Introducing: The Policy Pulse
We are excited to introduce Neighborhood Villages’ first Policy Pulse - a guide to all things early education and care. In each issue, you will find an overview of what’s happening with Massachusetts and national child care policy and information on what you can do to take action and join the movement for a transformed early education and care system. You’ll also find resources, reports, and advocacy tools. Let’s dive in!
What to Know
Check Out Our New Report!
Neighborhood Villages released a new report, Public Funding for Early Childhood Education Providers: Comparing Direct-to-Provider Grants to Child Care Financial Assistance Reimbursement. Check out the blog, report, and executive summary!
Massachusetts’ State Budget Heads to Conference Committee
The Massachusetts House and Senate have each finalized their Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposals. Both proposals provide historic funding for early education and care. The House version would spend a total of $1.54B and the Senate version would spend a total of $1.58B. There are also historic policy reforms proposed for early education and care in the FY2025 budget. To learn more about the FY2025 state budget, check out our Budget Primer!
Here’s What Happened at the Most Recent Early Education and Care Board Meeting
The Board of Massachusetts’ Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) most recently met on April 10, 2024. (The Board meeting scheduled for May has been canceled.) Important decisions about the early education and care sector are made at monthly EEC Board meetings and you can read the wrap-up here! Here's what happened at April’s Board meeting:
EEC shared information on the Governor’s Executive Order that established a task force on early education and care; and
EEC provided updates on its strategic initiatives on workforce development, including its work to define a career pathway and credentialing system.
Read more here!
Massachusetts’ Prepares its Federal Child Care Development Block Grant State Plan
Every three years, the Department of EEC, on behalf of the Commonwealth, is responsible for revising and submitting an updated Child Care Development Fund (CDDF) State Plan to the federal Office of Child Care (OCC). This plan lays out how the Commonwealth will administer its Child Care Financial Assistance program (you can learn more about CCFA here). On May 22nd, EEC held a virtual Public Comment session on the draft plan. EEC will continue to work with interested parties to draft the plan and then the EEC Board will vote on it before it is submitted to OCC. More information can be found here.
What To Do
Tell Your Legislators to Prioritize Early Education and Care in the Budget!
Now is the time to reach out to Massachusetts Senate and House leadership to request prioritization of EEC in the final state budget!
Join Us on June 11th at 1pm EST for a Virtual Event: Breaking Down the Budget: Where we are and what you need to know
Join Neighborhood Villages, Strategies for Children, and MassBudget on June 11th at 1pm EST for a virtual event on the FY25 budget and how it stands to impact early education and care in Massachusetts. You can find out more about what is on the table for key areas of the early education sector here. Register today for Breaking Down the Budget: Where we are and what you need to know.
What's Next
The EEC Board will next meet on June 12th at 1:00pm. The meeting agenda and information on how to stream the meeting can be found here.
The FY25 state budget now goes to the Conference Committee and the final budget is expected by July 1, 2024. You can track the state budget process here.
