Inter-Agency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care Releases Goals and Year 1 Report

In January of 2024 Governor Healey created an inter-agency task force on Early Education and Child Care to form a whole of government response to increase access to affordable, high quality child care. On March 12th, the Task Force released its year 1 report, including their goals. 

Recommendations are detailed in the report and fall into five categories, below. Selected goals under each category are provided as examples: 

1. Ensure broad access and availability of early education and child care for families with young children 

• The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EOEEA) Office of Outdoor Recreation will work with Executive Office of Education (EOE) and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) to help connect children, families, and programs to nature and resources to support the exploration of the outdoors and natural world, while also exploring regulatory changes to facilitate that exploration.

2. Support high quality early education and child care programming

• EOE and EEC, in collaboration with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and its agencies, will identify opportunities and leverage ongoing work to improve access to mental and behavioral health supports for families enrolled in and educators employed in Early Education and Child Care (EECC) settings. 

3. Make early education and child care affordable for all families, prioritizing those with the highest needs

• The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) and EOE will engage employers, business community partners and philanthropy to improve support for working families across all sectors of the economy, with a focus on employers with a high percentage of low-wage workers and working families.

4. Foster sustainable business conditions for all types of programs with fewer barriers to entry

• In collaboration with EOE, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), the state will extend existing efforts to expand access to broadband to support early education and care programs in areas of the state that are unserved and underserved by affordable, reliable high-speed internet.

5. Build a robust workforce ecosystem that supports the growth and wellbeing of educators and providers

• EOHHS will explore opportunities to expand enrollment in affordable health care among the early education and care workforce.