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March 20, 2020

Bye: 784 CT daycares are closed; support for healthcare workers state’s biggest concern

By Matt Pilon

An estimated 784 childcare centers across Connecticut have opted to close their doors since the COVID-19 outbreak struck, according to the state’s top childcare official, creating challenges as many employers ask their employees to work from home.

The closures represent 56% of all licensed, recently active childcare centers in the state, according to Beth Bye, commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood.

An estimated 59% of small home-based daycares remain open. Those home programs can care for up to six children, were open as of yesterday, though that could soon decline, according to Bye, citing a survey of providers Office of Early Childhood conducted this week.

Under normal circumstances, all early childhood programs in Connecticut care for an estimated 112,000 children, Bye said.

Connecticut has ordered all public schools closed, but unlike Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other states, has opted to allow childcare facilities to remain open if they wish.

The reasoning, Bye said, is to ensure healthcare workers who are vital to testing and treating patients, have childcare options.

Gov. Ned Lamont echoed those comments earlier this week.

Photo | Contributed
Beth Bye, commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood

"I don't know where it will be a week from now and what the governor might determine, but for now he is very worried about getting behind on accessible childcare,” Bye said.

Lamont spokesman Max Reiss said Friday morning that childcare centers will remain open for now because they “are vital to ensuring those who are responding to this public health emergency have peace of mind knowing their children are cared for.”

“If that changes as this situation evolves, he will be clear with the public,” Reiss added.

While the state has not ordered closures, individual cities and towns have the power to shutter childcare centers within their borders. So far, New Haven and Hamden have issued such orders.

The ideal situation, Bye said, would be if everyone could stay home with their kids, or find trusted family members or friends to watch them, but that’s simply not possible under current conditions.

“There’s no right answer,” she said. “This is weighty, this is hard.”

Though the situation is evolving quickly, it’s clear thus far that Connecticut families are finding ways to keep their children at home, even as many are still working, including an unknown number who are telecommuting.

“Even the centers that are still open are experiencing significant drops in their census, they are all under enrolled right now,” Bye said.

That means they have not seen overflow from the centers that closed.

"Many parents are choosing to keep their kids home,” she said.

With Lamont’s declared state of emergency over the coronavirus only a week old, it’s unclear how long residents might be able to keep their children home or with family and friends. Some may ultimately be forced to choose between their jobs and sending a child back to daycare.

Meanwhile, unemployment claims are spiking, reaching 56,000 between Friday and Wednesday, according to state labor officials. That’s up from 2,500 claims last week.

Bye said Connecticut officials have not confirmed any instances of a childcare center worker or child testing positive for coronavirus. The Day reported Thursday that a child who lives in Rhode Island and attends a daycare in Stonington had tested positive last week, but that state officials there had declined to reveal additional information about the case. That center has since reopened.

She said Connecticut’s school closures have already created a crunch in the nursing home industry, where populations are most vulnerable to COVID-19. 

“That means subs come in,” Bye said, “And when subs come in, that’s new people in the building,” which increases the risk of transmission.

While children and infants are thought to be less susceptible to the more severe symptoms of the coronavirus, recent evidence from China suggests that it’s not always the case, and also that typically healthy millennials can be hard-hit by symptoms as well, according to medical news publication STAT.

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