In 2002, Connecticut was invited to become the eighth and final state in the Early Care and Education Collaborative. This multi-year project is coordinated by the Communications Consortium Media Center and was created to design and implement strategic public education strategies aimed at creating the public will in each of the target states to expand both the supply and the quality of early care and education resources.

Connecticut Voices for Children is the organizational partner representing Connecticut on the collaborative, joining the Association for Children of New Jersey, Center for Florida's Children, Citizens for Missouri's Children, Colorado's Children's Campaign, Kansas Action for Children, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children and Voices for Illinois Children.

After months of sitting at the Early Care and Education Collaborative table and learning from successful early childhood campaigns in partner states such as Illinois, Florida, and Pennsylvania, Connecticut began planning for its own statewide communications campaign that would move the early care and education issue in a positive direction for our young children.

In the Spring of 2003, the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance (a growing consortium of Connecticut organizations and individuals committed to improving developmental outcomes for young children) adopted a public goal that states: All children born in Connecticut beginning in 2004 will enter kindergarten healthy, eager to learn, and ready for school success. Under the banner of this public goal, the "Ready, Set, Grow ... CT Kids!" campaign was born.