(a) The Office of Early Childhood shall establish and administer the Start Early – Early Child Development Initiative. The office shall develop funding priorities for the initiative for early education and support services through a grant program for research and early education service providers to support the growth and enhancement of a system of high-quality early childhood care and education and support services. The office may test more than one type of intervention or type of program for young children and families, and shall track the differences in children’s progress by program type. Funding under the initiative may include targeted formula grants to providers in high-need areas throughout the state to serve a cohort of children from infancy through kindergarten entrance and may include existing providers serving a cohort of children in the target community who agree to implement research-based professional development or curricular interventions that begin in the infant and toddler years.

(b) The office shall establish standards for the initiative that shall include, but need not be limited to, eligibility requirements, participant requirements, program outcome metrics, data reporting requirements, evaluative methods and a formula for the distribution of grant funds for a period not less than five years. Such standards may include, but need not be limited to, guidelines for staff-child interactions, lesson plans, parental engagement, staff qualifications and training, and curriculum content, including physical, social, emotional, quantitative, executive function and preliteracy development.

(c) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or a contractor who has entered into a contract under the initiative with the commissioner, shall enter into contracts with an institution of higher education, child care center, group child care home, family child care home or staffed family child care networks to create new or support existing infant and toddler spaces and preschool spaces within the standards established by the office pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. In entering into a contract under the initiative, the commissioner shall give priority to those child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes that are (1) located in towns with the lowest median household income or the greatest deficit of early care availability, (2) creating new infant and toddler spaces, (3) accredited, and (4) licensed to individuals who reflect the demographics of the population in the community in which such center or home is located.

(d) Any contract entered into under the initiative may include a provision requiring the provider to provide access to family support services in order to receive a grant-in-aid. Such family support services shall include, but need not be limited to, parenting support, home visiting, early intervention services, information about child development, and assistance to help parents complete their education, learn English, enroll in a job training program or find employment.

(e) The office shall develop an annual report concerning the data and outcome measures for the initiative. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, achievement on the elements outlined in the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards as reported in the accompanying assessment tool. The office may develop recommendations for modifications to the early education system based on an evaluation of such data and outcome measures. Not later than January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the office shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of § 11-4a, such report and any such recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(f) The office may use a portion of the funds allocated pursuant to the provisions of Section 602 of Subtitle M of Title IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117-2, as amended from time to time, for administrative expenses related to the initiative, including, but not limited to, entering into an agreement with a third party to manage the program; the design, collection and analysis of required data on outcome measures as prescribed by the office; and the development of data collection and evaluation tools for continuous program evaluation.