Local Governance Partner

In July 2025, as part of the CT Office of Early Childhood’s vision for Connecticut’s early childhood system and their Early Start CT initiative, the ECCS became a Local Governance Partner (LGP) for the town of Southington.

Per the OEC, the “LGPs will act as the community’s early childhood hub and focus on building trusted partnerships with families, providers, and the broader community. The LGP will also be a place for families and community members to get involved in shaping a plan for their community’s approach to supporting the holistic needs of families and children birth to five years old.”

The ECCS was already doing much of this work as a local early childhood collaborative. With this new program, the ECCS will work more closely with the State and community members to identify family needs and then advocate to get those resources. To prepare for the future the ECCS Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan in October 2025.

The LGPs are made up of the following four subgroups:

  • Local Governance Partners Fiduciary – the entity responsible for signing the Contract and receiving funding. For the ECCS, this is the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain.
  • Local Governance Partners Community Table – a collaborative space that serves as a neutral, inclusive forum where diverse organizations, parents, and stakeholders come together to engage in open dialogue, share insights, and work towards collective community goals. As of October, 2025, members of the ECCS’s Community Table are being recruited.
  • Local Governance Partners Liaison – individuals who coordinate and assist the efforts of the LGP to meet the needs of the community, deliver services and activities, supervise the Parent Ambassador(s), visit ESCT programs to support and enhance quality and compliance through on-going monitoring and consistent feedback to providers. The ECCS’s Executive Director fills this role.
  • Parent Ambassadors – trained parent leaders within the community who serves as a trusted messenger for families and supports parents and families across the entire community.

The new CT Early Childhood Education Endowment will help fund the work of LGPs as well as the expansion of state-funded childcare slots. See our article “Free Childcare is in the News.”