Early Childhood Collaborative Guides Young Parents through the Maze

Raising a child can be one of life’s great joys – but also one of its greatest challenges. And while there are many resources out there new parents can take advantage of, navigating them can often be time-consuming and frustrating.

That’s where the Early Child Collaborative of Southington (ECCS) comes in. The local non-profit, housed in its new offices at 35 North Main Street, tries to connect young parents to the essential resources and information that they need.

Take, for example, kindergarten registration. For the public schools, that process starts next Monday, March 9, when the Southington School System will be hosting a Kindergarten Registration Information Session at DePaolo Middle School. Parents will be able to start the process by entering information about their child into a computer. After that they will learn about the additional steps they must take in order to complete the registration.

This is the sort of crucial event parents need to know about so they can get their children enrolled. “We’re trying to find people who have children who will be going to kindergarden,” said Joanne Kelleher, the Executive Director of ECCS.  “If they’re already using a local childcare or pre-K, it’s usually fine because we’re in touch with them. But when children have been at home since they were born, the parents can be hard to reach. We work really hard to get out in the community – visiting the farmer’s markets, holding office hours at the library – so that we can connect with them.”

Parents may also be unsure whether their child is eligible to start kindergarten, thanks to a recent change in the age criteria. In the past, a child had to be 5 years old by December 31 of their kindergarten school year. But in the fall of 2024, Connecticut changed the law; now a child must have reached the age of 5 by September 1. While the District grants waivers to children that have passed a screening, the deadline for waivers has passed - except for new residents.

The Challenges of Childcare and Preschool

On February 19, Kelleher was holding ‘office hours’ in the children’s section of the Southington Public Library. While toddlers played with toys behind her, she greeted their parents, mostly moms, as they came and went, inviting them to ask questions and passing out informational brochures.

One of the most challenging issues young parents face is finding open slots for childcare. “People will call me in June and ask, how do I sign my child up for childcare?," she said. And I’ll have to say, we’ll do our best, but the best options are not necessarily going to be there any more.”

The longest-running childcare program in Southington is the Margaret C Griffin Child Development Center. Currently housed in Derynoski Elementary School, it is designed for children between 3 and 8 years old, and has slots for 45 children. Other, newer options include The Learning Experience on 1268 West Street, and Cub Academy at 316 North Main. Kelleher said another large facility will be opening soon just over the town line in Cheshire, behind the Whole Foods in the Shops at Stone Bridge.

Several churches also offer childcare or preK programs, including First Congregational’s Village Green Nursery, St. Luke’s PreK, and Zion Lutheran’s Zion Nursery School. Some local residents run daycare services in their homes, but these must meet state licensing requirements – requirements that ECCS can also help people navigate.

(A full list of programs can be found at ECCS’s website, here.)

Paying for childcare can be a substantial burden, with full-time, year-round care costing around $450 a week. In addition to state and federal tax credits, Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood has a subsidy program called Care 4 Kids. The catch there, Kelleher says, is that the program only has so much money available, meaning applicants often face a lengthy wait: “Their ‘enrollment management system’ – that’s what they call their wait-list – is only now processing applications it received last June.”

Kelleher estimates that between 125 and 150 children in Southington benefit from Care 4 Kids. She suspects that many more may be eligible, given that about a quarter of students in the school system qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Babies and Parents

It often happens that the first time new parents hear about ECCS is when they go to Southington’s Town Clerk to get their child’s birth certificate. Along with the birth certificate paperwork, they receive a package of basic information covering infant health, nutrition, and other important matters.

The Town Clerk’s Office keeps track of the number of babies born to Southington families each year. In 2024, the total, 416 babies, was relatively high – close to the recent ‘COVID Boom’ of 2021 and 2022, which saw totals of 423 and 421, respectively. Last year, by contrast, there were only 364 babies born, which is on the low side of the average for the past twenty years.

Brian Williams, who sits on the ECCS’s board, noted that the number of children who enroll in Southington’s kindergarten programs is typically about 100 greater than the figure one might expect, based on the birth numbers. This is a sign that quite a few young families are moving to Southington from area towns, possibly in order to take advantage of its well-regarded school system.  

Kelleher noted that the medical system is giving increasing attention to pregnancy and postpartum mental health, and in particular to incidents of postpartum depression among mothers. On February 26, she held a workshop at the Library along with seven experts in the field to help parents understand and deal with the issue.

That workshop was underwritten by a grant from the Main Street Foundation’s Bradley Henry Barnes & Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust. Main Street, along with the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, is one of ECCS’s main sources of support.

The Future of Local Childcare

The State of Connecticut is moving slowly to make childcare more affordable and more available. Last year it set aside $330 million to start an Early Childhood Education Endowment. These funds will be channeled to municipalities through various programs that, it is hoped, will lead to the creation of new childcare centers and other childcare options.

Before that happens, however, each town in the state must submit a needs assessment and community plan so that the endowment’s managers can see what its most urgent needs are – more PreK slots, for example, or childcare for parents who work nights.

It is ECCS’s responsibility to create that plan. While the non-profit is not part of Southington’s town government – nearly all of its funding comes from grants and donations – it is a ‘local governance partner,’ which means that it serves as a kind of intermediary between the town and the state for all sorts of early childhood programs.

Kelleher will be working with the other members of the ECCS community table this spring to develop a clear picture of local needs. After that, ECCS will craft a plan that she hopes will be complete sometime this summer, so that it can be sent on to the state.