Mass. Senate passes early education and child care bill focused on affordability, access

Originally Appeared in the Boston Herald
By Chris Van Buskirk

March 15, 2024

The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Thursday that lawmakers said is crucial to bringing down the high costs of childcare and early education in the state.

Top Democrats said childcare in Massachusetts is among the most expensive in the country — akin to the cost of sending a child to college and often inaccessible to low-income families. Senate President Karen Spilka argued the bill, which was passed unanimously, aims to make high quality care more affordable.

“This would help families afford childcare and give them the freedom to go back to work if they want to. We know there’s a workforce shortage in Massachusetts, let’s get parents back to work who want to go back to work. But we need to give them to child care first,” Spilka said.

The bill makes permanent a grant program — Commonwealth Cares for Children — that provides money to more than 90% of early education and care programs in the state. The proposal adds a provision to direct more funds to programs serving children with “high needs,” according to a summary.

Senators increased the eligibility for childcare families to families making up to 85% of the state median income, which is $124,000 for a family of four. A matching grant program established in the proposal seeks to encourage employer investment in boosting early education and care capacity across the state.

The legislation directs state officials to create recommended salary and benefit guidelines that are in line with public school teachers. Existing scholarship and loan forgiveness programs administered by the Department of Higher Education would also be made permanent under the bill.

A spokesperson for Spilka said the bill puts in place a plan to spend $1.5 billion the Legislature already set aside in the fiscal year 2024 budget for early education and care initiatives. It does not obligate the state to future investments but does lay out a plan for how officials can spend dollars that are allocated down the road, the spokesperson said.

Neighborhood Villages Senior Director of Advocacy Latoya Gayle said the industry is “inherently broken” with families struggling to find spots for their children.

“Here in Massachusetts, parents often can’t afford or even find care for their children. And our providers are struggling to pay their educators much more than minimum wage or sometimes keep their businesses afloat and classrooms open. That is what we’re dealing with,” she said outside the State House.