RECAP of the February 2025 EEC Board Meeting: Vote on CCFA Regulations, C3 Program Updates, CCFA Caseloads, and New IT Portals

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) discussion and vote on proposed changes to Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) regulations, (2) report on current CCFA caseloads, (3) an update on the impact of the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) Program, and (4) an overview of the Information Technology (IT) modernization efforts, specifically new electronic portals for families and educators. 

For additional detail on any of the meeting topics, view the slides here or watch the recording on YouTube. 

Here’s what you need to know…

If You Are a Provider:

1. Commissioner Amy Kershaw and EEC senior staff provided an update on caseloads for Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) for the most recently available period, sharing that more than 62,000 children are receiving CCFA but the waitlist has nearly 31,000 children. The caseloads are categorized into two groups, based on distinct eligibility and corresponding funding sources: (a) Income-Eligible (IE) children, whose families’ primary eligibility rests on their household income, and (b) Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) children, whose families qualify based on their involvement in DCF/DTA. EEC reported a December 2024 caseload of 36,546 children from IE households and 25,554 children from DCF/DTA, for a total of 62,100 children in families benefiting from CCFA. The current IE waitlist for CCFA stands at 30,773 children, the largest proportion of which are more than 3,000 school-age children in the Northeast region of the Commonwealth. The Commissioner noted that EEC is changing how they project CCFA caseload to look at not just CCFA payments (which they have done historically, but which lag), but also CCFA authorizations (i.e., a family has been authorized as eligible for CCFA for summer care but EEC is not making a payment for them in May) and placements. This will allow a more accurate understanding of who is part of the current caseload, the total cost of the program, and when CCFA might support additional children.

2. Commissioner Amy Kershaw and EEC senior staff presented results of an analysis of the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) operational grants program, confirming that C3 is working as intended. Highlighted results include the following:

• In the period that C3 has been in existence, the number of licensed programs has grown by 5% (from pre-Covid levels) and capacity in the system has grown by 7%, to 244,525 licensed EEC seats;

• Nearly 90% of eligible EEC programs are participating in C3, with about the same number of applicants since the new formula went into effect in April 2024 as compared to the number of applicants before the changes to the original formula;

• 68% of programs are using C3 to cover workforce expenses  – a slight uptick from the previous report (66%) and largely driven by centers; Family Child Care programs are less likely to be spending on workforce and more likely to spend on rent, facilities, etc.;

• In the last 3 years, average teacher wages in early education center-based programs have increased from $19.65/hour to $23.57 an hour – a nearly 20% increase. 

• 9% of early education positions are vacant, with 80% of those for teachers or assistant teachers;

• There is a 26% educator turnover rate (down from 32% in the previous report);

• The new C3 formula has had its intended impact: programs with a very low Child Opportunity Index score (COI) get the most money per seat, followed by those with a low COI, followed by those with a moderate COI, and so on. See image below –

If You are an Early Childhood Educator:

1. The EEC IT Modernization in process includes work underway on a new educator portal. The initial version of the portal will allow current and aspiring educators to apply for credentials via the portal; it will allow educators to convert existing certifications into credentials; and it will enable educators to keep track of their proof of credential(s) online.

If You are a Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:

1. The Board voted to approve draft amended regulations for CCFA, following an overview of the rationale for and substance of changes. The changes to regulations are a necessary precursor to the implementation of policy updates to CCFA, and follow codification of CCFA into state law by the Legislature’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Most of the language in the budget represents changes already underway; however, they must be made official through the following regulatory updates:

• Expand eligibility for CCFA to 85% State Median Income (SMI) for all;

• Codify existing priority access to CCFA, including early childhood educators;

• Exclude CCFA from “income” counted as part of other public benefits programs received by families; and

• Engage in continuous improvement of CCFA processes for families and other parties through annual review of the program.

  Having been approved by the Board, the proposed regulation changes will be posted for public comment for a period of up to 60 days. 

2. Commissioner Amy Kershaw introduced two new members of EEC’s team. Eric Hansson joins as new Chief Financial Officer and Gaby Goldstein joins to lead Employer Partnerships. Specifically, Goldstein will shepherd the work outlined in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget allocating $2.5M for a child care pilot with employers.

3. Commissioner Kershaw gave an overview of the Healey-Driscoll Budget Proposal (H1) and Supplemental Budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Among significant investments proposed by the Governor is $100 million for capacity building, including implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations (forthcoming). Other proposed investments highlighted were:

• $475 million for Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3),

• $1 billion to support families receiving Child Care Financial Assistance, and

• $17 million for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI), supplemented by $8 million from a 3-year, $50 million allocation in a supplemental budget, totalling $25 million for CPPI in FY26.

4. The EEC IT modernization in process includes work underway on a new family portal. The initial version of the portal – specifically for families who have inquired to receive Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) – will allow those families to get on the waitlist with a soft (initial, based on an attestation of need) eligibility check; it will allow families to complete the application form – translated if applicable – via the portal; and it will enable Family Access Administrators (EEC staff connecting families to CCFA) to review and process applications in one place. 

The next EEC Board meeting will take place in Boston on March 12, 2025.