New Haven, CT – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) announced that Connecticut will receive $16.2 million in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help provide child care for working families and ensure that more children receive the vaccines they need to prevent disease. Over $13.6 million in child care funding will be made available to Connecticut through the Child Care and Development Fund, which will allow the state to support child care services for more families whose children require care while they are working, seeking employment or receiving job training or education.

Connecticut will also receive over $2.5 million in immunization funding, the majority of which will be used to purchase vaccines that will then be distributed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Section 317 immunization program. A portion of the vaccine purchase may be used to support innovative initiatives for expanding access to vaccines in schools and communities. Applications to apply for these grants will be made available on www.grants.gov.

“As we mark National Public Health Week, it is critical to sustain our commitment to making serious investments in early childhood health and development.” said DeLauro. “There is now extremely strong evidence that early childhood has a tremendous impact on a person’s health across a lifetime. The child care and immunization funding made available this week will help to ensure not only that more children are healthy and well cared-for, but also that their parents have more peace of mind when they are working or receiving job training or education.”