Housing Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HB-5121
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN PROTECTIONS FOR GROUP AND FAMILY
Title: CHILD CARE HOMES.
Vote Date: 3/10/2020
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 2/18/2020
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
All Our Kin
Rep. Lemar, R. 96th Dist.
Sen. Anwar, S. S 3rd Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
Group child and family care homes are becoming more of a demand for our working
communities. Many childcare providers are asking for an expansion of the number of
children that they can take into their care. Providers have identified barriers on the municipal
level when trying to expand their practice. This law will protect the license of the child care
providers to prevent landlords and homeowners' associations from restricting the operation of
these child care providers.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Susan Bysiewicz, Lieutenant Governor The Lieutenant Governor supports this bill because
it is important to facilitate an increase in the supply of licensed child care that meets the
needs of the state's working families. These caregivers often provide service that is specific
to the language, culture and values of the communities that they serve. By expanding
housing and zoning protections will help provide women and families with additional childcare
options that cover nontraditional hours, while providing an affordable, healthy, safe and
nurturing setting.
Beth Bye Commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood The Office of Early Childhood
supports this bill as it seeks to remove barriers to operating a family child care home or group
child care home. This will help to expand the number of licensed child care programs and
add much needed childcare providers around the state which operate not only as small
businesses but enable parents to get to work.
Melissa McCaw, Secretary Office of Policy and Management OPM supports this bill as it
aligns with the goals and mission of the Governor's Council on Women and Girls by helping
to provide access childcare that is geographically sensible, culturally appropriate, and offers
flexible hours.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Christie Balka, All Our Kin Supports this bill as it helps child care providers to access
resources to high-quality childcare. By eliminating restrictive zoning, home-based child care
providers will save money on costly legal fees. These providers are especially likely to be
low-income women of color who do not have these resources. Additional testimony from All
Our Kin includes statements from childcare providers and the parents that utilize their
services speaking in support of this bill.
Amy Eppler-Epstein, New Haven Legal Assistance Association Supports this bill. Several
of her clients have faced eviction from their landlords because have offered state licensed
family home day care. These day cares provide a crucial service to the communities that
they serve because they provide stable daycare with hours to their neighbors, who are then
able to work early or late shifts. Both the parents and the childcare provider are able to
provide landlords with rent. By supporting this bill, it will ensure that childcare providers
remain licensed and operate to state standards. Without this protection, community daycare
providers often go "underground" which removes any of the protections and advantages of
having a licensed care provider.
Liz Fraser, Policy Director for the Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS)
Supports this bill as it seeks to equalize and streamline the local permitting process for family
home care providers, to provide greater access to child care across the state, and to provide
opportunities for families to grow small businesses. There is a need for 50,000 childcare
slots plus additional care in order to attract young families to live and work in our state.
Emilee Song Gaebler, Ludwig Center for Community and Economic Development, Yale Law
School Supports this bill because family child care homes and group child care homes
serve an important function by meeting the needs of children and parents while providing
economic opportunities for home-based entrepreneurs. Child care providers face several
challenges from municipalities not allowing them to expand and landlords evicting them when
they learn of the service that they are providing from their homes. By removing zoning
obstacles, providers would have the ability to serve more families in their communities.
Merrill Gay, Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance Supports this bill as it will clarify and
extend zoning protections that protect family child care homes to include group child care
homes. With these extensions, the care provider can hire an assistant and serve additional
children. This bill will encourage licensed, affordable and family-accessible childcare which is
in great demand throughout the state.
Emmanualla Lataure, Ma Maison Child Care Supports this bill as a licensed childcare
provider who has created a program that adheres to CT Early Learning and Development
standards. As an accredited family child care educator, she strives to bring high quality
childcare that is accessible families in her community. Due to her successful business, she
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bought a second home to open another child care home and submitted the proper paperwork
in order to do so with the local zoning board. The municipality has since denied her
application several times even though her paperwork has met the necessary requirements
set out by the municipality.
Emily Persico, Community and Economic Development Clinic Supports this bill as it helps
prevent discrimination against child care providers and helps to provide much needed quality
and affordable childcare in our state. This bill has the added benefit of assisting women who
need childcare in order to advance their career and those provide child care who experience
opposition to their work from the municipality, landlord or neighbors.
Raphael Podolsky, Connecticut Legal Services Supports this bill would expand childcare for
working parents by preventing municipalities from discriminating against group and family
care in residential areas. It would ensure that parents can find locally licensed child care and
creates employment opportunities to daycare providers. Protecting the licensed care
provider would assure that the daycares are appropriate in size and conditions for the
number of children they provide care for.
Will Poff-Webster, Community and Economic Development Clinic Supports this bill as it
would help to address a lack of access to affordable childcare in our state. This bill would
help to remove barriers from landlords and local zoning that prevent families from accessing
childcare in their area.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Betsy Gara, Executive Director Connecticut Council of Small Towns Opposes this bill as it
will restrict a municipalities authority to regulate or impose operational conditions on family
care and group child care homes. While extending access to licensed child care
opportunities is important, existing zoning is important to retain the health and safety of
residents and children receiving care.
Paul Januszewski, President Greater Enfield Landlord Association Opposes this bill as it
would negatively affect a landlord's ability to provide affordable, safe, and clean housing.
Kim McClain, Executive Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Community Associations
Institute Opposes this bill as it would supersede condo association agreements and allow
family childcare groups to operate in a condo community.
Zachary McKeown, Legislative Associate of CCM CCM opposes this bill as it would restrict
local municipal zoning.
David Pilon, Bouvier Insurance Opposes this bill if it continues to allow group and family
child care in condos as it creates a greater insurance risk for the condo association.
Charles Ryan, Pilicy & Ryan, P.C. Opposes this bill because it would conflict with land
restrictions related to private deed restrictions, covenants, and condominium declarations.
Condo associations should be able to maintain control over what is allowed in their
community. Having a childcare home would disrupt neighbors and increase liability to the
condo association. This testimony argues that having a childcare home in a condo
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community would require the condo association to become ADA compliant which is it
currently exempt from. This bill would also violate the Housing for Older Persons Act which
allows condo communities to prohibit minors from 55 and over communities.
Reported by: Alexander Pachkovsky Date: 3/16/2020
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Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 8-3j, 8-2, 8-1bb