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Memo
To: Board of Education
From: Cindy Praisner, C3 Coordinator
Date: June 6, 2025
Subject: LGP Identification and Change in Fiduciary Agent for C3
Early Start CT is a new state-funded early care and education program that the Office of Early
Childhood is launching on July 1, 2025. It combines 3 existing programs — Child Day Care
Contracts, School Readiness Grants, and State Head Start Supplement Grants — into 1 new
program. Local Governance Partners (LGPs) are a critical component of Early Start CT as they
help connect the OEC with towns and regions across Connecticut. Any town receiving Early
Start CT funding will have an LGP — either local or regional — to help coordinate early
childhood services. Instead of managing tuition funding, as has been the case for School
Readiness Councils, the LGPs will act as the community’s early childhood hub and focus on
building trusted partnerships with families, providers, and the broader community.
Each LGP will have a Community Advisory Board. It will include local parents, providers,
school staff, health care workers, and other community leaders who work with young children.
LGPs build on successful programs like School Readiness Councils and Local Early Childhood
Collaboratives (LECCs). These programs have already laid a strong foundation. Under Early
Start CT, they’ll evolve into LGPs.
LGPs require a fiscal agent. Colchester will receive the same $41,925 in each of the next two
years, previously provided to the Collaborative for Colchester’s Children (C3) to administer the
School Readiness grant and more global LECC work. There will be an LGP Fiduciary
subcontract with Shine (the OEC’s Intermediary Organization) that is still forthcoming and will
be the official source for funding and contractual expectations of the work. As C3 transitions
into the role of LGP, it was determined that the Town of Colchester would be the best fit for the
fiduciary agent. The Board of Selectmen approved this at its June 5, 2025 meeting. Therefore,
as of July 1, the fiscal agent responsibilities for C3 will be moved from the Board of Education
to the Town of Colchester. The superintendent is the final signature required on the attached
Fiduciary Form to identify Colchester’s intent to have C3 act as the LGP for Colchester and the
Town of Colchester as its fiscal agent.