Child care center opens in former New Haven movie theater

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A new child care center has opened up in New Haven, replacing the former Cine-4 movie theatre on Flint Street.

On Friday, Friends Center for Children opened its third child care facility.

"New Haven is a child care desert, and so really providing options for families for quality care is really, really important," said Andrea Tabbs-Smith, a parent who serves as the co-director for Friends Center's emotional well-being program.

The Flint street campus will create 13 new jobs for teachers and provide care to an additional 32 infants. Eventually, the facility will have a children's library, a teacher training space, a mobile library and a teacher resource hub. The child care provider also said a space for an additional 48 infants and toddlers is in the works.

It comes as parents and providers say there is a shortage of day care slots. This paired with high cost for care and low staff wages has been a recipe for Connecticut's child care crisis.

"The true cost of providing care is higher than what most parents can afford — that math obviously leaves us in a bind," Friends Center's executive director Allyx Schiavone said. "We want care to be affordable for families, and we want to pay our educators a professional wage. But, we can't go out of business to accomplish those goals."

Leaders address Connecticut's child care crisis

Friends Center for Children said current day care costs can consume up to 20% of a family's household income, which can amount to roughly $18,000 per child per year.

"I know there are a lot of families who are not able to go into work and have to keep their children home, which is something that is a real struggle," Tabbs-Smith said.

Friends Center is advocating for more investments in home ownership so that more home child care centers can open, in addition to growing the workforce by investing in rent-free housing for early childhood educators.