Many Connecticut families are struggling to fulfill their childcare needs, with high costs and waitlists among the challenges they face, according to a new survey.
The findings come from the 2025 Connecticut Parent/Caregiver Survey by the University of Connecticut and the state's Office of Early Childhood.
More than 3,000 people participated. For those who face barriers to getting care, more than half said price is the biggest obstacle, said Sam Lawrence, principal investigator for the survey.
“That was our top barrier across the state, across family characteristics, even across income categories,” said Lawrence, an assistant research professor at the UConn School of Social Work.
Two-thirds of respondents said they pay for childcare, with costs ranging anywhere from $4 a month to $1,700 or more.
Roughly one-third of stay-at-home parents said they were unable to secure other care and were caring for a child themselves because it made the most financial sense.
Inability to obtain financial assistance was also a common barrier.
According to a United Way of Connecticut 211 survey of childcare providers, there’s an eight-month waitlist for the state's Care 4 Kids subsidy, which helps low- to moderate-income families.
Demand in Connecticut is also outpacing supply, Lawrence said. Nearly one-third of families in need of childcare reported they are actively searching, on a waitlist or both, the survey showed.
A shortage of early childhood educators contributes to programs not operating at capacity. Lawrence said families of toddlers were the most common group that reported waiting for care, followed by parents of newborns and infants.
“It provides important guidance for the OEC on where to focus on increasing the number of available slots through early start and other programming,” Lawrence said.
According to the Office of Early Childhood, initial investments from the state’s Early Childhood Endowment have funded about 1,000 new childcare spots.
The OEC funded the survey, which is meant to be repeated every other year.
