CERCLE

CERCLE An Early Childhood Collaborative Improving Education Outcomes For Underserved Communities

CERCLE's approach recognizes that when business practices are efficient, early care and education providers can prioritize the learning environment. This renewed focus at the classroom level enables higher performing programs because the time and attention of early care and education professionals are concentrated on their areas of expertise, i.e., implementing robust curricula and rigorous classroom assessments, retaining teachers with superior qualifications, lowering child-teacher ratios, and improving family involvement and support. As members of CERCLE, providers gain access to resources that may be otherwise out of reach due to their organization's size, incorporation structure, and limited human and financial capital, among other factors. Additionally, CERCLE members become a part of a network where knowledge and best practices are freely exchanged.

At CERCLE, we believe access to opportunity, meaningful career pathways and a strong support system can help people buil...
09/23/2026

At CERCLE, we believe access to opportunity, meaningful career pathways and a strong support system can help people build the futures they envision for themselves.

That’s why we’re proud to uplift our partners at Christian Community Action, Inc. and their Homeless to Boldness Career and Fashion Event, an evening celebrating resilience, opportunity, hope and individuals moving forward with BOLDNESS.

Creating stronger communities means opening doors, investing in people and celebrating every step forward.

Join CCA for this special evening and show your support. RSVP at: tinyurl.com/HTB2026

Save the date for United in Care: A Fall Seminar & Social!Join the CERCLE Network for an afternoon bringing early childh...
09/22/2026

Save the date for United in Care: A Fall Seminar & Social!

Join the CERCLE Network for an afternoon bringing early childhood educators, parents and providers together for connection, community and a little fun.

We’re excited to welcome back “The Childcare Whisperer” Mr. Ty’Heim Clark as guest speaker for an afternoon featuring conversation, games, prizes, free food and more.

📅 Saturday, October 24, 2026
⏰ 1–5 PM
📍 The Cooper Elephant, 221 Bull Hill Lane, West Haven
🎟️ $60 | Adults only

Because caring for children also means creating space for the people who care for them to connect, recharge and build community.

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/united-in-care-a-fall-seminar-social-tickets-1999038177000

09/21/2026

In case you missed it: Governor Ned Lamont joined CERCLE Co-Founders Georgia Goldburn and Kim Harris on the September 14 episode of Inside Voices for a conversation about the future of child care in Connecticut.

They discussed what it will take to move toward universal child care, how funding must match the scale of that goal, and why equity has to remain at the center of the work.

Because building a stronger child care system means investing in families, educators and communities.

▶️ Watch the clip, then catch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQwJmSQHrI&t=1s

OR tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Ready to start a career in early childhood education and get paid while you learn? CERCLE is now accepting applications ...
09/17/2026

Ready to start a career in early childhood education and get paid while you learn?

CERCLE is now accepting applications for FRAME: Future Ready and More Equipped, a full-time, paid training program for aspiring early childhood educators ages 16–26.

Participants receive hands-on classroom experience, mentoring, career coaching, and access to job placement opportunities across CERCLE’s network of 40+ child care programs.

The program also offers pathways to credentials, higher pay, and free college tuition in Connecticut, up to a bachelor’s degree, for eligible participants entering the field.

Learn more and apply at www.ct-cercle.org/frame

Being eligible for child care assistance only matters if families can actually access it.A new Associated Press investig...
09/13/2026

Being eligible for child care assistance only matters if families can actually access it.

A new Associated Press investigation found that hundreds of thousands of children across 23 states and D.C. (including Connecticut) were sitting on child care assistance waitlists this spring, leaving many parents to choose between work, school, bills, groceries and the care their children need.

We know child care is not simply a family expense. It is essential infrastructure that makes it possible for parents to work, children to learn and communities to thrive.

At CERCLE, we believe building a stronger child care system means making sure public investments translate into real, reliable access for families and sustainable support for providers.

Read more from the Associated Press via the New Haven Register: https://www.nhregister.com/living/article/ap-exclusive-hundreds-of-thousands-of-eligible-22415694.php?

What will it take to build a child care system that truly works for every Connecticut family?On the next episode of Insi...
09/11/2026

What will it take to build a child care system that truly works for every Connecticut family?

On the next episode of Inside Voices: Community Conversations, we sit down with Governor Ned Lamont to talk about the future of child care in Connecticut, including the state’s early childhood endowment, what greater access will require, and how child care connects to the economic security of families and communities across the state.

After the conversation, Georgia and Kim debrief on what they heard, what stood out, and the questions Connecticut still needs to grapple with as this work moves forward.

🎙️ Tune in Monday, September 14 at 11am LIVE on WNHH 103.5FM or stream the episode wherever you listen to Inside Voices.

09/01/2026

What does a fair child care system look like when the people providing care are centered in the conversation?

On Inside Voices, CERCLE Executive Director Georgia Goldburn digs into what equity should mean within Connecticut’s mixed-delivery early childhood system and why public investment, access, and provider sustainability cannot be separated.

Building on CERCLE’s Restorative Justice Agenda, this conversation asks us to think beyond expanding child care alone. If Connecticut is reshaping its early childhood system, we have to make sure the families who depend on care and the providers who make that care possible are both able to thrive.

Tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts or check out Inside Voices on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CphEWDwReI

What if one way to address Connecticut’s child care crisis is making sure the providers we already have can stay open?A ...
08/29/2026

What if one way to address Connecticut’s child care crisis is making sure the providers we already have can stay open?

A recent CT Mirror opinion piece raises an important point: expanding access to early childhood education cannot come at the expense of the family child care homes and small independent programs families already rely on.

These providers are caring for children, running businesses, managing licensing and paperwork, communicating with families, maintaining their spaces—and often doing all of it with little administrative support. Meanwhile, the cost of providing care, especially for infants and toddlers, continues to make an already difficult business model even harder to sustain.

We cannot build a stronger child care system without building stronger systems around the people who provide that care.

This piece in CT Mirror is well worth a read! https://ctmirror.org/2026/08/13/connecticut-doesnt-have-a-childcare-crisis-connecticut-has-a-childcare-policy-crisis/

What if investing in child care started with investing in the places where care happens?Across and the country, child ...
08/20/2026

What if investing in child care started with investing in the places where care happens?

Across and the country, child care providers continue to face significant challenges securing affordable, stable, and high-quality facilities. At the same time, families continue to struggle with access to care, and employers face the economic impacts of an unstable child care system.

CERCLE and Mission Driven Finance (MDF) are partnering to bring the Care Access Real Estate (CARE) approach to Connecticut, an innovative model designed to strengthen the child care ecosystem by investing in the physical spaces where care happens.

Sign up for updates to learn more: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/651448/188759613857859472/share

08/14/2026

How did Connecticut's early childhood system become what it is today?

On this episode of Inside Voices, Georgia Goldburn explores the historical roots of our mixed-delivery early care system and discusses A Restorative Justice Agenda for Connecticut's Childhood System, a vision for repairing decades of inequitable public investment while building a stronger future for children, families, and providers.

From equitable grant funding and expanding Early Start CT to increasing access to capital for child care entrepreneurs, the conversation examines what it will take to create an early childhood system that is accessible, high-quality, economically sustainable, and rooted in equity.

Tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts: https://inside-voices.transistor.fm/episodes/cercle-provider-forum-with-governor-ned-lamont-debrief

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370 James Street, Suite 402
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06513

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