Opinion: Breaking CT cycle of concentrated poverty must begin at birth

Hartford Courant – Wednesday, August 26, 2026
By Corrie Betts

At the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago, delegates took an important step in advancing the conversation about education and civil rights. During consideration of a resolution affirming early literacy as a civil right, I introduced an amendment affirming universal access to high quality Early Childhood Education and Care, from birth through age five, as a civil rights priority.

With the support of the NAACP National Board, that amendment was adopted by delegates.

That action matters because it challenges us to reconsider when equal opportunity should begin. Not at kindergarten. Not when third grade reading scores tell us children are already behind. At birth.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote in these pages about Connecticut’s crisis of concentrated poverty and issued a call to action for our state. I identified early childhood education as one of the most important interventions we could make. Today, that argument carries even greater urgency.

Connecticut has identified 64 concentrated poverty census tracts. They are spread across communities throughout the state, including Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, New Britain and others. These are not simply numbers on a map. They represent neighborhoods where poverty has persisted across generations and where families have too often faced limited access to quality education, stable housing, employment, health care and pathways to building wealth.

The impact on children is particularly troubling. Research presented to the Connecticut General Assembly found that child poverty rates exceeded overall poverty rates in 56 of the state’s 64 identified concentrated poverty census tracts. Across those 64 tracts, the average child poverty rate was 49.3 percent.

That demands our attention. If nearly half of the children, on average, within these communities are living in poverty, we cannot wait until they enter the school system to become concerned about their future.

We need to know how many children from birth through age five live within these communities, how many have access to high quality early childhood education and care, and how many do not.

We have spent decades measuring disparities after they appear. We measure third grade reading, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates and workforce readiness. Those measurements matter, but by the time many of them reach our desks, disparities have already had years to develop. We must move upstream.

High quality early childhood education and care gives children a stronger foundation during critical developmental years. It also creates stability for families. Dependable care can give parents greater opportunity to work, pursue education or strengthen their skills. Persistent poverty does not affect children in isolation. The opportunity available to a child is connected to the economic stability of the family raising that child.

That is why early childhood education and care is more than childcare. It is an investment in child development, educational readiness, family stability and economic mobility.

Connecticut is investing in this work. Hartford, for example, reports 1,905 funded Early Start CT spaces, including 700 infant and toddler spaces and 1,204 preschool spaces. Similar efforts are underway across the state. Those investments matter, but counting funded seats is not enough.

We need to know whether those seats are reaching children living in our concentrated poverty communities. Transportation matters. Program hours matter. Affordability matters. Capacity matters. The barriers in Bridgeport may differ from those in New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury or another community.

The importance of place cannot be overstated. Connecticut has already mapped where poverty is concentrated. Now we should map where opportunity is missing.

Take the state’s concentrated poverty census tracts and overlay the number of children from birth through age five, participation in early childhood education and care, infant, toddler and preschool capacity, public investment and unmet need. That would allow us to move beyond documenting poverty and begin targeting opportunity.

Where capacity is insufficient, build it. Where seats exist but children are not participating, determine why. Where programs are producing results, learn from them and expand what works.

This is not about assigning blame. It is about demanding results.

Connecticut should establish an Early Childhood Equity Scorecard for its concentrated poverty communities. Protect the privacy of families, but give the public enough information to know how many young children live in these communities, how many are being reached, where gaps remain, what resources are being invested and whether conditions are improving.

The measure of our commitment cannot simply be how much money we spend. The measure must be what changes.

Are more children entering kindergarten prepared to learn? Are more families accessing dependable early childhood education and care? Are parents gaining greater stability to work and strengthen household income? Are educational disparities narrowing? Most importantly, are we beginning to break the persistence of poverty from one generation to the next?

Early childhood education and care cannot do that alone. Housing, employment, transportation, health care, workforce development, homeownership and wealth building remain essential. Connecticut law itself recognizes that concentrated poverty creates persistent disadvantages across generations in education, employment, health, housing, wealth building and economic mobility. We know these issues are connected. Our response must be connected too.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote that concentrated poverty is not simply a Black or brown issue. It is a Connecticut issue. That remains true.

Whether a child is born in Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, New Britain or another Connecticut community, that child’s neighborhood should not determine the limits of that child’s opportunity.

Our goal cannot be to become better at managing concentrated poverty. Our goal must be to reduce it.

Years from now, we should return to the same map and see fewer concentrated poverty census tracts. We should see more children prepared for school, more economically stable families, higher household incomes, stronger pathways to homeownership and communities experiencing greater economic mobility. That is how we move from concentrated poverty to concentrated opportunity.

The action taken at the NAACP National Convention gives Connecticut an opportunity to lead. Universal access to high quality Early Childhood Education and Care, from birth through age five, has been elevated as a civil rights priority. Now comes the harder part: giving that commitment meaning.

We know where poverty is concentrated. We know children are disproportionately affected. We know early opportunity matters. The question is whether we have the will to connect what we know to what we do.

Nearly two years ago, I issued a call to action. Today, I renew it with greater urgency.

Every child arrives with potential. Our responsibility is to make sure opportunity is there to meet them. If we truly intend to break the cycle of concentrated poverty, we cannot keep waiting until the consequences appear. We must begin at the beginning.

Civil rights begin at birth, and opportunity should too.

Corrie Betts is president of the Greater Hartford Branch NAACP and first vice president of the Connecticut State Conference NAACP. He introduced the birth through age five amendment adopted by delegates at the 117th NAACP National Convention.

Access this article at its original source.