Danbury was not the big prize winner this week in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2018 Mayor’s Challenge. The City was previously named a Champion City and presented with $100,000 seed money to create 180 affordable childcare slots by establishing 60 family childcare centers.  

9 pilot program participants have or are submitting applications for state review for home day care licenses creating 84 new daycare slots, according to the Newstimes.

Danbury officials say with a poverty rate of 11-percent, and another 24-percent who fall below a household survival budget, the issue of daycare affects 900 children between the ages of 0-3 living in households that struggle to make ends meet.  There are currently 87 Care 4 Kids state-subsidized slots for infants and toddlers in Danbury.  Due to the state's financial woes, there's been a 50-percent decrease in subsidies over the past year.