RECAP of the March EEC Board Meeting: Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) and Child Care Financial Assistance Programs
At Neighborhood Villages, we prioritize keeping up with the policy landscape in the early education and care field, both across the country and in Massachusetts. That includes tuning-in to the monthly meetings of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care (“EEC Board”), to stay apprised of updates and to identify opportunities for how we can work with government and other stakeholders to improve our early education and care system.
The primary topics of this month’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Board meeting were: (1) recent updates in the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program; and (2) caseload trends and status of the waitlist in the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) program. Here’s what you need to know…
If You Are a Provider:
EEC Commissioner, Amy Kershaw, announced that the Department of EEC had to make changes to programs’ C3 grant payments for May and June of this year, in order to stay within the program’s FY2024 budget and the amount allocated to the program by the Massachusetts Legislature. The amount for C3 appropriated by the Legislature was based on past precedent, and did not anticipate the level of program capacity increases that have occurred. Along with capacity, the size of the early education workforce has increased, as well, and both of those variables directly impact the amount of C3 grant funding for which programs are eligible. While program size has increased, the amount of public money available for C3 has not and the remaining funding is insufficient to cover the full costs of provider grants.
As a result, to spread the remaining funding for C3 in fiscal year 2024, grant allocations are being adjusted for May and June and will take place as follows:
47% of programs – those with more than one-third of children with child care financial assistance (CCFA) – will see no change;
30% of programs – those serving up to a third of children with CCFA or operating in areas with the highest SVI – will see a 45% reduction in monthly payments
2% of programs – those with an agreement to serve children with CCFA but without any enrolled, nor in the highest SVI communities – will see a 70% reduction in monthly payments; and
21% of programs – those not serving children with CCFA nor in the highest SVI communities – will see a 75% reduction in monthly payments.
EEC identified the following as one reason, amongst others, for why the C3 program has outperformed: Licensed capacity (i.e., enrollment capacity) has grown 7% since the beginning of FY23. While it has increased across all regions across the state, but has been highest in Metro Boston. Family Child Care providers have experienced the most capacity growth, and nearly all of that growth has come from providers serving in areas with the highest social vulnerability index (SVI). More, fewer programs have closed than the number that have opened in the last 18 months, leading to net growth in child care supply.
If You are a Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:
EEC shared that there are 851 new providers who have begun serving children with CCFA since the educator child care scholarship pilot began in January of 2023 and a quarter of those providers have ECE staff benefiting from the pilot. The educator pilot prioritizes eligible ECE staff – those with household incomes up to 85% of state median income – for Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA). Nearly 2,200 children are enrolled in care as a result of the pilot program.
The Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) caseload has reached its maximum level with current funding, a total of 58,957 children are currently enrolled with CCFA. Children with CCFA fall into one of three categories: income-eligible (36,789); children referred through the Department of Children and Families (11,423); and children referred through the Department of Transitional Assistance (10,745).
More than 39,000 children are in families that receive CCFA in the form of a voucher; another nearly 20,000 children receive assistance in the form of a slot at a provider that contracts with EEC to serve specific populations. While vouchers can be used at any provider that participates in the CCFA program, contracted slots are limited to providers with a contract with EEC.
Any family who seeks CCFA is placed, initially, on the Waitlist. (The Waitlist is the first step in a process to determine eligibility and place a child – it does not indicate that a family has received financial assistance and is awaiting placement.) The current Waitlist has nearly 21,000 families; 91% of those families are in the first step, “active,” indicating they have identified a need for financial assistance in the last year. The other 9% of families are in the phase of having been notified of funding availability and/or verifying eligibility.
