ICYMI: Co-Founder, Lauren Kennedy, Testifies at the Joint Committee on Education Informational Hearing

Early education and care play a critical role in shaping a child’s future and supporting working families. However, in Massachusetts, and across the country, the child care system has faced numerous challenges and shortcomings, leaving families struggling to access affordable, high-quality care for their children.

As Co-Founder of Neighborhood Villages, Lauren Kennedy was invited by the Joint Committee on Education to testify in their informational hearing yesterday at the State House. The Committee convened a number of experts, leaders, and key stakeholders to learn more about our Commonwealth’s needs and priorities for comprehensive child care and early education reform.

The hearing provided an opportunity to share Neighborhood Villages’ unique expertise and approach and advocate for much-needed policy changes. Lauren spoke about the need for comprehensive reform, equity and inclusion, investment in workforce, and community engagement in early childhood and care legislation. Her testimony emphasized the importance of investing in the early education workforce and ensuring access to high-quality early education for all children. Here are some highlights.

Problems:

There is a shortage of early childhood educators in Massachusetts, with 11 percent of teacher positions remaining unfilled statewide, leading to program limitations on enrollment and classroom closures.

The root cause of the staffing crisis in early education and care is the low wages paid to early educators. 

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing workforce challenges but the sector was already in crisis before the pandemic.

Solutions:

We must increase compensation and benefits for early educators, make the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) operations grants program permanent and robustly funded, and raise the reimbursement rate for child care financial assistance.

We need professional development opportunities and training supports for early educators, including coordinated access to higher education coursework, apprenticeship programs, and business training programs.

We need greater investment in mental health support services in early education settings, as the pandemic has led to increased demand for such services.

We must work to ensure equitable access to early education and care, including support for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care.

You can read Lauren’s full prepared oral testimony here.