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New Report on CT's Fiscal Guardrails

Child Care for CT

Connecticut’s “fiscal guardrails”—a set of revenue, spending, and borrowing caps—have played a major role in shaping our state’s financial landscape. But for advocates of strong early childhood programs, these guardrails also affect the availability of resources needed to support our youngest learners and their families. A new report from the Tobin Center provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of how these guardrails work, what they have accomplished, and where they may limit the flexibility to invest in critical services such as child care and early education.


This new research shows that while the guardrails have helped stabilize Connecticut’s finances—boosting our Budget Reserve Fund and reducing unfunded pension liabilities—they have also constrained policymakers’ ability to respond to pressing needs. As federal relief funds diminish, early childhood programs face a “fiscal cliff” that could result in reduced slots for children, higher parent fees, or workforce layoffs, if no adjustments are made. The “Stakes of the Debate” section of the Tobin Center’s series underscores this tension: existing revenues may appear healthy on paper, yet the guardrails prevent much of that surplus from being used to address urgent demands in education, health care, and child care.

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