Focus on States

Waterbury Hospital
Children's Center of the Greater Waterbury Health Network
(photo: Greig Cranna)

Given the central role of state governments in funding and administering early childhood programs for low-income families, CICK specializes in crafting statewide initiatives that address the industry’s capital and technical assistance needs in underserved communities. In Connecticut and Rhode Island, CICK has launched statewide facilities funds that offer a comprehensive package of resources and services for the construction, renovation and improvement of quality facilities:

  • CICK played a pivotal role in designing the State of Connecticut’s child care facilities financing program, which has generated over $80 million to finance new high quality centers for over 5,000 children. The state contracted with CICK’s Connecticut Children’s Investment Partnership to serve as a facilities technical assistance provider, to help early childhood programs use the new public capital effectively to develop viable, high quality facilities.
  • CICK helped Rhode Island LISC launch the Rhode Island Child Care Facilities Fund (RICCFF) with funding from the state’s human services department and housing finance agency as well as private foundations. RICCFF has leveraged over $24 million in financial support for early childhood facilities, and provided training and on-site technical assistance to over 170 organizations, benefitting 6,600 children in 39 communities across the state.

CICK has also brought its facilities financing and development expertise to state government leaders in Vermont, Maine, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. In Louisiana CICK was hired by the state to help craft a plan to allocate federal emergency funding for child care rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina, leading to the renovation and reopening of nine child care centers.