We Must Extend C3 Stabilization Grants for Early Education and Care Providers in Massachusetts
In July 2021, as the early education and care sector continued to grapple with ongoing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts introduced an innovative mechanism for distributing emergency federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to the sector: direct-to-program stabilization grants. These publicly-funded grants, distributed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care through a pilot program known as Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3), had an almost immediate impact on the early education and care field: within months, they stabilized the sector’s capacity, prevented program closures, and enabled investments in quality and educator pay.
That’s why we are advocating for the inclusion of $480 million in the state’s FY23 budget to extend the C3 stabilization grant program through FY23. Extension of these grants is critical to keeping child care programs open, ensuring access for children, and supporting socially vulnerable communities. Moreover, the extension of this program is a critical step toward a future in which Massachusetts' early education and care providers are afforded the public resources they need – and in which children and families have the equal access they deserve.
C3 grant funding has helped stabilize the early education and care sector and prevented program closures. Nearly 84 percent of the state's 7,500 eligible providers are participating in the C3 Stabilization Grant program, with Family Child Care providers representing a majority of all programs receiving grants. Prior to the launch of the C3 Stabilization Grant program, 1,359 programs closed between March 2020 and June 2021. From July 2021 to December 2021, only 453 additional programs closed. Ninety-eight percent of programs that closed between July 2021 and December 2021 did NOT receive C3 funding. Only seven programs that took C3 funding closed.
The unique structure of the C3 stabilization grants prioritizes equity and quality. The C3 Funding Formula includes an equity adjustment, which allocates additional dollars to early education and care providers that serve socially vulnerable communities and/or lower-income children and children with special needs. As of late 2021, 65 percent of all C3 stabilization grant funding has been distributed to programs participating in the Massachusetts' child care subsidy program. Average per-slot grants to providers in more socially vulnerable communities are 30 percent higher than grants made to providers in more well-resourced areas.
If the C3 Stabilization Grant Program is not extended through FY23, it is likely that many programs that don’t take state subsidies will close, many of which are in socially vulnerable communities. Failure to extend the C3 Stabilization Grant program will most acutely impact programs that currently do not participate in the state subsidy system. Thirty-two percent of providers that do not take subsidies are in socially vulnerable communities. Between March 2020 and December 2021, 37 percent of all closures were among programs in high social vulnerability areas that did not participate in the state’s subsidy system.
The C3 funding has been successful in stabilizing the sector and, if continued, will allow for the sector’s growth, rather than just surviving. More than a tool for temporarily dispensing federal aid, the C3 formula is a model for supporting high-quality providers and intentionally offsetting historic inequities in our educational system.
The Massachusetts budget process is under way and we are urging the legislature to include $480 million in the FY23 budget to extend the C3 Stabilization Grant program through FY23 for all child care providers. Join us and raise your voice to let your elected leaders know that child care must be a priority in the state’s budget.
To learn more and help spread the word, download our fact sheet on the C3 Stabilization Grant program here and share with your networks. For more detail on the C3 Stabilization Grant program, check out our policy paper, here.