2021 ECCS State of Early Childhood in Southington presentation

Posted on May 27th, 2021

On Tuesday morning, May 25, 2021 the ECCS presented their annual “Early Childhood in Southington” update to the community.
Joanne Kelleher, Director of the ECCS, gave an overview of youth demographics, an update on the ECCS strategic plan, the impacts of the pandemic, the growing shortage in childcare/preschool slots, and other trends faced by the childcare industry and families.
Merrill Gay, Executive Director, CT Early Childhood Alliance, gave a State and Federal perspective.

This information should be helpful to community leaders and anyone who provides childcare, healthcare, enrichment activities, housing, or other services for young children and their parents or caregivers.

The Zoom recording is available at https://youtu.be/btrj0VZKl_U.

The presentation slides, which have been updated since the presentation, are here: ECCS-State-of-Presentation-May-2021. The PowerPoint version with notes was too large to post here, contact the ECCS if you want a copy.

 

You may also be interested in this recent news/research.

Children with psychiatric needs are overwhelming hospital emergency departments in CT
“Connecticut Children’s expects to flag 20,000 kids in FY 2021 for suicidal ideation — a tenfold increase compared to FY 2020.”
CT Mirror article from 5/25/21
https://ctmirror.org/2021/05/25/children-with-psychiatric-needs-are-overwhelming-hospital-emergency-departments-in-ct/

Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in CT report:
5/25/2021 – “The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Connecticut’s Women, a Statewide Data Collection Initiative” 
Click here to Download the Report.

CT Voices for Children recent reports.

  • 5/17/2021 – “The State of Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The report offers a total of six short-term and seven long-term recommendations Connecticut can use to re-imagine the sector as essential public infrastructure, in order to address the longstanding barriers to child care and industry stability that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 4/19/2021 – “More Than a Health Crisis: Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Connecticut Youth and Families” The report analyzes the impact of the pandemic on employment, basic needs, and education and outlines the necessity of prioritizing the safety and stability of Connecticut’s youth and families in the state’s recovery planning to avoid long-term economic harm.

Go to https://ctvoices.org/ and then scroll down the home page to get their reports.