Gov. Ned Lamont stopped in Bridgeport Monday to highlight a critical need for more day care slots.

More than 1,000 kids receive day care at ABCD on Park Avenue, but over 200 others remain on a waiting list. And it can take at least year to finally get in.

Lamont toured ABCD Monday ahead of his State of the State address Wednesday. He says he will introduce legislation to encourage more day care slots to open up in Connecticut.

Lamont has already tried to make it easier to qualify for Care 4 Kids, a program that helps parents pay for child care.

The state's early childhood commissioner says the situation is dire.

"We are short 50,000 infant/toddler spaces in the state of Connecticut – for all families," says Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye. "So it could be families that could afford – even if you offered $500 a week for infant/toddler care, you'd have a very hard time finding a space."

Places like ABCD say they've run into two issues -- rent is too expensive to be able to expand, and they can't offer workers enough money. They say until those problems are addressed, they will continue to have wait lists.

To fill the void, Lamont wants to encourage more in-home day care centers. They're called Family Child Care Homes and can take up to six kids, with hopes of taking a burden off bigger facilities.