Child Development

HARTFORD — A plan to establish a state Office of Early Childhood lingers now in a legal and political limbo.

The legislature last week approved a two-year budget plan that appropriates $359 million for launching the new agency, but legislation to create the stand-alone office died.

Now, the governor's office and the legislature's Democratic leadership are trying to figure out a way to possibly salvage the Office of Early Childhood.

Norwich, Conn. — If legislators wonder why constituents, at times, view the legislative process as disjointed, misdirected and wasteful, they only need to look at how they handle — or should we say mishandle — legislation supposedly intended to help improve situations, such as education for example.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy proposed early on in this year’s session the creation of an Office of Early Childhood Education, a plan to combine services and programs that already existed in five different state agencies under one roof.

Let’s just say it wasn’t one of Connecticut Legislature’s finest moments.

As two news stories today make pretty clear, a “he said/he said” situation has put $127 million in early childhood funding in jeopardy.

The CT Mirror’s article is entitled Childcare providers worry their money held hostage by politics, while CTNewsjunkie’ s story is called Did Early Childhood Bill Fall Victim To Sunday Bow Hunting?

Here’s the PROBLEM (as reported by CTMirror):    

In the last-minute crush of legislative business Wednesday, a bill that created the Office of Early Childhood died on the House calendar because, according to Democrats, the Senate refused to pass a bill that would allow Sunday bow hunting. Republicans countered that it was a ridiculous accusation.