Neighborhood Villages Commends House for Early Education Funding in Proposed FY24 Budget
The House Ways and Means Committee’s FY24 Budget Includes up to $490 Million for Child Care Operations Grants
BOSTON, MA (April 13, 2023) - Today, Neighborhood Villages — a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for solutions to the greatest challenges faced by the early education sector — commended the Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee for including up to $490 million for direct-to-provider operations grants for the early education and care sector in its $56.2 billion FY24 budget proposal. The proposed budget includes $290 million in guaranteed funding for the operations grants program and creates an iLottery with dedicated revenue for this grant program likely to total $200 million annually.
Last month, Governor Maura Healey signed the FY23 supplemental budget, which commits $68 million to direct-to-provider operations grants to ensure that there will be sufficient dollars to continue the program through June 2023. Funds in the proposed FY24 budget would authorize the extension of the operations grant program through June 2024. These grants, initially introduced as a pandemic response initiative, have proven essential to the field’s viability.
Lauren Kennedy, co-president of Neighborhood Villages, issued the following statement:
“We are excited to see this investment by the House Ways and Means committee — a signal that the importance of direct-to-provider operations grants is not going unnoticed by legislators. If we want a healthier, more equitable and accessible early education and care system across the Commonwealth, funding for operations grants is how we achieve that goal.
“Moreover, we applaud the inclusion of funding for early education through the Education-Transportation Trust Fund, established for revenue resulting from the Fair Share Amendment. Including early education in the use of these funds rightly reinforces that early education is education and should be publicly-funded.
“We are also pleased to see, amongst other key provisions, the House’s commitment to raising the child subsidy reimbursement rate through a dedicated $100 million in the budget, which will make child care more accessible for low-income families.”
Background
Over the last year and a half, the operations grant program, often referred to as the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant program, has supported more than 7,100 early education and care programs across the Commonwealth – including 4,500 FCC providers and 2,600 center-based providers. These direct-to-provider operations grants have been highly effective: data from more than 6,000 grant recipients demonstrate the foundational role that operations grants have played – and will continue to play – in sustaining Massachusetts’ early education and care sector.
Some data from grant recipients includes:
751 providers (more than 12% of all providers in MA), inclusive of 556 FCC providers, reported that they would have to close if operations grants ceased.
As a result of receiving grants funds, 83% of center-based providers and 41% of FCC providers allocated grant funds to staff compensation.
With the help of C3 funds, more than 25% of all providers were able to defer planned tuition increases.
###
About Neighborhood Villages
Neighborhood Villages, founded in 2017 by Lauren Kennedy and Sarah Muncey, is a Boston-based systems-change non-profit that advocates for early education and care policy reform and implements scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges facing providers and the families who rely on them. For more information, visit https://www.neighborhoodvillages.org/our-work.