Connecticut Family Survey: What Parents Are Saying About Child Care, Housing, and More 

Survey 1: Child Care Access & Affordability

• Lower-income families were less likely to utilize child care. Only thirty-nine percent (39%) of families with household incomes below 30% of the State Median Income (SMI) - $39,955 for a family of four in 2024 - reported that any of their young children had received non-parental care in the past month.

• Half (50%) of respondents who had looked for child care reported having difficulty finding a spot in a child care program in the past year.

• Sixty-nine percent (69%) of parents of children with disabilities reported having difficulty finding a child care provider who could meet the needs of their child with a disability.

• The top reason for not using child care was that child care is too expensive.

Survey 2: Developmental Screening & Parenting Supports

Developmental Screening and Access to Services

• One in five children ages 1 to 5 years had not received a developmental screening from any source within the past year.

• Two in five children ages 1 to 3.5 years had not received a developmental screening from a pediatrician in the past year.

• Concerns raised by a professional resulted in a referral for evaluation more often than when a parent raised a concern with a professional.

• Three in five parents were satisfied with the support they received getting connected to services for developmental concerns and three in four reported that these services met their children’s needs.

• Higher-income and White parents were more likely to report that it was easy to access services for their children and that these services met their children’s needs.

Parenting Supports

• Among parents who speak a language other than English in the home, roughly one in four said that they do not have access to parenting resources in a language they feel comfortable speaking.

• Three in four parents – and 82% of parents of a child with a disability – reported that they could benefit from additional parenting resources and supports.

• Parents were particularly interested in additional resources related to child behavior management and promoting a healthy parent-child relationship.

• More than four in five parents reported feeling confident about their parenting skills, but nearly half (48%) reported feeling overwhelmed by their parenting responsibilities. Among parents of children with disabilities, more than half (57%) reported feeling overwhelmed.

Survey 3: Financial Security & Material Hardship

• Only one in three respondents described themselves as "financially secure," while 25% reported being "not financially secure."

• Fewer than half of respondents (48%) could afford a $1,000 emergency expense without going into debt; among Latino and low-income parents, this figure drops to 29%.

• Over half of all respondents (54%) reported difficulty paying for basics like food, housing, and utilities in the past month.

• 48% of families reported experiencing food insecurity in the past year, and 28% of parents currently have unstable housing, living in fear of losing their homes.

• Among those who do not feel financially secure, 52% reported a negative impact on their own mental health, and 26% observed a negative impact on their children’s well-being.

• Latino and Black parents reported significantly higher rates of hardship, with 64% of Latino and 56% of Black families experiencing food insecurity, compared to 40% of White families.

The Connecticut RAPID Survey Team

The Connecticut RAPID Survey, funded by The Connecticut Project, is the work of a collaborative team directed by Courtney Parkerson.

This survey is part of the RAPID Survey Project led by Dr. Philip Fisher and Cristi Carman at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.

The Connecticut RAPID Survey work is guided by an advisory committee consisting of:

• Courtney Parkerson, Director, The Connecticut Project

• Ellen Fugate, Data Manager, The Connecticut Project

• Cynthia Willner, Director of Research, CTData Collaborative

• Allison Logan, CEO & Founder, Logan Consulting & Co., LLC

• Michelle Doucette-Cunningham, Executive Director, Connecticut Network for Children and Youth

Partner Organizations

Seventeen community-based organizations from across Connecticut are partnering with The Connecticut Project to invite families to complete each survey:

• The Bridge Family Center​ (West Hartford)

• Bridgeport Prospers Cradle to Career​ (Bridgeport)

• Building One Community​ (Fairfield County)

• Capital Region Education Council​ (Hartford County)

• Child & Family Agency of Southeastern CT​ (Southeastern CT)

• Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington​ (Southington)

• EdAdvance​ (Litchfield County)

• Enfield KITE​ (Enfield)

• Hamden's Partnership for Young Children​ (Hamden)

• Madonna Place​ (New London County)

• New Haven Early Childhood Council​ (New Haven)

• Northeast Early Childhood Council​ (Windham County)

• Safe Futures​ (New London County)

• Stamford Cradle to Career​ (Stamford)

• United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut (formerly Bristol Early Childhood Alliance for Surveys 1 - 5)

• United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut ​(Danbury)

• Waterbury Bridge to Success​ (Waterbury)