increasingly recognized as the economic development initiatives they are, said Goldfarb. Studies show that children enrolled in highquality early learning centers are less likely to need remedial and special education services, more likely to graduate from high school and earn more over their lifetimes than nonparticipants. There is also an important short-term economic gain: the state’s early child care programs keep the children’s parents – 10 percent of Connecticut's workforce – on the job.

Quality child care, starting with the very youngest children, can also help close Connecticut’s biggest-in-the-nation educational achievement gap between middle-class and low income students, said Goldfarb. it’s been documented that the gap is evident as early as nine months of age.

“It is important to start early because children from birth to age eight are learning how to read – while kids from eight on, are reading to learn. if you don’t have that solid foundation, you’re going to continue to flounder.”

The Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative, its many members, and the Hartford Foundation are committed to ensuring that, with the help of quality child care, children succeed.

To learn more about the Collaborative, visit www.haccc.info or call 860-241-0411.